SUBOTICA – On March 8, 2017, in honor of International Women’s Day, the renovated Center for Social Welfare in Subotica was officially inaugurated. The reconstruction worth $70,000 was funded by USAID, a U.S. government agency . Local authorities identified the Center’s renovation as a top priority for the municipality, given the increased demand for the Center’s services following last year’s influx of refugees and migrants.

“The renovation of the Center for Social welfare was carried out as part of a two year, 1.3 million USAID project, implemented in partnership with UNDP, that helps six municipalities most affected by the refugee crisis, increase their capacities to better respond to the crisis,” said Jeffrey Skarin, Deputy Director of USAID’s Office of Democratic and Economic Growth.

“The setting up of separate, designated premises within the Center for the counselling of victims of domestic violence will ensure a dignified treatment of victims while legal proceedings are under way. The victims, often accompanied by minor children, will no longer have to wait in the Center’s corridors together with other users,” noted Karla Hershey, the UNDP Resident Representative.

“The renovation of the Center will provide better conditions for its 60 employees and better services to its beneficiaries, including a large number of migrants. On an annual basis, the Center provides services to more than 12,000 individuals,” noted Miroslava Bagavac, the Director of the Center for Social Welfare in Subotica.  

The Center’s renovation was carried out as part of the Enhancing Local Resilience to the Migration Crisis project, funded by USAID and implemented by UNDP. It is implemented in six municipalities (Bosilegrad, Dimitrovgrad, Kanjiža, Preševo, Šid, Subotica), in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Government and the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration.