Blog VOLONTE

The VOL Rodinu project (reg. no. CZ.03.02.02/00/22_017/0000254), funded by the European Social Fund Plus under the Employment Plus Operational Programme, was successfully completed on 31 December 2025. The project ran for three years — from January 2023 to December 2025 — and focused on supporting families affected by imprisonment. Its goal was to develop a new programme aimed at supporting incarcerated parents and their children and families on the outside in addressing thei

A first-of-its-kind vocational programme has been launched at Světlá nad Sázavou Prison, enabling convicted women to obtain a professional qualification as "Social Services Workers" through hands-on practice outside the prison environment. VOLONTÉ CZECH, o.p.s. is one of the partners of this pilot project. On Wednesday 9 April, a ceremonial launch of the pilot vocational programme took place at Domov ve Zboží, a residential care facility for people with mental disabilities. T

The first quarter of 2026 brought the GLM+ project team a series of key milestones — from therapist training and supervisory sessions to an evaluation visit and a full-day review of the first pilot run. Here is an overview of what happened between January and April 2026, and where the project is heading next. January: Building the Foundation at NÚDZ On 5 and 6 January 2026, staff from the therapeutic teams at Heřmanice Prison and Vinařice Prison gathered at the National Insti

Sunday, March 29th. Příbram. A children's home. And a team that didn't come to lecture — they came to talk. The Správný start project, led by Jonáš Motyčka, brought another stop of its educational tour to Příbram. VOLONTÉ was there as a partner within the VOL Between Two Worlds project. The room that started talking Young people in children's homes are used to adults who arrive with programmes, forms or advice. This was different. The Správný start team came with a video, wit

On 1 March 2026, we launched the project VOL Pomoc s dluhy (reg. no. CZ.03.02.01/00/25_106/0006025), supported under the Employment Plus Operational Programme, co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus. The project will run for 28 months – until 30 June 2028 – and will be implemented in two locations: Karviná and Ostrava. Why Karviná and Ostrava? Both cities face an above-average rate of over-indebtedness among their residents. In Karviná, over 11% of inhabitants are subj

On 12 March 2026 , as part of the VOL Mezi dvěma světy  project, we held the “When I Turn 18”  workshop in Uherské Hradiště. The workshop focused on topics connected with entering adulthood, independence, work, finances and everyday responsibility. It was led by Martina Řeháková . The programme took place in the afternoon after school and was based mainly on interactive activities and discussion. Given the broad age range of the participants, cards, worksheets, model situatio

At the 38th Bohnice Sexology Days 2026 (19–20 February 2026), a presentation was delivered focusing on the GLM+ project (Reg. No. CZ.03.03.01/00/23_051/0004708), funded by OPZ+ / ESF+. The contribution introduced the pilot implementation of a therapeutic programme for perpetrators of sexually motivated offences and outlined how the programme is professionally grounded and which approaches it integrates. “GLM+ shows that work with perpetrators of sexually motivated offences ca

Jonáš Motyčka is behind the Správný start project and has been supporting young people for years as they leave children’s homes, educational/youth detention institutes, or foster care and move into independent living. In this interview, he explains what young people most often lack, why financial literacy matters, how the peer approach works, and why it pays to do things long-term and with continuity. Context and mission How would you describe in one sentence what Správný sta

VOLONTÉ has long been connecting practice, education and support for people who are at the beginning of a new life stage. One partnership that brings this approach to life in a very concrete way is our cooperation with Jonáš Motyčka and his project Správný start . Jonáš describes Správný start as a “transfer station” between a children’s home, a youth detention/educational institute, or foster care and everyday life —support that prepares a young person and then accompanies t

11 February 2026, Prague / Plzeň-Bory VOLONTÉ has long been supporting the employability of people serving prison sentences. One of the key activities is a retraining course in MAG welding, which we implement at Plzeň–Bory Prison as part of the project VOL Komplexní program zaměstnanosti (Comprehensive Employment Programme). Participants in the course gain not only technical knowledge, but also real work experience that they can build on after release. From vocational trainin