In our four-year collaboration with Centrum LOCIKA, we're proud to support an organization addressing child violence. They emphasize parent education on handling life situations, caring for children, and providing advice on self-knowledge and fear. Their strategy, "Bad children do not exist," underscores the need for empathy and understanding. In December 2023 we donated 100,000Kc to this brilliant cause.

We have been working with Centrum LOCIKA for four years now, and we are glad to contribute to an organization that helps children facing violence within their homes. In December 2023 we had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Petra Wünschová, the director of Centrum LOCIKA, who answered a few of our questions. If you would like to find out more or donate to this Centrum LOCIKA, click here.

What form of help do you provide to children and adults? Who contacts you most often? Do you cooperate with other organizations?

Centrum LOCIKA is a specialised centre to help children who experience violence in the family. We are now in our ninth year of operation and have been developing our services throughout this time. Currently, we provide services in the field of primary prevention - this means that we prepare a series of information materials, conferences, round tables, manuals and media outputs aimed at making parents and professionals aware of what violence is, how much it hurts children, how to change their behaviour and what are the possibilities to help these children. In the area of secondary prevention, we have a number of targeted programmes, such as the "School - a place of safety" programme for schools, and we work closely with the OSPOD (children's social and legal protection authority) and other organisations to help children who experience violence in the family. And then, in the area of tertiary prevention, we already provide services directly to child victims of crime and serious family violence, trying to ensure that the help that will be provided to the child is timely, targeted to the child's interest and does not further harm the child. So that children do not regret asking for help. In this way, our services provide us with a comprehensive framework and are complemented by preventive actions such as the drumming event. And of course, in cases of serious family violence, we also cooperate with other state institutions, such as the police, OSPODs, the prosecutor's office, but also, for example, with health care facilities or other non-profit organizations.

Can we start from the beginning of your activity, what were your beginnings like, how is your center doing now, how big is your team, and what current project are you working on now?

Centrum LOCIKA originated from years of experience, including my own and the team's, in a secret shelter for violence victims. Recognizing the need for specialized help for children in these situations, we opened our specialist center nine years ago. Remarkably, we reached full capacity without even launching our website. Starting with a staff of eight, the center has now grown to over 40 associates, with more than half directly caring for children.

With the Christmas holidays approaching, a period that we would like every child to experience harmony with their families. Are there activities that you plan for children during the holiday season to bring them closer to the Christmas atmosphere?

Christmas is tough for families impacted by violence, especially children. Our communication highlights the varied experiences during this season. We use infographics and offer chat support for at-risk children, providing a safe space to discuss their challenges openly with interventionists or psychologists.

Working with children who have experienced any form of violence must be very hard on the psyche of your entire team; it is also an endless job in which you can never satisfy everyone in need, and sometimes, you must feel hopelessness and injustice ……. Do you have a recipe for mental hygiene? How to keep going and keep trying?

We draw motivation from success stories of helping children despite the frustration that many still lack necessary support, considering the 22% of children in the Czech Republic exposed to domestic violence. We focus on preventive measures and behavior change in parents. In terms of psycho-hygiene, maintaining a balanced life, engaging in hobbies, fostering personal resources, and utilizing professional tools are crucial for our team's well-being and effectiveness in helping clients.

What motivated you to work in a charity centre? Have you always had a vision that you want to help those in need?

My vision was to be primarily an artist; I wanted to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. Eventually, through art therapy, I got into the subject of violence against children in families. Their pictures showed me how much these children needed help, how much their inner world was affected. So I further educated myself in trauma work, and the topic of children experiencing domestic violence became my lifelong theme.

How can people contribute to your centre, and can they get involved in the running of your centre? And a question to encourage readers who would like to help, why your centre?

There are several ways in which people can support the idea of children without violence. It will help us a lot if you sign our Children Without Violence initiative to reach 10,000 signatures from parents and important key institutions in support of Children Without Violence by the end of the year. You can find this initiative at www.detstvibeznasili.cz/memorandum. It will also help us a lot if you talk about the fact that violence in a relationship with a partner or child is not okay. You will talk about it with your loved ones, with your colleagues, when your position on the subject is clear. And if you want to help us help more children next year, we'd love you to support our Christmas campaign 'Stop Violence Against Children' - https://bit.ly/KampaňLocika - you can find more information on our website, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.