Social inclusion vs social exclusion: The case of the Preiļi and Līvāni districts

In August 2021, we carried out a study of the needs of socially isolated people in the Preiļi and Līvāni districts of Latvia. The aim was to identify the real situation of social exclusion in rural areas of Latvia in order to provide a more complete picture of the needs of socially excluded groups and thus contribute to regional development policy, especially from the perspective of social inclusion. The qualitative research approach was chosen to acquire information: interviews with representatives of socially excluded groups and semi-structured interviews with professionals working with different categories of socially excluded people. Social exclusion is a sensitive topic for those who are socially disadvantaged, so the basic principles of research ethics were strictly observed: personal autonomy, non-harm, confidentiality and fairness. The study found that the most pronounced form of social isolation is exclusion from the labour market. People who are unemployed, are trapped in a ‘poverty cycle’ from which they cannot escape without the help of social institutions. The information obtained does not confirm the long-standing assumption that long-term unemployed are mere ‘consumers of the system’, nor does it confirm the assumption that socially isolated people have high expectations of a high salary. Sometimes existing attempts to improve the situation of socially isolated people are not in line with their real needs, thus failing to achieve the intended goal. In general, the specificity of the region is such that there are no mass one-size-fits-all solutions, but each situation and problem has to be tailored individually.