The office of Resource Centre "ZELDA" is located at: Marupes street 4 – 31, Riga, LV-1002, Latvia
Telephone/fax: + 371 67442828; e-mail: [email protected]
Strategy
The Startegy was approved by the RC "ZELDA" Consultative Board on 4 March 2008 and defines the main goals for the organization's work for the period of three years (01.05.2008 – 01.05.2011):
1. To develop the institutional capacity of Resource Centre "ZELDA".
1.1. To stabilise and diversify the funding base of RC “ZELDA” – to work regularly on fundraising; to prepare the organisation’s annual budget.
1.2. To attract additional human resources.
1.3. To involve users of mental health care services in various activities in order to assess better the planned and the achieved.
1.4. To develop cooperation with international and local organisations.
1.5. To establish a resource/information centre.
1.6. To provide consultations for users, students and others on issues of expertise of RC “ZELDA”.
1.7. To continue the research and reports on the compliance of mental health care law, policy and practice with international human rights standards.
1.8. To organize training seminars for various target groups on issues of expertise of RC “ZELDA”.
1.9. To develop knowledge-transfer projects in the area of mental health care.
1.10. To develop a proactive approach to the media.
2. To implement activities of mental disability advocacy.
2.1. To participate in processes at the national and international scale related to the development of mental health care policy.
2.2. To maintain a regular dialogue with national and local government institutions working in the area of mental health care.
2.3. To involve and actively participate in ministerial, governmental or municipal working groups, councils, which concern target groups of RC “ZELDA”.
2.4. To participate in implementing the cooperation memorandum of Cabinet of Ministers and NGOs.
2.5. To carry out studies on current issues of mental health care legislation and policy.
2.6. To monitor the compliance of implementation of laws and regulations with international human rights norms.
2.7. To lobby for joining the UN Disability Convention and its Optional Protocol, as well to involve in activities aimed at assessing the compliance of Latvian legislation with the Convention.
2.8. To use litigation in order to create precedents and to participate in initiating, drafting and introducing legislative acts relevant for the area of mental health care.
2.9. To compile and popularise successful examples of community-based mental health care services.
3. To raise the advocacy capacity of NGOs (mainly of users' organisations) working in the area of mental health care.
3.1. To develop a cooperation network of NGOs working in the area of mental health care:
3.1.1. to promote cooperation between organisations of users of mental health care services and state institutions, especially Ministries of Health and Welfare.
3.1.2. to develop joint advocacy projects.
3.1.3. to raise funding for particular advocacy actions.
3.2. To ensure regular information on current news in the area of mental health care in Latvia and elsewhere:
3.2.1. to publish a regular newsletter in order to inform cooperation network organisations and local and international partners on current news in the area of mental health care.
3.2.2. to describe current news of cooperation network organisations in the home page of RC “ZELDA” – www.zelda.org.lv.
3.2.3. to regularly inform the Latvian society on current events in the field of mental health care.
3.3. to educate and consult users’ organisations on relevant advocacy issues:
3.3.1. to provide the opportunity for users to ask questions through RC “ZELDA”''s webpage.
3.3.2. to study and adapt to the Latvian situation new forms of mental healh advocacy and to develop a training programme for users of mental health services.
3.3.3. to educate users’ organisations in advocacy (lobbying, drafting documents of policy positions and commentaries, practical organisation of effective actions etc.) and human rights issues.