01 544 47 60
Counseling phone
Housing groups
Housing groups are intended for adults with long-term mental health issues who need professional support and assistance for optimal functioning in everyday life. The concept of the program is based on empowering users and adapting to their needs. We make decisions related to their daily lives together with them. With such an approach, users gain the opportunity to co-decide, choose and take responsibility for their decisions and increase the impact on their lives.
The goals of the program, with which we want to influence changes in users, are: user satisfaction, community life, normalization, empowerment, reduction of hospitalizations, expansion of social network, quality leisure time, reduced stigma, users’ contribution to co-creation of services, user safety, knowledge and the exercise of rights, the ability to live relatively independently and the relocation of the user (independent living). Other goals of the program are: promotion, destigmatization of mental health in the community and acceptance of the program in the local environment.
The Network of Housing Groups program is implemented at various locations in Ljubljana, in a house in Prevalje, and in a house in Senože near Litija. Accommodation is available in furnished residential units, in single or double rooms, and residents can purchase additional equipment according to their wishes. Apartments in Ljubljana are located near shops, bus stops, health centers, post offices and banks.
The conditions for inclusion in the program are as follows:
• an adult citizen of the Republic of Slovenia,
• application in writing, opinion of the psychiatric profession, opinion of soc. services,
• voluntary inclusion,
• involvement in the process of psychiatric treatment,
• abstinence from alcohol and other illicit substances,
• regulated additional payment of costs.
Office hours:
Every working day between 8 am and 4 pm.
Contact:
Phone: 01/ / 544 37 93
E-mail: info@altra.si
Personally: Zaloška c. 40, Ljubljana (first floor on the right)
Unit in Prevalje: 02/ 824 09 10 93 in 051 343 098
Housing group Senožeti
It is carried out in a larger residential house in Senožeti, where we offer psychosocial support, care and perform various activities for twelve residents. In addition to regular individual and group activities with users of the program, in our vision, we strive to actively connect with the local community and develop mental health services in the community in the Zasavje region.
Senožeti is one of the largest villages in the municipality of Dol pri Ljubljani and lies in the far east of the municipality. It is 20 kilometres away from Ljubljana and has about 900 inhabitants, a primary school, a fire station, a shop and some catering services. Due to its location between the valley of the Sava river and its connection to the Polhov Gradec hills, Senožeti offers direct contact with nature and the possibility of excursions to the surrounding area.
In Senožeti there is only a small local shop and a bus stop in the village. Everything else – personal doctor, dentist, pharmacy, post office, butcher, ATM, etc., is located in Dolsko and Dol pri Ljubljani, which are about 8 km away from the housing unit.
Due to the distance from the above, the operation of the program in the Senožeti unit is specific. The employees take care of the purchase and delivery of food and other household necessities for the group daily. Users are also involved in purchasing with their suggestions, wishes and presence. A joint lunch is cooked in the house every day, according to the choice of menus and the schedule agreed in the group. Other meals are prepared by each user.
Housing group Prevalje
In May 2001, we opened the first housing group in Prevalje, where three residents from the Koroška region moved in. The first move-in was in December 2001 and this was our second housing group. Contracts/agreements are concluded between the user, the beneficiary, the financier (local community) and the contractor for the implementation of the services of the housing group program. This means that users are involved as equal contracting parties both in the implementation and in monitoring the quality of services.
We are based on fundamental values and principles that cannot be ignored today when planning mental health services – social justice, solidarity, the choice of social services and services, preserving human dignity and preventing social exclusion. Users need to work in their local community, and the way they work must be geared towards realizing the user’s rights and desires. The residential house in Prevalje is located in the city centre, with all the necessary infrastructure. The program offers the possibility of accommodating 8 users.
Housing group Ljubljana
The beginning of the housing group program dates back to the late 1980s when the Committee for the Social Protection of Madness – the predecessor of the Altra Association – publicly warned of inadequate treatment of people with mental health problems. Between 1992 and 1995, we worked closely with the good practice of deinstitutionalisation, as was the case in Gorizia, Trieste and the United Kingdom, and developed a similar model of care.
In 1992, we opened the first housing group in Ljubljana called “Mavrična druščina”, which was also the first housing group in the field of mental health in Slovenia, and moved the first four users from the Hrastovec Institute. Through all the years of operation, we have adapted the experience gained (services and methods of work) to the needs and wishes of our users. We have been following the process of deinstitutionalisation from the beginning and striving for the full integration of people with mental health problems into society
For housing groups, we rent six apartments in pleasant Ljubljana neighbourhoods (Moste and the Center of Ljubljana). We offer accommodation to 30 users of psychiatric services. Residential units are fully equipped, users of the program have the option of staying in single or double rooms. Residents can also, if they wish, purchase additional equipment. All apartments are located in the urban centre and near the necessary infrastructure (bank, shop, post office, public transport).