The social welfare provided by the City of Rijeka to highly vulnerable groups has been very ramified and it includes different types of aid and subsidies intended for individuals and families within its Social Programme, as well as for associations and institutions that, by implementing their own programmes, provide psychosocial protection of citizens.

For a longer period of time the Social Programme of the City of Rijeka has been renowned as one of the best in Croatia, and its particularity is in a great number of different types of aid, as well as in minimum income thresholds based on which persons can become beneficiaries of single types of aid. Those thresholds are significantly above the state thresholds, therefore social protection standards in Rijeka are considerably higher.

The rights emanating from the social welfare provided by the City of Rijeka, including the rights laid down by the Law and the rights above the standards laid down by the Law, conditions and manners for their realisation and the procedure for realising these rights have been laid down and described by the Decision on the Social Welfare of the City of Rijeka.

It encompasses the reimbursement of costs and subsidies that socially disadvantaged citizens can realise.

Many associations and institutions in Rijeka additionally offer different social services as well as profane assistance aiming to improve the quality of life of highly vulnerable citizen groups. Owing to the co-financing of the City of Rijeka, most services are provided to beneficiaries free of charge.