21st November, 2014 – Lumos is proud to be involved in the opening of a new room at Dobrich Hospital in Bulgaria today, which will facilitate support services for local families. This Family Support Room will provide a safe and friendly space in which social workers, doctors and other health practitioners can work one-on-one with families from the region who might need additional support and guidance in matters of childcare. Estimates suggest that around 50 families will benefit from this new room in the first 12 months.

This initiative is a product of the joint efforts of Dobrich Municipality, Lumos, Dobrich Hospital and the Child Protection Unit, who have come together to tackle the problem of child abandonment at the maternity ward. The Family Support Room marks a step forward for the region in implementing principles of European good-practice to support and work with at-risk families.

Attending the opening are the Deputy Director of Dobrich Hopsital Dr Popova, Director of Social Assistance for the region Mrs Mitkova, Director of the Regional Social Assistance Directorate Mr Mitov, Head of the Health and Social Policy Unit at Dobrich Municipality Mrs Titova, and representing Lumos Snejana Vankova, Team Leader at Lumos Bulgaria. Lumos is pleased to be partnering the Dobrich authorities in this new venture, and furthering its commitment to the children and families of Bulgaria who are in need of support.

Lumos began working In Dobrich in 2010, and as a result of our work with the local authorities and others, the numbers of children in institutions have reduced by 58%.

There are 102 children still in institutions in Dobrich. At an event in the region on Friday 7th Novemeber, 100 balloons were released in to the air to symbolise these children still left behind the walls. This was both to celebrate how much progress has been made since the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago, and to highlight the continuing efforts of the mission to provide complete deinstitutionalisation in the country.