Chernivtsi (Cernauti, Chernovitz) is a Ukrainian city with about 250,000 inhabitants. Relatively in the center of the city there is a large psychiatric institution with about 400 beds, which, like many of the psychiatric institutions in this region, in old K.u.K.. Buildings in huge parks, is divided into several pavilions. Despite the fact that the clinic is located relatively in the center of the city, it is completely isolated. The situation of psychiatric patients is very marginalized, and their needs and their potentials are not communicated and not taken into account.
With our project, we want to give this target group a voice and support them in articulating their needs. There are to be two focal points of activity. On the one hand, we want to create opportunities within the framework of psychiatry for patients to engage in creative activities and spend their free time constructively. For this we need resources for occupational therapy and art therapy activities and resources for leisure time activities.
On the other hand, the establishment of a Daycenter is intended to create a low-threshold offer that is primarily aimed at those affected, in the context of which encounters between disabled and non-disabled people can also take place. The Daycenter helps those affected to leave anonymity and to get in contact with directly or indirectly affected persons in a protected atmosphere. The Daycenter serves as a contact and aftercare center for former patients and those affected.
Furthermore, the Daycenter serves as a communication center and as a center for community work as well as anti-stigma work, which aims at overcoming these barriers and reducing prejudices. This overall process leads to a direct improvement in the living conditions of people with special needs and ultimately to better respect for human rights by the target group concerned.