The You Belong! Foundation’s operation is based on personal, civilian volunteering activity, which is centred around Kriszta Bódis, documentalist, writer, psychologist and the professional leader of You Belong!. The concept started at the most hopeless Roma settlement of Ózd back in 1998. Fifteen years later, this initiative turned into an eminent NGO known for a meticulously developed Creation-oriented social and integration model program. During this period, the organization achieved major milestones through its complex but efficient methods. With the personal inclusion of the 400 adults and 200 children inhabitants, the formation of the aforementioned community began, which led to a major transformation of the settlement. The place changed quite a lot for that time; people started cultivating their gardens. They built and operated a lavatory house.The children took part in the educational programs of the organization, and we managed to settle pre-paid electricity meters and arranged for debt management. The heydays of the common work at the Hétes settlement were the – annually organized – creative camps, which attracted many volunteers and well-known artists. The settlement work was heading towards the direction of desegregation.
The You Belong! Stúdió was developed in 2014 being the first pillar of the You Belong! System. The services of the Stúdió, aim at compensating the consequences of the low-quality education in the area and enable the children to successfully study further in quality schools. Until now the success rate of those pursuing further studies is 100%. The You Belong! System offers structural solutions to the marginalized social groups to enable their emergence from the vicious circle of persistent poverty.
The innovations of You Belong!: building services that reflect on specific problems, on each other, consistent settlement work, empowerment, interculturalism, partnership with marginalized groups and the creation-oriented method.
