The Home Of Blessings
Katrin Fiedler
 |
Laughter is the magic word at the Home of Blessings |
"Hello, hello!" a choir of young voices greets Amity's group of visitors. The boys and girls are visibly excited, moving restlessly around. "Let's start, let's start" a tall boy urges the rest of the group, and all of them burst into the "ABC song" to welcome their guests.
This is the Home of Blessings, a day care centre for young people with mental handicaps. Currently, nine boys and girls aged between 16 and 25 attend the centre as daily visitors. The home, located on premises that were given to Amity by the Hong Kong Yang Memorial Service Centre, consists of two flats remodelled to the needs of the group. Communal facilities such as living room, computer room, kitchen and even two bedrooms enable inhabitants to share a family-style life including both recreational and educational elements. "Right now, we use the bedrooms only for our lunchtime nap, but we hope to be able to offer round-the-clock service to relieve parents in emergency situations at some time in the future," explains Guo Lili, senior staff of the centre.
For the home's clients, every day starts with a stroll in the park. "Some of them need the exercise for rehabilitation purposes," explains Guo. The youngsters also receive training in life skills such as shopping, outing and visiting. Most of them can come alone to the home, but some have to be brought by parents or staff. "Their abilities differ widely - some of them are very independent, while others need help, for example during mealtimes," Guo Lili introduces some of the girls and boys. Apart from the general training offered to the whole group, each of them receives two sessions of individual coaching per week.
 |
Li Xia, one of the home's regulars |
The home was partly created on initiative of some Nanjing parents who felt the need for a day care facility for their handicapped children once the teenagers had graduated from Special Education School. In Nanjing alone, the number of young people with mental disabilities is estimated to be more than 16,000, but adequate facilities are lacking. Again Guo: "This means that many young people end up staying at home, being not properly looked after and feeling bored while their family members are out for work."
It is not only the young clients themselves that profit from the home; but also their wider families. Being able to give their offspring into a professional day care provides some relief for family members who often feel overwhelmed by the burden of having to look after their grown-up children. "Before Chen Xiaolei came into the home, his parents would quarrel a lot because of him. Now, the situation is much better," Guo Lili points out the boy who so enthusiastically greeted the guests upon their arrival. Chen Xiaolei, a friendly and cheerful 16-year-old, is extremely active and needs almost constant staff attention. Parents also meet regularly in a support group to share experiences and form bonds of mutual support.
The Home of Blessings is one of Amity's latest ventures, opened in April of 2002. As a legally separate entity, it marks a new form of initiative from the foundation. Amity staff helped in setting up the home, which is registered as an independent charity, and still continue to supervise it in major decisions. At the same time, day-to-day running of the home lies in the hands of qualified staff.
Guo Lili, the home's manager, came to her present job through a number of coincidences. "I don't have any formal training in special education, but I used to work as a supervisor in a factory that employed handicapped people. In fact, those workers were suffering from physical handicaps, while our current clients are young people with mental disabilities. However, a number of problems in working with these people are the same. Some of them lack confidence, for example, or they don't receive the same respect ordinary people do. At the same time, their thinking doesn't follow the hierarchical rules of some fully abled people."
Guo is assisted by three young graduates with degrees in special education and social work. Besides, the mother of one of the boys comes in on a part-time basis to do the cooking. With a staff-to-client ratio of one to two, the home is very well equipped personnel-wise, but financing the staff remains a big problem. "Currently, our young staff members receive only a fraction of what they would earn elsewhere, and we are concerned that this will create a problem of staff stability in the future. The home received a starting capital for one year from Amity, but then we will have to fend on our own. We are working hard to find solutions," explains Tan Liying, who oversees the home from Amity's side and functions as director.
 |
Guo Lili (left) with her assistant, Yang |
As of September, we will have to raise the monthly parental contribution to 290 RMB [US$ 36 approx.]," Tan continues. "Some of the parents actually wanted to withdraw their children from the centre because of financial reasons. But the young people like it so very much that they insisted in continuing to come. Here, they make friends and receive some training. At home, they would just sit around." The young people's smiles are proof enough of their support.
