Socio-therapeutic workshops

Since January 2019, this service has been supported by the European Social Fund of the European Union in the Operational Program Employment, as part of the project: "Support of selected social services in the Vysočina Region, individual project VI".

Mission of socio-therapeutic workshops:

The mission of the socio-therapeutic workshops is to develop work skills and habits in people with intellectual and combined disabilities so that they become better skilled in either the general labor market or at least in the sheltered labor market, and thus increase the capacity to improve their standard of living on their own.

Goals:

The basic goal of the service is to remove barriers and difficulties that prevent the client from entering the labor market.

Partial goals of the service

• teach clients the craft skills of a specific workshop so that over time they will manage to craft some products by themselves or for the most part by themselves
• lead clients to general work habits
• early arrival at work and apology for absences
• organization of time at work
• observance and completion of working hours
• ability and willingness to follow instructions
• with the help of individual planning, increase the independence of clients not only at work but also in everyday life
• teach clients the rights and responsibilities they have at work
• lead clients to a responsible approach to work, to what I do and how I do it
  through joint work and preparation of cultural events, in order to develop their ability to cooperate and communicate with others
• help clients in satisfying their needs, even higher ones (self-employment, meaningful activities, being useful and beneficial for others)
• to include clients in a regular society - cooperation with the environment, arranging work for the surrounding communities

The principles we follow and are based on:

When providing services, we follow these values and ethical principles. In general, we are based on Christian principles and the Code of Ethics for Social Workers of the Czech Republic.

• when providing the service, we follow the wishes and needs of clients
• we start from the fact that each person has their strengths, their gifts, which they carry in themselves and can offer them to others, we try to discover and strengthen them, we talk about our clients as people who are “otherwise gifted”
• we try to create a community of people who live and work together regardless of their disability or condition and where they are all equal partners in creating this community
• we create the rules and form of the service provision together, the voice of our clients is important
• we pay great attention to respecting clients' rights
• we try to change prejudices and stereotypes in people's thinking about people with disabilities (public events, programs for schools, etc.)
• we pay great attention to increasing the expertise and qualification of employees so that it corresponds to the needs of the organization, clients, but also the employees themselves, we pay great attention to personal development
• we pay attention to the overall development of clients – personal, social and occupational

Local and time availability of the service:

The service is provided in the community center of Benediktus in Modletín (Modletín 7, Chotěboř), where workshops are concentrated, after agreement it is possible to provide it in another place.

The service is provided on weekdays. Upon agreement, it can be provided at other times
The time is governed by the Daily Schedule of Workshops and the agreement between the client and the provider. The daily schedule is on the notice board in Modletín.

Generally, Mon - Thu 9 - 16,30, Fri 9 - 15,30

Target group:

• people with mild to moderate mental disabilities aged 16 to the age of retirement
• the disposition to further growth and to achieve at least a certain working independence is assumed – this assumption is considered when negotiating with the person interested in the service
• possible combination with physical or sensory disabilities, if this does not prevent work in workshops

Capacity is 7 clients.

Due to the type of our facility, it is not possible to provide the service to the following people:

• persons with a mental disorder or disease
• persons fully dependent on the care of another person
• persons with a combined disability who move only in a wheelchair
• people with uncontrollable aggressions
• people with diseases of old age

Brief characteristics of the service:

Socio-therapeutic workshops offer to people with disabilities a work in ceramics workshop, wood-working workshop and a maintenance workshop. In the ceramics workshop, they learn to produce objects from ceramics, such as mugs, fruit bowls, decorated flower pots. The maintenance workshop includes many activities: people with disabilities participate in the maintenance of the garden, orchard, help with minor construction work, in the preparation of firewood, in the winter they help to clear snow, etc. In this workshop they also do maintenance for third-party customers. There is also a fruit processing facility where people with disabilities, together with assistants, dry fruits. In the wood-working workshop clients create elaborate kid’s toys.

The work begins with a communal morning introduction with a meeting, where everyone learns their work task for the day.

The social service is followed by creation of jobs in our workshops. Therefore, each of the clients is carefully evaluated and based on this evaluation, is offered a job at a specified time.
However, workshops are not only a workplace, but also a place where we try to build relationships between people with disabilities and their assistants. People with disabilities can take part in community building and can take part in other community activities (performing with the BeneBend group, theater performances, etc.).

The output of work in workshops are finished products that go on sale at various sales events. If possible, we also include people with disabilities in these sales events.