The project for building of Sheltered House 2 in the Town of Sliven Ended Successfully

On 19th November in the town of Sliven was held the final conference on project “Deinstitutionalization of persons taken out from specialized institutions by establishing a Sheltered House in the town of Sliven” within the National PHARE 2006 Programme. As you already know, Marie Curie Association had the responsibility to conduct internal monitoring on the implementation of the project activities.

The Lead Organization is the Municipality of Sliven and the second partner is Initiative Compassion Foundation. The conference aimed at presenting the results and the achievements of the project and discussing the possibilities for future functioning of the newly created Sheltered House.

The conference was opened by Stoyan Markov (a representative of the Municipality of Sliven) who congratulated the team that had worked on the establishment of the Sheltered House and declared his intention on behalf of the Municipality to continue supporting the youngsters who have already lived for six months in “their new home” and in an environment close to the family one. Stanimira Nacheva (Project Manager) took the floor after him. She told in detail about all stages and activities implemented during the twelve months of the initiative. Eight days before the official end of the project can be said that all activities are performed qualitatively and on time. Ten young people with mental health problems, who have lived in the Children Institution in the town of Kermen, are accommodated in the Sheltered House. They now live new lives as adult citizens, establish their rights of personal choices, have personal space, acquire basic living, social, and occupational skills. All of the above said is confirmed by the way the youngsters behave themselves and from the results they show. If you are interested in how the life in the Sheltered House is organised and run you can visit the official webpage of the Municipality of Sliven where you will find detailed information and reports from the observations and the interviews made by the team of Marie Curie Association to the clients and the team of the Sheltered House.

Here is more for the conference on 19th November. After Ms. Nacheva the floor was given to Petya Grudeva from Marie Curie Association who told more about the advantages and the role of the Sheltered House. Another emphasis in her presentation was on the experience of some countries in providing the Sheltered House service. Then Genka Ivanova from Initiative Compassion Foundation delivered a presentation entitled “Partnership – success and stability”. The most exciting moment occurred when everyone saw the film for the life in the Sheltered House that was made by The Municipality of Sliven. What the film illustrated cannot be retold in words therefore parts of the film will be soon uploaded on the website of Marie Curie Association. This will help you to feel the atmosphere in the Sheltered House and to familiarize with the youngsters who daily advance with small steps towards their autonomous and independent lives. The video provoked strong emotions in the audience and some of the guests could not hold their tears. The emotional atmosphere was enhanced by Stanislav Penkov’s speech who is a friend of the Sheltered House. He once again highlighted the necessity of establishing more Sheltered Houses in order for more people with disabilities to live relatively independently and to get support according to their own needs.

The conference was closed by Ms. Stanimira Nacheva who expressed her hope that although the lack of delegated budget, the Sheltered House will continue to function after the end of the project and the quality of service there will be preserved.

So we can announce that one more project where Marie Curie Association participates as a partner is going towards its successful end or in other words, ten more young people with disabilities in Bulgaria changed their lives for good and found their place in our society.