Housing Facilities

What is Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Psychosocial rehabilitation, within the framework of mental health, does not stop at hospitality and meeting basic needs. It starts from the principle that every beneficiary is first and foremost a human being with rights, needs and wishes — not merely a “patient”. Our goal is the gradual regaining of independent living skills, through daily practical exercise in real home conditions, not institutional ones. Therapeutic care, supportive psychotherapy and training in daily living skills coexist, so that every beneficiary lives with dignity and the greatest possible autonomy.

Alongside care, psychology and psychiatry as sciences are basic tools of our work, but at the same time our philosophy is based on the simple principle: “we care as we would at home for our own people, our loved ones, our family. The rules of rehabilitation are often hidden in our everyday life.” Here psychology does not remain theory; it becomes daily practice.

Housing Facilities: the rules of a home

Our housing facilities — Residential Care Facilities and Sheltered Apartments — do not operate like a clinic or an institution, but as a home. The rules we follow are the rules of ordinary family daily life: regular mealtimes, sharing of household chores, care for personal appearance and hygiene, respect for personal space and for the pace of others, social interaction inside and outside the home. Within this framework, the following come to be added to, and not to overshadow, daily living: psychiatric and nursing care, cleanliness of the premises, psychological support of the residents and their families in all that concerns them, care for their social needs (welfare and legal matters, bureaucratic procedures, KEPA [Disability Certification Centre] etc.), as well as occupational therapy and physiotherapy where needed — always by the specialised staff who are our collaborators. A psychiatrist, an internist, doctors of other specialties where necessary as external collaborators, a psychologist, social workers, an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist, nurses and general duties workers surround a home that needs daily and unceasing (24-hour) care, for dignity and equal living within the Community — and never on its margins. What are we, ultimately? We are homes! Homes that care, celebrate, embrace, are moved, love, participate, go out, laugh, go on holiday, drink coffee, order takeaway, shop in the community — doing what all of us do within it. They are here in good times and in hard times. This is who we are. And this is what we call psychosocial rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.

The philosophy of reintegration

The journey of a person with mental health issues, from the Residential Care Facility to the Sheltered Apartment and, where feasible, to full social reintegration, is the ideal path we strive for — not a path that is always or automatically followed. For every person the pace and limits are different, and we respect that, even when full independence cannot be made possible. We give particular importance to residents who, for any reason, have been cut off from their families. We seek their reunion with their family environment — either by encouraging this rapprochement within the framework of their stay in the Residential Care Facility or Sheltered Apartment, or, where it arises and is feasible, through full reunification by the resident’s return to their home, if circumstances allow, and their full socialisation.

An integral part of this journey is the fight against stigma surrounding mental health and social exclusion. That is why our residents take an active part in activities within the community — celebrations, excursions, sports activities, cultural events (cinema, theatre) and educational/social activities — so that contact with their fellow citizens is frequent, natural and two-way, and so that the community knows them not through “stigma”, but through their daily, tangible presence in it.

And we are proud to have achieved this, from 2006 until today. To have been accepted, embraced and supported by the two Municipalities, Peristeri and Ilion, as well as by the local communities, the shops, the neighbours. And we are even more proud of them, because our presence did not “trouble” them at all, as one might perhaps have feared. Quite the opposite. And it would be an omission not to extend here, to all of them in the two communities, a big and warm THANK YOU! Our Residential Care Facilities remain a living part of these communities.

Organisation and Operating Rules in the Residential Care Facilities

Our housing facilities — Residential Care Facilities and Sheltered Apartments — are governed by Internal Operating Regulations, which constitute a common code of communication between residents and staff. Its aim is smooth and harmonious coexistence, clarity of the roles and responsibilities of the Therapeutic Team, respect for the dignity and rights of the residents, and the creation of living conditions as close as possible to a natural, family environment. The Regulations safeguard specific rights of residents: individualised care with respect for human dignity, respect for privacy and their personal choices, the right to full information about their therapeutic programme and to participation in decisions concerning them, and observance of medical confidentiality in every circumstance, with respect for the mental health of each resident. At the same time, they clearly define the mutual obligations of residents and staff, so that daily life is based on mutual respect. The same Regulations apply equally to both Residential Care Facilities of the Centre, as well as to the corresponding Sheltered Apartments.

We strictly observe the principles of personal data protection (General Data Protection Regulation GDPR – EU 2016/679, Law 4624/2019). Any information concerning the health, personal or family situation of a resident is collected exclusively for therapeutic support purposes, is treated with absolute discretion, and residents (or their legal representatives) retain the full right of access, rectification or erasure of their data, in accordance with the applicable legal framework. Housing facilities are a basic pillar of community care for the psychosocial rehabilitation and social reintegration of the residents.