Every EU member state works in the direction of guaranteeing safety for all children. The EU and its member states ensure communicating how children can be aware of their own rights and call for help. That is why hotlines function and then social security services make sure to help children from this point. In Estonia since those two steps have been accomplished children can be taken to children’s shelters. 

The Estonian government pays significant attention towards the rights of children in their country. One of the tools they use is the children’s shelter where children can live till their personal situation improves. To do so the staff of the shelter works towards creating a safe space for children by supporting their hobbies, working through their problems and organizing events and holidays for them.

The shelter is located in the capital of Estonia – Tallinn. Here up to 30 children aged from 3 to 18 can find a safe space till their personal situation can be solved. Director, social workers, psychologists and other staff of the shelter work all together to assure a better life for children.

Most of the children are being taken to the shelter by child protection and police. But children can also call by themselves using a hotline and explain their situation so the child protection could take over and solve the issue by placing them in the shelter if needed. The number is public and can be found everywhere including schools, kindergartens and television.

After the placement of a child in the shelter the psychological work is being done with children and people who are related to the reason why the child was taken away from home. Parents, grandparents or others are working with psychologists and social workers towards renewing the safe environment a child can return to and live a better life.

Children come to this shelter, when their own home starts to be dangerous for them. The duration of children’s stay starts from 1 day and up to 1 year, in the rare cases this period can be longer. But the goal of the staff is to make the stay of children as short as possible and do everything they can for the children to return to their “recovered” safe home. However not always the problem can be solved and children never come back, so then child protection services will need to look for a foster home or a foster family for a child.

The shelter itself has two floors, first of which contains a library and computer room, canteen, living room and office of psychologist. Children live on the second floor in the rooms accommodated for two. In the typical room there is a bunk bed, desks for both children and dressers for their clothes and personal things. Along with that the room of social workers, living room and playroom for smaller children can be found on the second floor. Outside of the shelter the playground and basketball field is located.

10 social workers, 2 psychologists and 1 medical worker work in the shelter and are a company for children. Two social workers at once are staying with children, their shift is 24 hours and they devote all this time to children.

«Ideally the day of a child would be the same as at home»,– says Isaac, social workers of the shelter. There they try to keep their routine as unchanged as possible. Child can be placed to a different school or kindergarten only if it is too far away. Still the initial educational institutions of children are preferred.

If children were doing some sports or music or any other extracurricular activity before placement in the shelter, they still go to those classes by themselves if they are old enough. However if they did not reach the age the staff of the shelter try to take them there. Children are also allowed to go out with their friends outside of the shelter and spend their leisure  time with them.

If the children are at the shelter it does not mean that they are left without the holidays like Christmas. For example this year staff of the shelter along with social services organized a party at the city theater and all children got presents which were bought by sponsors’ money. Along with that every morning Christmas advent calendars were waiting to be opened by children.  

Happy eyes of the children make this shelter a source of inspiration for all others. Thanks to the caring staff and sponsors, children see the other side of life and hopefully all of them will feel the same safety and comfort at their real homes and they will not face any troubles anymore.