First sheltered apartments in Moldova open doors in Balti
The first sheltered apartment in the Republic of Moldova will be opened in March 2011 in Balti, a town in the North of Moldova. The other three sheltered apartments will be ready for the use of beneficiaries – people with mental health problems – in May-August of the current year. Jana Chihai, the president of the Association „SOMATO”, the institution which is implementing this pioneering project for the Republic of Moldova, said that Balti is the first locality in the country in which sheltered apartments became reality. “Several years ago this idea seemed to be unrealizable”, said Jana Chihai. In the sheltered apartments, which have been allocated gratis by the local public authorities, and which have been renovated and arranged within the project, there will live 16 people with mental health problems from Balti.
“In these houses, people with mental health problems will obtain living skills, while social assistants will help and will encourage them to integrate into society”, says Jana Chihai.
The opening of the first four sheltered apartments in Moldova is possible due the project “Development and piloting of sheltered apartments for people with mental health problems in the Republic of Moldova” funded by European Union Delegation and Mental Health Initiative Open Society Institute, Hungary and Global Initiative Hilversum, the Netherlands. Another project partner is Balti city hall.
One of the coordinators of the service “Mobile Team” from the Association „SOMATO”, Corina Popa, says that during project implementation, 60 people with mental health problems from Balti will benefit of medical care, psychiatric and psychological counseling at home, offered by mobile team that comprises medics and social assistants.
„21 people with mental health problems have already benefited of mobile team service”, said Corina Popa.
Within this project there were also organized 2 cycles of instructions for specialists involved in the implementation of the program. Trainings were conducted by experts from the Netherlands. By the end of 2010, specialists from Center „SOMATO” effectuated a study visit to the Netherlands to get acquainted with the functioning of the sheltered houses system in this country.
Project “Development and piloting of sheltered apartments for people with mental health problems in the Republic of Moldova” was launched at the end of 2008 and is to be finished at the end of the current year.
Association „SOMATO”, which administrates the center with the same name, is a non-governmental organization with the headquarters in Balti municipality. The Association works in the field of mental health since 1999 and is one of the first organizations in this field from the Republic of Moldova.