First sheltered living was opened in Moldova

First sheltered living was opened in Moldova

The first sheltered living for people with mental health problems was launched in the Republic of Moldova. The event took place on February 17, in Balti.                               
The first sheltered living is an apartment with 2 rooms in a block of apartments situated in the center of the town. Four beneficiaries will live in this apartment. The apartment is furnished and equipped with everything necessary for the clients, who say that they benefit of excellent living conditions.
The sheltered apartment was opened in Balti in the framework of the project implemented by the Association SOMATO with the financial support of European Union Delegation in Chisinau, Mental Health Initiative Open Society Institute from Hungary and Global Initiative Hilversum, Netherlands. Another project partner was Balti city hall.

The Ambassador Dirk Shuebel, the Chief of European Union Delegation in the Republic of Moldova visited the sheltered apartment opened in Balti on February 17.

Dirk Shuebel pointed out that the given project was a successful one. “People with mental health problems will live in human conditions in these livings. I like this project, because having small financial support they managed to realize important things”, Shuebel said.

The President of the Association „SOMATO”, Jana Chihai, said that the other sheltered apartments will be opened in summer of the current year. 16 people with mental health problems will live in these four sheltered apartments.

“Through opening sheltered living we want to achieve 2 goals: to contribute to the integration of people with mental health problems into society and to develop tolerant attitude towards these people among healthy population”, Jana Chihai said.

“In these sheltered apartments there will beneficiaries who already possess independent living skills, and one of the conditions is that they should have work. The beneficiaries will be monitored daily by social workers from Center „Somato”, who will help beneficiaries in their daily activities”, said Corina Popa, the director of Mental Health Center „Somato.

Communal services will be covered by local public authorities and beneficiaries will also pay a certain amount of payment for commodities.

Sheltered living project in Balti is implemented within the project “Development and piloting of sheltered living services for people with mental health problems in the North of Moldova”. The project was launched at the end of 2008 and is to be finished at the end of the current year. The budget of the program is about 295 000 Euros, of which about 220 000 Euros were allocated by the European Council Delegation in the Republic of Moldova.

Association „SOMATO”, that administrates a mental health center with the same name is a non-governmental organization with the headquarters in Balti municipality. It works in mental health since 1999 and is one of the first organizations in this field in the Republic of Moldova.

february 18, 2011