The Hungarian Jesuits have joined forces with the government Catching-up Settlements Program to help disadvantaged families in the settlement of Arló in Borsod County. The goal is to assist people in breaking free from unemployment, the problems caused by a lack of education, and housing poverty. The activity is based on the Presence Program run by the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, which in turn builds on gaining familiarity with local needs, participating in the life of settlements, and personal relationships with the people involved. The focus is on families with small children and on expectant mothers.
The Presence House, established in the center of the town, contains an environment meant mainly for families with small children that helps provide the deficiencies missing from impoverished homes. The program also extends to organizing community programs, providing consultancy services as well as possibilities for bathing and washing, and a system to help in applying for crisis assistance.
The Jesuit Refugee Service helps in the integration of refugees in Hungary, relying on the experiences of the world-wide Refugee Service’s motto “accompany, serve, and advocate”. Their intention is to support today’s weakened society, sensitize it to the realities of our world, and highlight our responsibilities. In keeping with Jesuit traditions, they also traverse untraveled paths, cooperating with all people of good intentions to strengthen conscious Christian conduct.
The School of Possibilities is a program run by volunteers where Jesuits help adults take primary school exams who were unable to do so back when they had been required to attend school. The School teaches adults pushed to the fringes of our society who have realized that their marginalized position is in part due to their lack of education. Participants teach and accompany those who voluntarily apply to learn with the hope that they can start down the path of reintegration into society to overcome the broken social process. Family roles, Roma identities, and confirming faith are all important aspects of this service. The program is an excellent venue for allowing the process to exert its effects on the families of these students in the hope that learning and education can become an integral part of their everyday lives.
The Oasis Pastoral Care and Mental Health Service started its operations on February 11, 2014 based on the example of the Viennese Gesprächsinsel. Its mission is to use the cooperation between experts delegated by monastic orders and professional civilians to operate a service in downtown Budapest that offers possibilities for pastoral discussions: what it offers is the most ancient of monastic activities, namely listening. The Oasis program is built on monastic traditions and uses modern pastoral psychology and pastoral care methods paired with the information required in various situations to welcome those in need.