Jonáš Motyčka: Správný start is a “transfer station” between institutional care and everyday life
- 1 day ago
- 10 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
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 start should give a young person “in their hands” so it’s not just motivation, but real practice?
I would describe it as a transfer station between a children’s home, an educational institute, or foster care and everyday life. Správný start prepares a young person and then accompanies them out of the “bubble” where, in a children’s home or an educational institute, their material needs are taken care of—so that they can stand on their own feet. I find them a job, help with housing, and if they have a hobby or a dream, I try to help them fulfill it and get the support they need.
What is the hardest part of the transition from a children’s home to independent life—and what is most often underestimated?
For me, it’s the young people’s expectations, which are quite far from reality. Newly gained freedom also brings a serious dose of responsibility and independence. But they can’t imagine it because they’ve never experienced it. They are used to food always being on the table, having a place to sleep, nice clothes, a phone, gifts from sponsors… materially, they are very well provided for. But once they leave, all of that ends, and they are on their own. They underestimate how hard it is to suddenly arrange everything by themselves. They think their family or friends will have their back, but they often end up alone and the scenarios they paint for themselves while still in institutional care quickly change—unfortunately, usually for the worse. They have nowhere to sleep, no resources, and very often they are in toxic environments where addictive substances play a major role. Of course, we could debate why institutional care doesn’t prepare them for this, but the system is set up in a certain way and we “have to” play with the cards we’re dealt.
What do you consider “functional support” so a young person doesn’t stop at good intentions?
For me, it’s having someone to turn to—an accompanying person who helps and advises them so that, under pressure, they don’t make bad decisions. Someone who can guide them with perspective onto the right path so they don’t end up in crime, prostitution, etc. They shouldn’t get to the point where they look for short-term shortcuts like loans, selling drugs, theft, prostitution. Having someone on the phone who will back them up is key, I think. In institutional care, they always have caregivers nearby, but after leaving they struggle with loneliness and often with zero unconditional support. As soon as they contact me, I start acting. They find in me someone who wants to help without conditions, who wants nothing in return—which is not something you see much in everyday life. Once they leave the gates of institutional care, they often meet people who want to exploit them, profit from their naivety, and it often happens even within their biological families—for example, taking out a loan in the young person’s name, etc.
Cooperation with VOLONTÉ
Where does your cooperation with VOLONTÉ make the most sense, and how do you think we complement each other best?
I think we complement each other very well: I bring know-how and creativity, and VOLONTÉ provides financial backing and visibility through channels I don’t have access to. We both want the same thing—helping young people from institutional care—but each of us brings our own value. After twelve years in this field, it’s great to have a partner who helps me in an effective way and at the same time respects my way of working, doesn’t interfere with what works for me. In our cooperation I feel freedom, and at the same time strong support.
What triggered the decision to do the activities in children’s homes together?
I think the main reason was great timing. I confirmed that my cooperation with VOLONTÉ works really well during the barber course at Všehrdy Prison. And when I decided to visit children’s homes and educational institutes again, it happened at a moment when VOLONTÉ also suggested doing an activity in that direction. So timing made the decision.
If you had to pick one moment from practice when you said “this works,” what would it be and why?
For me it’s the fact that whenever I propose something or come with an idea, VOLONTÉ not only supports me, but I also feel enthusiasm. That’s what a partnership should have—then cooperation becomes much deeper. If I had to highlight one moment out of many, it would be the ongoing support when I report visits during the tour—whether by email or in our WhatsApp group. I always receive warm replies and support, and I feel I have a strong partner by my side for my work.
Children’s homes: financial literacy and the peer approach
Why did you choose financial literacy as one of the pillars of the tour—what do young people most often lack, and where do they most often struggle?
Financial literacy is still very overlooked even among ordinary people—let alone young people from institutional care. They live in a bubble where money and gifts come from sponsors, the children’s home, etc. I often say that when it comes to material security, “kids from children’s homes” are sometimes better off than a poor family. Their mindset is that everything is free and comes without effort. Historically, I once visited a children’s home right after Christmas and a caregiver showed me a room filled with gifts up to the ceiling. She said they have to give each child a maximum of seven gifts so the kids develop at least some attachment to them—so they don’t take it as normal. What happens, for example, is that they break things: if they drop a phone and a caregiver tells them to be careful with their belongings, the young person replies: “I don’t have to. A sponsor will buy a new one.”
So we try to change the way they think—teach that you need to save, build the habit of putting money aside, not be afraid to ask for help if you fall into debt traps, and generally raise awareness of financial products. For instance, to understand the difference between saving and investing, to read entire contracts and check their terms.
What is the difference between a classic lecture and a session where a peer (or a graduate) speaks—what changes in the audience in that moment?
Personally, I feel it gives the whole thing a more authentic vibe. A peer is closer to them because they’ve been through exactly the same experience. Young people can tune into them; they are like one of them. They perceive me more as a mentor they look up to, and the peer as a more experienced buddy.
How do you choose the peers who travel with you to children’s homes—and what do they need to meet so it’s safe and beneficial?
The first criterion is that they’ve gone through Správný start—they are so-called graduates I’ve helped in the past. I want them to share an authentic experience of how working with me functions and what support they received from me. They are always young people who are currently stable, doing well in their lives, not going through a crisis—simply, they’re fine and not under pressure. I take guys with me whom I’ve known for years and who are now my friends. With time, they have perspective on the transition out of institutional care and can pragmatically evaluate what worked and what didn’t. What they all have in common is that they reached out to me themselves asking if they could come with me to children’s homes and educational institutes to give back to the community what I gave them. For me, that’s the greatest recognition of my work—when my steps ignite in them the motivation to help others too.
Long-term work through the end of 2027
You plan the activities in children’s homes continuously through the end of 2027—what is the goal of returning repeatedly to the same places?
You have to keep reminding them you exist. While they’re still in care, young people don’t yet feel the need for help, but it’s important to build an emotional connection so they know there is a Jonáš from Správný start. It’s like knowing the emergency number for the police or ambulance even if you never use it. The key is that when they run into trouble or face a challenge, they remember me and reach out. It’s a preventive step: to gain trust, to get into their awareness. Ideally they add me on social media and keep seeing my work. Then when they need to deal with something, they contact me.
How do you keep continuity so it isn’t “one good event,” but long-term progress?
Over the twelve years I’ve worked to support young people from institutional care, I’ve accompanied more than 150 young people into everyday life. I found them jobs, housing, retraining, or helped them with their interests and dreams. Looking back, what’s crucial is being there for them even when they mess up or cause trouble. Giving another chance, still being there. Because if I only helped them once and that was it, it would be just a one-off good event. For long-term impact, you have to stay with them even if they get fired from the job you arranged, even if they lose the housing you arranged. People learn the most from mistakes—continuity means going through the steps with them again and again, as long as they want it and until they are truly stable.
How do you recognize impact (feedback, concrete steps, follow-up activities)?
I don’t measure impact. It’s difficult anyway because defining success in this field is hard to pin down. For me it’s about small, concrete steps: they want to work—I find work. They have nowhere to sleep—I find housing. They want to box—I arrange a gym. How long they stay at a job or in sport is not something you can control. I keep telling young people that my project is like hockey gear or training—you still have to go into the match yourself and you have to want to score that goal. I’m not their father who clears the path until they’re thirty. I give support, but I expect their interest. Sometimes young people contact me after three or five years and only then appreciate my work and thank me.
Continuity into practice and next steps
What is most important so that education really translates into practice (skill → routine → job/part-time work)?
For me it’s a combination of things: being close, motivating, communicating, and moving into action as quickly as possible. Routine is extremely important. You have to catch the moment when a young person wants it and is motivated, and then within a short time arrange everything needed—job, housing. Usually it happens after some mess-up, when they hit bottom, end up on the street, and suddenly they want to listen and follow my advice. It’s hard to work with young people who haven’t yet felt the harshness of reality and don’t have that lived experience. It would be great if someone contacted me three months before leaving—then we could prepare work, housing, and a hobby activity. But in twelve years of practice I’ve realized those cases are extremely rare. In most cases, the young person wants absolute freedom and after leaving they want to enjoy life and decide everything themselves. But they lack experience, and newly gained freedom brings many obligations and responsibilities they don’t want to see—they ignore them. So they usually crash more or less, and then my work begins—helping them get back on their feet.
What do you see as the biggest barrier to continuity after the programme ends—and what makes it easier?
I see the biggest barrier as young people’s immaturity. Many tell me later that they should have followed my advice, but they just had to go through that stupid experience. One of my tattoos says: “The greatest sin is helping someone who doesn’t want it.” If you look away for a moment, they’ll do what they want anyway. So you need to be close, but also read whether they truly want it. Be ready to help—but only when they really do.
What makes it easier is today’s accessibility. Thanks to social media, I’m basically in permanent contact, so if there is a problem, we can deal with it right away. Jonáš and Správný start are available in just a few clicks.
You’re considering continuing barber activities, and there is also a gastronomy track (pizza-making) and training placements being discussed: what is the hardest part to organize (people, equipment, continuity)?
The hardest part is aligning everything. Finding motivated young people, ideally close to release, aligning it with the prison regime, and keeping tight contact after release. Everything has to fit together so there isn’t too much space for long pauses—because that’s when “the street calls,” old habits and the old environment return, friends, family—since these factors are often what got them into trouble in the first place. As Albert Einstein said: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.
A message to the public and partners
What would you like someone to take away from this article if they only know the topic superficially?
When I started this “work,” I naively thought my support would make young people into people who wouldn’t be affected by institutional care. Today I know that’s a utopia—trauma from institutional care and the fact that they didn’t grow up in a functioning family will stay with them. You can’t erase it. But I try to help them turn that disadvantage into an advantage and become stronger. I want society to have more empathy and understanding for young people from institutional care—their habits and behavior. They can sometimes seem strange at first glance, but it’s shaped by what they’ve been through. In institutional care they may be materially secured, but they often suffer enormously in emotional, relational, and social bonds. That deficit needs to be filled with understanding, patience, not giving up on them after failures, giving further chances, and believing they can make it.
If someone wanted to get involved as a partner (training placements, teaching, support), what kind of help is truly useful to you?
Definitely job opportunities—work is the alpha and omega of success. It’s even more important than housing, because if there is income, you can always manage somewhere. Many young people prioritize housing, but then there’s no money for rent. If anyone wants to get involved and offer a job opportunity, they should contact me through the website or social media. The second important form of support is finances. If we want to keep moving our projects forward, we need sponsors. If someone would like to support our work and mission, I’ll be grateful for any donation or sponsorship. Same here as well: contact me through the website or social media.
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