Social center for mentally ill people in Slovakia

Separate - supported housing comes with many challenges. Suddenly, you need to take care of your household, get your own food, manage your finances, or deal with official matters. 

The more challenging thing is living alone for a person with a mental disorder. Being different does not mean that they cannot be independent.

Supported Housing in Dss - MOST, n.o. is a service for adults with mental health problems. Within five-year training program, our clients have the opportunity to try and stand alone to obtain the skills they would need for their independent life. Last year 2018, 11 clients used this service. One of them is Lucia, who has been our client for more than a year.

Lucia´s entering Supported Housing was a major change in her life associated with a lot of expectations. We bring to you an interview with her. 

Lucia: "It was a step forward for me to join into Supported housing of Dss-MOST, ngo.  I became more independent and it was good for me also, that I could be sure that I had the opportunity to ask my assistant to be there for me and help me.  I have someone, whom I can consult my problems, life issues. This helped relieve me of stress, and I was more confident that I didn't have to worry that my health or mental condition would get worse."

Supported housing comes with responsibilities and challenges. Suddenly, you need to take care of your household, get your food, manage your finances, or deal with official matters. Especially for people who do not have enough experience in this regard, these can be very challenging tasks. That is why we try to provide our clients with as much support as possible so that they do not have to deal with it alone.  Each client has a "key worker"- assistant, with whom he / she works individually during the entire stay in the supported housing. During meetings, they both devote themselves to practicing various practical skills and in small steps, moving closer to achieving their goals. Just like our Lucia.

Lucia: “I'm happy with my key assistant – Monika. Together we are developing my plans to work for my independence, and I have the chance to discuss some of the things that may bother me.”

Although it is not always easy to follow your goals, the commitment and strength of our clients is great. And great is Lucia's dream.

"The biggest benefit is that we are working with my key assistant on what's going to be next after my leaving this supported housing. My dream is to be able to live alone. With my health limits, I can't give such performances as healthy people; I have limited options, so I don't have a big earnings opportunity. We were looking for possibilities that would be real to me, such as a generic, social apartment. "

Although each of our clients dreams of something else, all their dreams have something in common. It is a desire for independent and fulfilled life.

Help us to get rid of the myths and preconceptions, so mentally ill people can live better lives!

Yours MOST (Bridge)

The memory training is aimed at stimulating the brain, strengthening cognitive functions such as attention, thinking and speech.

The memory training in House of social centre for mentally - MOST is more intensive now, thanks to our great volunteer, Mrs. Monika Kucharova.

Monika explains why it makes sense to devote our time to memory training:

“For the first time, I got my memory training during my university studies in the second year at B.A. degree. As part of my psychological practice, I attended many training sessions for clients with Alzheimer's dementia. I also attended a certified memory trainer course. I attended several trainings for seniors. I was also preparing training for mothers on maternity leave with children.

Clients of MOST like to work together, bringing new ideas to other exercises. Very quickly they got used to Wednesday afternoon with me, which makes me very happy.

This work enriches both me and my clients, brings with it positive results in the area of memory skills, increasing concentration and patience in training, which they can also carry into their lives. Different memory methods can be used in daily activities.

Memory training is aimed at stimulating the brain, strengthening cognitive functions such as attention, thinking and speech. By activating, we support all senses.

The aim of the meetings is to maintain and develop mental functions that are also disturbed by mental disorders. Activations are tailored to the needs of the trainees by respecting their health and current status. Every other training I try to increase the difficulty to achieve the expected results.

The regular exercise and mental activity increase their abilities. They will learn new techniques and methods of memory. The client also gets new social contacts, trains work in the group, tolerance and respect for other clients. Mental activities act as a protection against the deterioration of cognitive functions and thus positively affect health.

Trainings are held in the group and lasts 40 - 60 min. They consist of a concentration exercise in which clients practice their attention and perception. The movement part is aimed at stimulating the massage and exercising the blood circulation to the muscles. The main part deals with different exercises and tasks for concentration, memory and other cognitive functions.  Everybody has its own space and time to realize and express their opinion on the training.

The positive feedback from clients on my trainings motivates me and inspires my further collaboration”.

Help us to get rid of the myths and preconceptions, so mentally ill people can live better lives!

Yours

MOST (Bridge)