Guests of the meeting were director of Centre for Social Welfare (CSW) Slavonski Brod Slavica Niksic and social worker Ivana Polic.

In the beginning of the meeting, guests from the CSW shortly presented Social Welfare Act and explained the conditions for obtaining guaranteed minimum compensation (GMC). They particularly emphasised the importance of regular monthly check in with the Croatian Employment Institute as a precondition for receiving GMC. During the second half of the meeting, the gathered citizens had opportunity to ask questions, majority of which concerned under which conditions CSW approves or denies right to GMC and one-time financial assistance.

Ms. Polic explained that every case is assessed individually. Ms. Niksic added that they are aware of difficult living conditions within Roma communities and that CSW employees are doing their best to assist the most vulnerable members of this community, but she emphasised that the Law is the same for all Croatian citizens  and that there are no special benefits for Roma population.

During the community meeting that lasted for 1,30h the citizens were very active, they asked numerous questions, commented their personal situations, and sought advice from the guests.

26 Roma citizens who attended the meeting expressed their wish that meetings like this should be organized more often within their community.

The community meeting was organized within the project “Legal inclusion and sustainable integration of Roma in Croatia” financed by the National Programme for Croatia under the IPA 2012 - Building Capacities of CSOs for Ensuring Effective Implementation of the EU Standards in the Enforcement of Human Rights and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with CSOs.