Animus Association Foundation

Animus Association Foundation (AAF) has been working for over 20 years in the field of psychological and social support for victims of violence (women, adolescents and children) and families at risk. AAF is one of the biggest providers of services for children, women and families who are at risk or are victims of violence. The organisation supports more than 19,000 people a year and provides a number of significant community programmes: • Centre for Rehabilitation, Counselling, Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis that provides psychotherapeutic and social services to children and families at risk and victims of all forms of violence; a programme for women victims of violence or other traumas; and a programme for child witnesses or victims of violence and their parents. • Child and Youth Advocay Centre Zona ZaKrila aims at training and coordinating a multidisciplinary team of professionals who assist the child and their family throughout the whole support process and ensure the provision of adequate protection measures. The team includes representatives of various institutions working in close cooperation and partnering effectively, while each member contributes with his/her own competence and jurisdiction. Specifically, the center aims at ensuring timely reaction and the adoption of an integrated approach on cases of children victims of violence. The target groups of the center are children victims or at risk of violence and non-abusive parents. • Social Services Centre for Children and Families, comprising a Community Support Centre and a Mother and Baby Unit. The Centre is a state-delegated activity that provides services for families and their children from Sofia City in the area of prevention of child abandonment and reintegration of children; support for children who have experienced violence and their families; prevention of child abuse; support for children and their families for coping with problematic behaviour; support for children with disabilities and their families. The Mother-and-Baby Unit accommodates pregnant women and women with children aged 0 to 3, and helps them through counseling, therapy, and empowerment to keep their babies and go on with their lives without violence. • Crisis Centre for victims of violence, which is the only place in Sofia City and Sofia region accommodating women and children victims of violence in a safe environment where they benefit from individual support, humanitarian help, legal consultations, empowerment, and social and psychological support. The Crisis Centre accommodates around 100 women and children victims of violence every year. • National Hotline for Support and Referral of Survivors of Violence 0800 1 86 76. The Helpline has been working since 1997 and has received more than 30,000 calls. The Helpline supports people who have experienced domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking in human beings or other forms of violence. The Helpline informs victims of their rights, consults them emotionally, and encourages them to seek help and make a change in their lives for the better. • National Helpline for Children 116 111, which operates nation-wide and is toll free. It is aimed at children, adolescents, their parents and close relatives as well as at citizens who seek information and help in relation to problems involving children. The Helpline provides help, emotional support, space to share emotions and problems, crisis intervention, information about available resources and ways to address a particular situation. The Helpline receives more than 100,000 calls a year. • Animus Training Centre has been working since 2000 and is training social workers, police officers, teachers, and other professionals on identification of violence, referral to adequate services, providing support, working with trauma, etc. More than 900 people are trained in the Training Centre a year.