The main objective is assistance
Such centers began to open in the country in 2021 on the initiative of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Today, they work as an important element of the state family policy. Their task is not just to give advice, but to help a person understand a difficult situation and, if necessary, go with him all the way to its resolution.
The Karaganda Family Support Center has been operating since February 2024. During this time, his specialists had to deal with a variety of stories - from household and housing problems to cases of domestic violence, issues of resocialization and assistance to people who were practically without means of subsistence.
- We have different lines of work. This is assistance to people who have fallen into a difficult life situation, victims of domestic violence, resocialization of convicts, says Aida Iskakova, director of the Center for Family Support of the Employment and Social Programs Department of Karaganda. - The spectrum of work is multifaceted. It requires the spot work of each specialist and interaction with various state bodies.
From one question to a whole range of problems
The center employs specialists who provide legal, psychological and social assistance. A person can be helped to deal with alimony, custody or housing issue, make a statement, prepare for going to court. Psychologists conduct individual and family consultations to make it easier to survive crisis situations.
Social specialists go to people’s homes, help to draw up documents and get the necessary services. A separate direction is the organization of events for families: trainings, master classes, holidays, cultural and educational meetings.
For eight months of 2026, the center received 1,216 appeals and signals, which were provided with various types of assistance. Among them, 266 legal and 315 psychological services, 114 applications for employment, 36 for housing issues. Another 34 appeals related to the education of children, priority in kindergartens and issues of universal education.
A significant part of the work is charity and sponsorship - 378 such services were provided.
Today, specialists of the center accompany about 70 families in difficult life situations.
Sometimes problems are associated with alcoholism and drug dependence. We are asked to help in divorce proceedings, appeals to state bodies, registration of EDS and documents, division of property, says Aida Iskakova. It happens that it is necessary to deal with the debt of a person, blocking accounts. We work with private bailiffs, go to banks. We help children in kindergartens and schools.
At the same time, experts emphasize that behind each appeal there is a specific person and a specific family history. Therefore, there is practically no universal algorithm here.
The main issues that people come with, according to the director of the center, are most often related to housing. But the housing problem often hides a tangle of other circumstances.
- We recently held an open day to discuss the most difficult cases. For example, how to get serious medical care that requires significant financial costs. A person is left alone with a problem and does not know where to turn. Our task is to find a possible solution, notes Aida Iskakova.
When you need protection
A special place in the work is taken by helping people who have suffered from domestic violence. The center has a temporary accommodation for 14 beds. There is a kitchen, washing machine, TV and everything necessary for temporary accommodation.
In 2026, there were five cases of domestic violence. Assistance was needed for five women and 13 children. Three cases have already been completed, two families are still accompanied by specialists.
Working with such families does not end once a person is in a safe place. Specialists interact with law enforcement agencies and social services, help solve issues of further arrangement, documents, housing and other necessary services. But each story here is individual.
- Among the women who came to our crisis center was the mother of adult children. In the process, it turned out that a compromise is possible between the spouses, they did not have serious claims to each other, the director of the center says. And it happens quite differently: the victim of domestic violence after the most difficult rehabilitation returns to the abuser.
Therefore, experts try not only to eliminate the consequences of a particular conflict, but also to understand what is happening in the family, what circumstances led to the crisis and what needs to be done so that a person does not find himself in a dangerous situation again.
Back to society
Another area of work is the escort of people who are on probation control. Since the beginning of the year, 99 signals have been received from probation services through the FSM Social system.
A total of 88 people were assisted. They were provided with legal and psychological advice, assistance with one-time social benefits, 17 people received payments.
Employment remains equally important. Together with the career center of the city of Karaganda, the specialists of the Center issued work assignments to 49 citizens. Eleven people were employed by quota.
However, finding a job for someone who has recently been released from prison is often difficult.
- Not all employers want to hire people after the prison system. The management of the industry of the Karaganda region helps us. As a result, since July, 13 people have been employed by handymen in Qarmet, said Aida Iskakova. Large companies have never done this before. Today we have reached an understanding through negotiations.
For a person who is trying to return to a normal life, such an opportunity can be one of the main steps to independence.
Alert signals
The center also works with signals of suicide attempts. Since the beginning of 2026, 59 such reports have been received from the police department. For each case, specialists carried out the necessary work and organized comprehensive psychological and social assistance.
To date, 39 cases have been completed and the necessary support has been provided. Another 20 are under constant supervision.
Such work requires special care. It is important not only to talk to a person at a time of crisis, but also to understand the reasons for what happened, to assess the family and social situation, if necessary, to connect other services.
Interdepartmental interaction becomes one of the main principles of the center. By the way, 130 state bodies and 600 specialists are involved in the FSM Social system. Signals of the system can not be ignored, to give an answer – too.
Help not only a person, but also his family
The Center cooperates with other organizations, including the Center for Resocialization of Persons in Difficult Life Situations, a private nursing home, the Chance Crisis Center, the World of Good organization and the mother’s house.
- We provide sponsorship and charitable assistance. The NSA system allows you to see children who need support. We cooperate with various organizations, because one center cannot solve all problems on its own, notes Aida Iskakova.
The story of a Russian citizen who came to the Karaganda region to see her sick mother is telling. While the woman was near her, it turned out that the apartment had already been transferred to other people. As a result, the daughter after the death of her mother was virtually left without housing and livelihood.
- She was on the street, wandering. Now we are working on returning to the Russian Federation, and in the meantime arranged her in a private nursing home, says the director of the center.
Such situations show how wide the field of activity of specialists can be. In one case, assistance with documents is required, in another - the search for temporary housing, in the third - assistance in employment or medical care. The main thing is not to leave a person alone with a problem.
The structure of the Karaganda Family Support Center has 34.5 staff units. For 2026, funding is provided in the amount of 125.807 million tenge.
For eight months, the specialists held 120 seminars, trainings and meetings. They are devoted to the prevention of domestic violence, strengthening family values, increasing legal literacy and advising people in difficult life situations.
Another communication channel is the official Instagram page of the center, where 408 information materials have been published since the beginning of the year. These are explanations about state support measures, information about the activities of the center, social videos. But behind all these figures lies the main content of the work – specific people. A family that doesn’t know how to file documents. A woman who needs a safe place. A man after his release trying to find a job. A parent who has problems placing a child in kindergarten. A person who is in debt or has lost a home.
- Our task is to help the family go through a difficult period and, if possible, return a person to an independent life. To do this, you have to work point by point, look for solutions, negotiate with various organizations, says Aida Iskakova.
The family support center in this sense becomes not the last instance, but a kind of point from which a person can begin to get out of the crisis. They do not promise to solve all problems with one appeal. But they help to do what in a difficult situation can be the most difficult – to understand where to start and where to move on.
