Összefogás Industrial Cooperative
INTRODUCTION
Our cooperative was established on 7 January 1986 after a four years’ preparation period. It was founded by 15 individuals – 13 disabled people and 2 parents. At that time neither foundations nor private social care services could be established. Our plan was to provide complete occupational and residential services, but only occupation was possible to provide at that time. We became a supported organization in 1986.
Before founding the cooperative Erzsébet Szekeres succeeded to receive a 3,5 hectares’ land from the agricultural cooperative in Csömör. A volunteering architect – László Damokos – designed to this land a group of buildings which has continuously been constructed until now.
By 1989 people with disabilities were working only at home. We did not have office, store-room or workshop. We only received governmental support to the extent that was defined in relevant laws and regulations. Until 1989 we did our best to raise funds: we submitted different applications to the local government, developed projects and gathered donations. At the end of 1989 we managed to establish our first workshop in Budapest and one in the country. This was the year when we implemented our first supported project which helped us in starting the construction of the centre. We launched our training program.
The organization was based on incoming problems and on our intention to solve them to help people with special needs and their families, relatives. This period – between 1986-1989 – resulted in rapid quantitative development, due to serious and burning needs. When we reached a certain number, which was over manageability within the actual structure, we reorganized our organization. Our system was developed by balancing between actual regulations, local specialities and practical circumstances with much creativity. We had to work out training and development methods to enable adults, who grew up in institutions, to carry out available works. It is important that they should not consider what they cannot do but what they able to perform.
Countryside sites of the cooperative were established following local occupational needs with residential services articulated by parents, schools, local governments or the disabled themselves. One of the basic principles of the cooperative is that people with special needs should stay in their familiar settings and should not be crowded in one place, so in collaboration with local organisations we established employment facilities locally. We have 19 sites in the country at the moment.
was established by Összefogás Industrial Cooperative which has been running small group residential homes since 1992. Egyenlő Esélyekért (For Equal Rights) Foundation was founded in 1999 aiming to assure human life, work and amusement for people with special needs. The Foundation has been maintaining the Home for the Disabled since December 2001 from governmental support and project budgets. The Home provides care, support for the clients focusing on their possible integration to a normal social setting. We intend to find more and more developmental, treatment methods being available for families of people with disabilities to make them able to live as complete life as possible. Our fundamental principles are voluntariness, client-centered individual care and operation based on normalisation policy.
The institution provides permanent home, as well adequate physical, health and psychic care for youngsters with mental and multiple disability. We do our best to provide not only individual care, but individual development according to normalisation and integration policies. Our primary aim is to develop our residents’ relative independence. Small groups of residents support the everyday life of our clients.
In our institution we regularly organise cinema and theatre visits, one-day excursions, small group events. We are planning to introduce regular sport programs, like horse-riding, swimming.
Every year we provide opportunity for participation in longer holidays, e.g. in Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Transylvania, the Netherlands.
Considering our residents’ age, partnership, sexuality and growing up children are the issues that primarily interest our clients. To answer their questions we regularly organise group and individual, or pair discussions with physicians, teachers or nurses.
In many cases we organised successful debt management programs. Accidentally family counselling was required. Services are always organised after careful consideration of actual needs.
They organise, direct and control physical development of resident of the institution.
Tasks
- Regular physical development of people with severe physical disability, 2-3 times a week
- Participating at orthopaedic examinations, helps the physician’s work
- Assessing needs for and supply of necessary orthopaedic aids.
- In acute cases providing physiotherapy, motor development, physical therapy, massage, depending on diagnosis
- Post-operative rehabilitation
- Establishing, continuous development of therapy facilities
- Continuous participation at retrainings
- Organising therapies, preparing work schedules
- Co-operation with workgroup leaders in therapy development linked to the residents’ employment
- Assessing physical status of the residents
- Education on maintaining a healthy way of life
Our residents are people with special needs, which does not necessary mean that they are ill. But in spite, there should be a well-organised health prevention, healthcare service system.
Regarding accidental communication difficulties and some problems that could occur during examinations, treatments, it is essential to form an experienced, conscientious group of professionals.
To prevent our clients’ health and to provide continuous control our Home employs physicians (home physician, psychiatrist, neurologist, gynaecologist) in part-time employment or on individual basis or by providing areal care access right of the physicians.
Our goal is to assure that our residents could live, work, relax, have fun, develop their independence, make decisions and undertake their consequences, as their normal fellow-men.
Care personnel should always respect human dignity, right to self-determination and needs of the residents paying attention to specific circumstances. The residents’ contact with the outworld should be assured, supported.
It is the responsibility of the occupational staff to assure that resident could choose activity with respect to his actual status and abilities.
Any problem regarding the life and operation of the residential home could and should be discussed at the meeting of the residents and care staff.
During the last years a special conflict management method has developed which works very effectively and has become a part of our everyday life. This is the foundation of a peaceful, quiet coexistence.
The resident and his relative (curator) have the right to complain to the director of the institution or to the Interest Representation Forum (IRF) in order to find solution for problems regarding damage of individual rights, breach of property protection and security obligations, or complaint on quality or circumstances of care.
The Interest Representation Forum serves the interest of those who are in legal relationship with the institution and those who are cared for in the institution.
Members of the Interest Representation Forum:
- 2 individuals elected by the meeting of the residents
- 1 person representing employees
- 1 person representing parents (curators)
- Representative of the maintainer, Egyenlő Esélyekért Foundation, as the President of the IRF.
Establishment and regular calling of the Interest Representation Forum is the responsiblity of the maintainer.
Two legal experts volunteered to provide legal representation in different legal and litigious cases.
Specialists regularly visit our institution when required.
Internal specialist: dr. György Aszalós
Tuesday: from 2 p.m.
Occupational health specialist: dr. Erzsébet Köteles
Thursday: from 10 a.m.
Neurologist: dr. Attila Nagy
If necessary, but regularly, once a month
Orthopaedist: dr. Tibor Besze
If necessary, but regularly, once a month
Psychologist : Erzsébet Martényi
If necessary, but regularly, once a week
Dermatologist: dr. Julianna Horváth
If necessary, but regularly, once a month
Surgeon: dr. József Marik
If necessary.
Physiotherapist: Kinga Ulrich
Regularly, 6 hours a day
Physiotherapist: Hajnal Ábrám
Regularly, 4 hours a day
Management of the small group residential home attentively and with much humaneness organise and conduct lives of our residents and employees. Regardless their status, people in our institution are integrated in small group residential homes, as it is a form which provides quiet, balanced and family-like way of living. It is possible for everyone to maintain a personal life in an individual living-space, to learn adult roles and to participate in housework at a reasonably expectable level.
It is the responsibility of the helpers what support and assistance should the resident get.
- We would like to further expand the insitute by adding the planned rooms and living quarters to the main bulding. We would also like to add kitchens and bathrooms to the existing rooms, in order to provide an opportunity for using these facilities seperately from the others.
- We plan to establish a “crises house” in our central facility which would provide for three or four patients with serious behavioral problems. Several assistants would work here helping to create an adequate social behaviour, so that after two or three years the patients would be able to join in the working and living community.
- Our plans include an integrated development, in which apartments built to the model of one or two roomed flats would accomodate impaired people capable of life on their own. The development would be shared with healthy people as well. Help would be available from a central office.
- We also plan new live-in homes, where impaired men and women could live and work with the community of the city or town in a family-like environment.
Future Plans 2
- e would like to establish a therapeutic center, where diagnostic and therapeutic services would be available also to impaired patients.
- Besides traditional cures, we would offer alternative, natural methods, which are appropriate for diagnosing patients unable to speak. The methods include the Tomatis method, qxel, homeopathics, etc.
- We would also like to create a Snozelen room.
- A regeneration and recreation center with eight rooms suitable for classes, camps, and continuing education would be started on a farm in Bakonykuti.
- We would like to have a day care program for 12 to 18 year olds who are severly impaired or are suffering from several impairments. They would be prepared for life in a live-in home and for work by specialists.
- We also plan to start a special school, which would help the impaired get ready for work in the real world.
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