Lapse Heaolu Arengukeskus / Center for Child Welfare and Development

More than half of Estonian parents have felt that they need advice on how to support and raise their children, and nearly half of parents have felt anxiety or depression. Nevertheless, services offered to families with children primarily start when school-age children develop severe problems with behaviour or grades. According to research, the accessibility and quality of these services are uneven, with insufficient contributions to preventing problems. 

Lapse Heaolu Arengukeskus (LaHe) (trans. Center for Child Welfare and Development) operates as a competence centre that locally creates prevention and support centres for families, called Perepesad (trans. Family Nests). As of today, Perepesad operates in five local municipalities, with the next wave of expansion being prepared with the support of the European Social Fund. Perepesad focuses on families from pregnancy until the start of school. The centres aim to empower parents, notice possible risks early on, and ensure that necessary services are available to families. Perepesad offers support starting right from pregnancy and adapting to the child’s birth, growing to be a parent, assisting the development of the child, as well as maintaining family and couple relationships. Psychological counselling, speech therapy, parenting training, workshops, and a playroom where the child can spend time while the parent is in counselling or training are offered. 

Good Deed Impact Fund contributes to LaHe’s development activities, the buildout of the organisation’s strategy, and the evolvement of impact assessment, in addition to wages that ensure a strong and powerful team.