"Project receives backing from LuckSpirale in Wuppertal"
Community-Driven Project at Social Therapeutic Facility Unterstraße
The Social Therapeutic Facility Unterstraße in Germany is taking a unique approach to fostering community and social integration for individuals with mental impairments and substance abuse challenges. The project, which is being implemented in three phases, aims to create spaces that promote participation and community engagement, and enable encounters and foster new social contacts.
The facility, which houses 41 residents, offers individualized therapeutic support tailored to each resident’s unique mental health and substance abuse needs. This is achieved through personalized therapy plans, a structured daily routine, and a multidisciplinary team approach involving psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, addiction specialists, and support staff.
The project also focuses on social and vocational skill development, peer support and group therapy, community integration activities, and creating a safe and supportive environment. The ultimate goal is to help residents develop independence and self-efficacy, reduce recidivism and institutionalization, and foster a sense of belonging and identity.
The first phase of the project involves a joint neighborhood analysis, followed by a practical implementation phase with diverse activities, and a final phase to permanently anchor it in the neighborhood. The activities are participatory, community-oriented, and focus on an equal level, with the ideas and wishes of the residents being a key consideration in the project's funding and implementation.
Susanne Sabrautzky, the director of the Special Living Form Unterstraße, emphasizes the importance of spaces for exchange and self-efficacy. The project includes further development of the residents' proposals, such as the ideas for a neighborhood festival, public bookcase, and regular "open living room." These initiatives aim to strengthen social contacts and promote participation in social life, making the facility a "Special Living Form" of integration assistance.
The project's ultimate goal is to enable a self-determined life for its residents, with care provided in groups to encourage mutual support, reduce isolation, and build social networks within the therapeutic community. By fostering a sense of belonging and community engagement, the Social Therapeutic Facility Unterstraße is helping its residents regain autonomy and social connectedness.
Residents at the Social Therapeutic Facility Unterstraße are working towards a lifestyle that promotes independence and self-efficacy, which includes home-and-garden activities such as planning a neighborhood festival and creating a public bookcase, aiming to strengthen social connections and foster engagement with the local community.
The project also supports the development of residents' vocational skills and social networks, with a focus on providing a supportive environment that encourages mutual support and the creation of a community-driven home-and-garden space.
