Let Me Help You Find Bliss

Sexualita lidí se zdravotním postižením je v Česku tabu. I oni ale mají erotické touhy a potřebují sexuální prožitky. Situaci se v posledních letech snaží měnit spolek Freya, který vzdělává zájemce o práci sexuálních asistentů a asistentek. Ti pak pomáhají lidem s hendikepem cítit se lépe ve vlastním těle. Ukazují jim, jak jim v tom může pomoct sexualita, erotické pomůcky nebo různé typy dotyku. Služba klientům nabízí šanci naplnit základní lidské potřeby a zažít potěšení. Lidé, kteří sexuální asistenci využívají, říkají, že jim pomohla formovat sebevědomí i psychické zdraví.

The Network for Inclusion of People with Special Needs (NIPSN) provides empowerment-based counseling, needs-specific rehabilitation, assistive equipment, and vocational training to people with disabilities. Residents live in a dormitory for up to 18 months while they receive services, including training to use assistive technologies. NIPSN also provides vocational training, like making vases, beads, and soap, which can provide a sustainable livelihood. NIPSN helps children finish school and provides free raw materials, equipment, and a small stipend to help residents start producing goods independently.

A residential home for disabled children in Gomel, Belarus is setting an example for similar facilities by changing the model of care. Designed with the goal of reuniting the children with their families, the facility uses a model of education that aims to support, not substitute families while still emphasizing a "family atmosphere."

Part 3 of the Caregivers Crisis series: In light of a shortage of state group living facilities in Illinois, one family is partnering with a non-profit to retrofit their home into a safe, independent living space for their autistic son, creating a future for him when his aging parents can no longer take care of his daily needs.

Institutionalizing the mentally ill can exacerbate their symptoms, while dehumanizing them and taking away opportunities for agency. For centuries, the town of Geel in Belgium has a government-funded program that places “boarders” in residential homes where they receive care like a family member. The solution to the problem is to not treat the mentally ill as a social problem, but rather as a social norm.

To eliminate the practice of custody relinquishment to mental health services, some states are building more comprehensive systems of care for children that focus on crisis prevention and de-escalation. More accessible and affordable wraparound services have reduced the need for and use of inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations, emergency rooms, juvenile detention, residential treatments, and police involvement.

Several projects are currently working toward full deinstitutionalization by transferring residents of institutional care facilities to community-based homes. In these community homes, residents will be taught the necessary skills to help them reintegrate into society and live independently despite the challenges they may face, whether that be mental health disorders or developmental disabilities. So far, 171 people have been moved out of institutions to group homes.

The Myanmar-based organization, Strong Flowers, is providing men and women with sex and gender education. Teaching such classes in a notoriously conservative culture can be challenging, but founder Dr. Thet Su Htwe and her curriculum on gender roles, menstruation, gender-based violence, and reproduction have been welcomed.

An apartment complex in Golden Valley, Minnesota offers unique services and support for adults with developmental disabilities. The complex, called New Cornerstone Creek, offers independent living and community spaces for these adults, creating a sense of control and freedom for individuals who otherwise typically live with their family well into adulthood.

Healing trauma has never been an easy process but programs like Healing Hurt People help to promote recovery in traumatized, angry young men. This program, in partnership with local medical services, aims to provide therapy in place of violence, which would only cause more trauma down the road. Those who stick with the program have found great success in overcoming their pasts.