A Day Like A Dream

The “A Day Like A Dream” Project represents an innovative and proactive approach for the strengthening of the elderly and people with disabilities and improving the quality of their lives, since they are particularly vulnerable social groups. By the implementation of a variety of interrelated interactive activities the elderly and people with disabilities are being educated and informed in order to raise their level of self-protection and thus reduce the possibility becoming victims of crimes. Moreover, the elderly and persons with disabilities are placed in the role of trainers who educate police officers in an innovative way by putting them in the position of the elderly so that the police officers might directly experience the problems they are faced with in their daily life.

Moreover, interactive workshops in which there participate grandfathers, grandmothers and grandchildren help to overcome intergenerational gap and find the best answers to the question of how young people might help the elderly, and how seniors can share their knowledge and life experience with young people. Famous Croatian elderly actors have also become involved. Through the performance of a dedicated show based on real cases from the practice, by playing the role of their peers in homes for the elderly, vividly indicate risky situations and show them how one should behave in these situations. Educational and informational materials, dedicated especially for the elderly and people with disabilities, have been distributed to innovative models in order to reach all the elderly and people with disabilities. By the permanent and strong partnership relations established by the police, civil society organizations and relevant institutions dealing with this issue, the preconditions for a long-term cooperation in a systematic and multi-sectoral approach to this issue are achieved. The quality of the Project has been recognized and the General Police Directorate has recommended that it be applied across the whole Croatian territory as a model for preventive work relating to the prevention of crime against the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Project ran from October 2013 to October 2015.
Last review: January 2020.