Slovakia
Slatinka social service home
Slatinka Social Service Home in Lučenec has been providing social services to people with mental disabilities since 1951. It is located in a historical manor house outside the town of Lučenec. At present there are 54 clients living in the Home. In 2006 the transformation process of the SSH was begun with the support of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region and the Board for Advising in Social Work in Bratislava. In 2006 – 2007 the institution organized training courses for all its staff aimed at changing their attitude. In 2007 – 2008 a family house in Lučenec was reconstructed and since November 2008 it has provided relatively independent conditions for living to 6 clients of the institution. Currently, the SSH is attempting a rental of another property to enable other clients to leave the institution. The long-term aim of the transformation processes in the SSH is to gradually create conditions for social integration of all clients now living in the institution.
presentation (8.0 MB)
film document (28.1 MB)
Janka
Janka is a young lady who has many ambitions in her life. She likes other people and especially her boyfriend Milan. When she was a school girl she had to leave home for a special boarding school in another town where she stayed after finishing basic school and trained to be a dressmaker. She has never wanted it and later has never done this profession. When she returned home she did not know anybody apart from her mother and was not able to do things herself. But she was very enthusiastic and after we met she started using the public transport, getting to know the town, new people, going to a club... Then she decided to become more independent, persuaded her mother and left home again to live in a supported living facility.
presentation (161.4 KB)
Rasto
A story of a young man, Rasťo, who got into the social service system as a 4-months old baby and then, due to bad diagnoses, spent 18 years of his life in a social service home. His life changed in 2008 when he moved into a supported living facility in Lučenec. During the first year in the new environment Rasťo has made a substantial progress towards becoming an independent person.
presentation (1.1 MB)
Pohorelská Maša
It has been three years now since the transformation of the Pohorelská Maša SSH started. It is aimed at improving the quality of provided services and social and work integration of its clients. One of our goals was to enable 7 female clients employed in a sheltered workshop to live like a family outside the SSH in the village of Pohorelá. Their dreams and hopes came true in December 2008 when they started living in a reconstructed house in the village. Each of them enjoys privacy – their lives have changed dramatically and become similar to ours. We have opened the door to our life for them and overcome barriers and prejudices about people with disabilities. We have shown the people around that even persons with disability can take part in day-to-day social life on the same level as others. They can be independent, they are not mere objects of social services – they can actively partcipate on its development.
Hope for New Life
presentation (1.4 MB)
