When at the beginning of 2022 we started the “Social Stores For Everyone” project, it seemed that after many months of the pandemic, we were slowly regaining stability. We wanted to use the coming year and a half to turn three social shops in Gdynia and Gdańsk into centers of neighborly cooperation, self-help and self-advocacy. However, it quickly turned out how true the saying is that if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans…
The outbreak of war in Ukraine, the refugee and economic crisis forced us to review our intentions. And fortunately, because without a flexible approach, we would not be able to achieve results together. Effects that we may not have expected, but which are a significant contribution to the activities of Social Shops and show the direction in which we should develop these facilities.
How to effectively support people at risk of exclusion? What should the cooperation between aid centers and non-governmental organizations look like? What is the potential of neighborly cooperation? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in the publication “Social Stores For Everyone”.