FEDAIA ha compartido esto
I really enjoyed being FEDAIA in Barcelona last week. Both the Spanish and Catalonian governments are working hard to take the long-standing problem of institutionalisation seriously and thinking deeply about what institutionalisation really means - and therefore what deinstitutionalisation requires of us. I was honoured to be asked to leaders from government and civil society who are concerned with the futures for children, adolescents and families. They are clear that current services - which still tend to be triggered by exclusion, family breakdown and poverty - are not right. But what is the alternative? My talk focused on what we can learn positively from some of the shortfalls of deinstitutionalisation in other countries: 1. It's not about the buildings, it's about freedom - We need to understand that what makes an institution an institution in the negative sense is that these institutions (care homes, hospitals, camps etc.) eradicate freedom. If we don't understand the importance of freedom we can easily replace one institution with another smaller institution. 2. It's not about the staff, it's about love - Often staff working in institutions are stigmatised and treated as the problem, even though they themselves are shaped by institutional pressures. The challenge is to recognise the important of relationships in all our lives. Love has many forms and family, friends and partners can all play their part - but good professional support is also a form of love - caring, trustworthy and hopeful - our unwillingness to recognise this is a great handicap in imaging better solutions. 3. It's not about the institution, it's the forces that lead to the institution - If we do not tackle the upstream factors that create institutions we'll be constantly battling to simply do as little damage as possible. We need to go upstream to strengthen citizens, families, communities, social justice and to restore our relationship with nature. Thanks to the whole team for inviting me. I found the experience really thought-provoking and I hope to publish my talk in a little while. Citizen Network John O'Brien Carol Blessing Beth Mount Ester Ortega