First Try
The project was aimed at young people from Children’s Homes in Warsaw who were preparing for independent living. We recruited 7 individuals who began working at various locations of Mohito, Sinsay, House, and Reserved stores. The participants signed contracts and took on paid positions as sales assistants, working under the guidance of experienced LPP employees and professional mentors.
The program enabled young people to gain valuable work experience in clothing stores during the summer period. It also provided an opportunity for those who showed commitment to secure permanent employment after the project.
Drawing on the experience of our staff, we offered individual support to the young participants in the form of consultations or coaching, which was a unique way to work on personal resources. The youth had the chance to examine the difficulties they encountered in both their private and professional lives, identify the sources of these challenges, learn to change habits, and develop new behaviors and responses.
Throughout the entire project, group meetings were also held. Their purpose was to provide psychological support to the youth, prepare them administratively for employment, assist in identifying and solving problems that arose at work, develop communication skills, flexibility, and openness to change, and improve their ability to establish business and formal relationships.
We completed another edition of the First Try project, carried out by LPP. Four participants successfully finished the program, working throughout the entire summer in a safe environment, at various positions, under the supervision of experienced mentors.
During the conclusion session, we managed to discuss the main skills that the youth developed while working in clothing stores across Warsaw. We also heard from the participants about areas that need improvement and changes that could be made in future editions to ensure a comfortable collaboration for mentors, coordinators, and especially the young participants. One part of the meeting included a workshop on mental resilience conducted by Sylwia Rybak. This was a very interesting experience that will undoubtedly help the youth in their future professional endeavors. As we know, in the workplace, we often face difficult situations, challenges, stress, and pressure. It is important to have the ability to effectively cope with these. Yesterday’s session was a brief introduction to further work on this aspect of ourselves.
A few behind-the-scenes shots from the participants’ photoshoot, which took place on August 28, 2019:
We were able to establish cooperation with LPP thanks to the team from TransferHUB and the Gdańsk Foundation for Social Innovation, where the first edition of the project took place in 2017.
