Social Work and Social Protection in crisis circumstances – Organisation and activities of Centre for Social Work Banja Luka during the floods in 2014

Abstract

Modern man is at constant risk to his/her security, which threatens him/her from natural disasters. Today, these risks are much more frequent and intense than they were before. Climate change is affecting more and more extreme natural disasters that bring greater security risks. The most common risks that lead to crisis situations are related to extreme events during the escalation of natural disasters, such as: fires, floods, earthquakes, heavy rainfall, landslides, etc. These situations require adequate systemic responses, which are recognized through the actions of various institutions, mainly public institutions of public systems towards the vulnerable groups. Increased interest in the work of institutions and services in crisis situations comes from the need to seek effective responses to the existential vulnerability condition, but also to the condition of social need that is often associated with existential vulnerability. The paper presents organization and of work terms of the Centre for Social Work (CSW) in Banja Luka during the extreme floods in 2014, which hit this city twice in six months period. Conclusions and recommendations that have been defined, aimed at systematically improving the protection of the population and professionals in crisis situations at the local level are based on the results of the analysis of the activities that have been carried out and the Centre’s direct actions, as well as an assessment of the achieved level of social protection and support to the population affected by the effects of the floods.