The Start of New Relationships to Support Children in Moscow

We’re working to build new relationships with Russian professionals in Moscow. On January 16, Charles Hooker, CEO of Keystone Human Services International, met with Svetlana Alekhina, the Director of the Institute on the Problems of Inclusive Education (IPIIE) to discuss comprehensive care for children with disabilities, inclusive education and training opportunities for the professionals who will provide these services.

This meeting was part of the Equal Access to Education for Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Moscow project, funded by Johnson & Johnson. As part of this project, the Keystone Foundation for Children and Families, located in Moscow, is working to assess the needs and readiness of key stakeholders to develop inclusive education for children with intellectual disabilities, beginning with the needs of schools and the community.

IPIIE has expressed interest in learning more about Social Role Valorization and Person Centered Planning, both of which are at the heart of all of Keystone’s services. Today, we welcome several Russian professionals from IPIIE who will be visiting Keystone in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania through the Open World Leadership Center, along with other professionals from various other social services organizations. During this visit, our Russian delegates will attend a Social Role Valorization workshop and visit some of our programs for children and adults, including Capital Area Head Start classrooms and a community home. They will also visit the Life Skills Program at Cumberland Valley High School and the programs at the Capital Area Intermediate Unit.

We’re looking forward to sharing our knowledge and experiences this week so that our ten delegates visiting from IPIIE and other Russian social services organizations can implement new approaches to effectively supporting children and adults with disabilities in their own regions.

“Forgotten Europeans”: A Video about Inclusion and Human Dignity

The United Nations is advocating for the community integration and inclusion of people with disabilities currently segregated from society in residential institutions. In accordance with international human rights laws and standards, they are calling for community-based services to support children and adults to live and participate in the community.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) developed the video “Forgotten Europeans” about the detrimental effects of institutionalization and the benefits of community integration and inclusion. One of the young men highlighted in the video is Mikhail. With the support of the Community for All-Moldova Program, Mikhail left the institution where he had spent over 20 years of his life and joined a family in the community through the program’s Lifesharing/Family Living service. He has been welcomed as a new member of the family, and not only is he learning important life skills, but he is learning what it means to be part of a family.

The Community for All-Moldova Program is being implemented through a partnership between the Open Society Mental Health Initiative (OSMHI), the Soros Foundation-Moldova, Keystone Human Services International (KHSI), Keystone Human Services International Moldova Association (Keystone Moldova) and the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family. The work of this partnership is at the forefront of the movement toward inclusion for all people in Moldova, regardless of ability.

The UN is calling for governments, NGOs and others to respect, protect and honor the rights of people with disabilities and to take on the responsibility of making this a reality in practice, not just words on paper. We are proud to be meeting this call and to have Mikhail featured in the video. There is much work ahead of us, but through efforts like the Community for All-Moldova Program, we can build a future where no person is “forgotten.”

A New Collaboration Agreement for the Continuation of Reform for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities

The Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, the Open Society Mental Health Initiative (OSMHI), Soros Foundation-Moldova, Keystone Human Services International and Keystone Human Services International Moldova Association have signed a new Collaboration Agreement for 2012-2016 to continue working toward the inclusion of people with disabilities in Moldova.

This Agreement ensures that the Community for All-Moldova Program will continue to be implemented, supporting individuals with disabilities to move out of the institutions and into the community. The community-based services that were developed and implemented, including Supported Living, Community Homes, Specialized Family Placement, and Professional Parental Assistance, will support individuals with disabilities and their families within the community. The Program partners have also committed to provide technical assistance and expertise to the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family for the development of the legal legislative-normative framework for these new community-based services for people with disabilities.

With this Agreement, we commit to continuing the reform of the system of care for people with disabilities and move closer to a community of inclusion, where all people can be active, valued members.

Read the full article on the Inclusion website.

Government of the Republic of Moldova Approves Mobile Team Service to Benefit Individuals with Disabilities and their Families

On Friday, September 30, the Regulations and Quality Standards of the Mobile Team Service entered into force. These Regulations and Quality Standards had been approved by the Government of the Republic of Moldova on September 22.

With the approval of the Mobile Team Service, people with disabilities and their families who live in rayons in Moldova where specialized services do not exist will be able to receive free care within their own homes. Within the past three months, 125 people have benefited from Mobile Team Services.

The normative regulations for the Mobile Team Service were developed by the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family with technical support from the Community for All-Moldova Program, implemented by Keystone Human Services International Moldova Association (Keystone Moldova). Financial support was provided by the Open Society Mental Health Initiative and the Soros Foundation-Moldova.

The development of the Mobile Team Service will help accomplish the commitments assumed by ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to create a legal environment, practical support and social inclusion for people with disabilities, as well as to create equal opportunities for all people within the community.

The Mobile Team Service serves as an alternative to other, more costly services, such as day or residential centers. The service includes several social service professionals who provide free assistance and psychological counseling, speech therapy, rehabilitation services, physical therapy, medical advice and other services at home to prevent children and young people from being institutionalized and to facilitate social inclusion of children with disabilities and their families. Services are provided based on the unique needs of the individual. Specialists from the Mobile Teams visit each family and evaluate the needs of the child or family member. Based on these identified needs, the specialists work together with local authority representatives and the person’s closest relatives to develop an individualized support plan.

Since 2010, the Mobile Team Service has been established in seven rayons and two municipalities in Moldova. In addition to the Mobile Team Service, the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, with support from Keystone Moldova through the Community for All-Moldova Program, has developed and approved the Strategy of Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities and the Framework Regulation and Quality Standards for the Community Home and Supported Living services. These laws regulate the activities of Community Homes in three rayons and Supported Living in two rayons.

Currently, the Community for All-Moldova Program supports 291 people. Forty-nine of those individuals are young men who have left the institution in Orhei and rejoined their communities, 34 have received differentiated assistance to prevent institutionalization, 125 people have benefited from the Mobile Team Service and 40 people have benefited from services offered by resource centers in inclusive education.

Congratulations to Moldova’s New Social Role Valorization Educators

Congratulations to the graduates of our Social Role Valorization Master Class! Seven of Keystone’s human service professionals in Moldova participated in the Master Class, where they learned to teach a brief one-day introduction to Social Role Valorization (SRV).

The Master Class is part of an education development initiative to teach human service professionals in Moldova how to teach brief SRV workshops to colleagues, local public authorities, families, and new program staff. The principles of Social Role Valorization form the foundation of all of Keystone Human Services’ community-based services and supports for men, women and children with disabilities. Betsy Neuville, the executive director of the Keystone Institute and a credentialed educator of SRV, served as the coach and mentor for the participants in the Master Class.

The principles of SRV require serious study and practice in order to teach, and the Master Class provided human service professionals with the opportunity to develop their teaching skills. On the first day, each participant prepared a section of a short SRV workshop and presented it to their peers, co-trainers and senior trainer. Each presentation was followed by a round-table discussion among the group to provide the presenter with immediate feedback. The presenter then had the opportunity to re-work their presentation, incorporating the suggestions of their peers. Each presentation was videotaped to give the presenters the opportunity for self-review and critique for improvement.

On the second day of the Master Class, participants presented a one-day overview of SRV, “Natural Pathways to the Good Life – A One Day Introduction to Social Role Valorization,” for social workers, new community home staff, allied organizations and family members, under the overall coaching and guidance of Betsy.

The Master Class, including the workshop, was very successful. The graduates worked hard to create and practice a standardized format for SRV, and they even developed their own curriculum. “I am so impressed with the hard work and talent of this group,” said Betsy. “I look forward to assisting them to work toward teaching the more advanced materials and workshops, and connecting them to other leaders and educators of SRV.”

Graduates include Sergiu Toma, Tatiana Zavtoni-Oprea, Oksana Costandaki, Ecaterina Golovatii, Eliza Caus, Nelea Panfil, and Elizaveta Stratulat. These men and women join Nicolae Besliu, the Family Support Services Manager for the Community for All-Moldova Program as Moldova’s first generation of SRV educators.

Requests for training and workshops in Social Role Valorization are increasing, as more individuals and regions of the world begin exploring the principles of SRV and supporting individuals with disabilities to lead “the good life” as active participants in the community.

One graduate, Eliza Caus, will join Betsy in Antalya, Turkey in October to assist with an SRV workshop for the Open Society Mental Health Initiative (OSMHI) project partners. Workshop attendees will be coming from 13 different countries to increase their knowledge about supporting individuals with disabilities to lead full lives in their communities. 

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A Place to Call Home

“I cried when they took me from the institution – not because I was sorry but because I was glad to leave that place,” said Ion. He is one of four young men who have moved out of the institution at Orhei into a new Community Home in Moldova.

This Community Home, located in Orhei Raion, is one of the first of its kind in the country. This community-based service for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities opened on August 18 and was developed by Keystone Human Services International Moldova Association (Keystone Moldova), in partnership with the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family and the Orhei Raional Council as part of the Community for All-Moldova Program. Support for this program is provided by grants from the Open Society Mental Health Initiative (OSMHI) and the Soros Foundation-Moldova.

The home is a fully furnished, comfortable residence designed to meet the needs of the four young men who live there. It embodies the qualities that are usually associated with a home – comfort, safety, personal space, a sense of family, and a place to belong.

The young men living in the home receive support from direct support professionals in their daily activities and participation in the community. These supports are based on person centered planning, a process for developing individualized service plans. Each young man receives support based on his unique needs, goals and dreams. Services include social assistance, psychological counseling, healthcare, development of independent life skills, teaching assistance in school integration, assistance in accessing other community services and support to families to improve children’s wellbeing.

These young men had spent almost their whole lives in residential institutions, and their first day at their new home was full of emotion and new experiences. “I’ve never had a meal with flowers on the table,” said Ion, who lived at the Orhei Institution for seven years. “It’s so nice. It feels like a real family here.”

As an alternative to institutionalization for individuals with disabilities, this Community Home is the result of several years of hard work and dedication. Since 2008, Keystone Moldova, the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, OSMHI and the Soros Foundation-Moldova have worked to develop and implement the Community for All-Moldova Program. This Program, guided by the values embodied in the theory of Social Role Valorization, is working to support individuals to have valued social roles and live “the good life” with opportunities for equal participation, education, work, dignity, respect and acceptance in the community.

To sustain these new services, the necessary Regulatory Frameworks and Quality Standards were created jointly by the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family and Keystone Moldova and approved by the government in 2010. Significant effort has been placed on building strong relationships with the local public authorities, which will be responsible for supporting these services financially over the long term. The opening of this home is a momentous milestone for the Community for All-Moldova Program and for Moldova.

Four more people from the Orhei Institution will be moving into a new Community Home in Soroca Raion at the beginning of September. As of this writing, 269 boys and young men from the Orhei Institution and children in the community at risk of institutionalization have benefited from the Community for All-Moldova Program’s support.

There is much more to be done to support social integration and acceptance for all people, regardless of ability or disability. Today, however, we celebrate the great strides that have been made as four young men settle into their new home in the community.

Remembering the Life of Lyudmila Senner

Guest post by Maria Dolbunova, General Director of Keystone Foundation for Children and Families

We are saddened to announce that Lyudmila Senner, a member of the Board of Trustees of Keystone Foundation for Children and Family, passed away on July 12, 2011. Lyudmila had a bright and unique personality, and she gave hope to many people. She will be remembered by many for her wisdom and generosity.

Lyudmila taught for ten years at the University, sharing her experience and knowledge with youth and inspiring them to cultivate kindness and have confidence in their strength. After graduating from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institutes in 1971, she spent more than 20 years working in the computer information and technology field.

During the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system (Perestroika) in the 1980s, Lyudmila changed her profession and devoted herself to serving and advocating for children and families with disabilities through “Faith,” a society of parents of children with disabilities. She became a member of the City Council and actively participated in protecting the interests of children with disabilities. In addition, she organized charitable events, conferences and international meetings that led to the improvement of Russian legislation and helped change Russian society’s attitude toward children with disabilities.

Lyudmila worked on the commission for children with disabilities under the Russian President. She was one of the creators of “Torches of Soul,” a unique performance that children with disabilities participated in. “Torches of Soul” was praised by the Patriarch Alexiy II and the Order of Mother Teresa. Lyudmila’s active work, her charm and her influence inspired many international charities in Germany and France to change their attitude toward Russia.

For her professionalism in working with families of children with disabilities, she received the Order of the Malta Cross. Through her care, many families had opportunities to access education and build a bright future. In 1990, she created “Opportunity,” Russia’s first “home” school for children with disabilities, and she served as the school’s director for over 10 years. Raisa Gorbacheva praised her professional work, awarding her with the first degree diploma of the Raisa Gorbacheva Club.

Since 1996, Lyudmila led the department of social work at the University “Dubna.” Besides her professional qualities, University faculty highly valued her as a responsive and caring person. Students enjoyed her lectures, workshops, picnics and evening meetings, where they learned to be professional and responsible. Lyudmila created a unique event for the University as part of the “Creators’ Carousel” project that had over 100 children creating a city of dreams.

Lyudmila actively helped those who turned to her with any request, and because of her dedication to serving others, many families were able to remain intact, lives were improved and families gained a sense of hope for a better future. She was also a wonderful mother, wife, grandmother and friend, and she welcomed many guests from around the world into her home.

For Keystone Foundation for Children and Families, Lyudmila’s wisdom, experience, strength of her convictions, warmth of her soul, faith and optimism will always help inspire and guide our endeavors.

Read a commemoration of her life in Russian.