The Degree of Satisfaction of Vulnerable Social Groups with the Social Services of the Local Government: The Case of the Roma of the Municipality of Heraklia Serron

During the last few years, the local government in Greece has been at the center of continuous reforms in both its political and administrative operations. In general, a systematic expansion of its responsibilities has been observed, which has also included the exercise of social policy, which is based on European and national strategies and includes programs for the social integration of the Roma, one of the largest national minorities in the European region. The aim of this article is to present the satisfaction level of vulnerable social groups with the services provided by the local government. In particular, this article examines the case of the Roma of the Municipality of Heraklia as an empirical example in order to reveal the strong and weak topics of social policy which is practiced by this particular municipality. This paper is based on a quantitative method, and the sample comprises 91 Roma people, beneficiaries of the social services of the Municipality of Heraklia. According to the results, the level of satisfaction is high, especially with the services of the Department of Social Protection, Education and Culture and the community center of the Municipality of Heraklia. However, this particular social group needs more services in more social areas.