Drop-in centers for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness offer a unique and perhaps under-recognized environment option for adjunct treatment. The current study examines and evaluates components thought to be a part of an enriched drop-in center experience that contribute to positive member outcomes through the effects of empowerment. These components include self-help, peer support, and creative expression. Outcomes were evaluated based on quality of life, self-worth, and symptom reduction. Such data are necessary in promoting the growth and development of drop-in centers and identification of components that contribute to positive member outcomes. Participants (n=101) were administered a series of measures including The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, The Empowerment Scale, The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF, The BASIS-32™, and a series of questions created for the purposes of the current study regarding creative expression and self-help. The psychometric properties of each measure were evaluated and reviewed. Additionally, mean differences between normative data and participant means were examined and demographic data were analyzed. It was hypothesized from the literature that self-help, peer support, and creative expression would have significant indirect effects on all of the proposed outcome variables through the effects of empowerment. Results revealed significant indirect relationships between peer support and all of the outcome variables through the effects of empowerment and between self-help and all of the outcome variables through the effects of empowerment. No significant relationships were found between creative expression and any of the outcome variables through the effects of empowerment. These findings suggest that peer support and self-help may be instrumental in achieving positive outcomes through the effects of empowerment. Centers that offer experiences to enhance self-help and peer support will subsequently enhance feelings of empowerment in members, which relates to higher levels of self-worth, higher levels of quality of life, and lower levels of psychiatric symptomatology. Further implications of such findings and suggestions for continuation of this research are discussed in detail.

The thesis concentrates on Approaches of youth drop-in centers and outreach services towards xenophobia and racism among teenagers. It deals with topics, such as xenophobia, racism, situation of Czech society concerning these two issues and the legal view point towards it. It describes the period of growing up, what features and reasons of xenophobia and racism appear among the teenage group. It characterizes a growing up person as a user of social services. The thesis describes inspirational approaches of multicultural education heading towards development of tolerance, possibilities of education and approaches to xenophobia and racism of various organizations. Further on, it gives a number of examples of experiences from several other European countries. It introduces social services of youth drop-in centers and outreach services. It mainly deals with approaches of both services towards working with teenage clients who show signs of xenophobia and racism. The practical part of the thesis discovers approaches of social workers of various youth drop-in centers and outreach services in the Czech Republic towards xenophobia and racism among teenager clients. Key words: xenophobia, racism, teenagers, multicultural/intercultural education, experiences abroad, youth drop-in centers, outreach services

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The main topic of my thesis is the prevention of socially pathological phenomena and their implementation in low-threshold facilities for children and youth (NZDM). The work has two parts: theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part describes the socio-pathological phenomena, prevention, prevention programs and social services - NZDM general. In the empirical part is to find out the answer to the question, what is the impact of the implementation of prevention programs for service users in a particular device - in NZDM V.I.P.in Czech Budejovice, what should prevention programs in 2012 targeting and why, how often were made and what was the clients' interest in the topics of preventive measures.