Don't Remain Alone With It
Country
Czech Republic
Description
A self-help group for clients with eating disorders. It helps them to start a therapy by providing information about context of this illness, helping to understand it, taking away the fear or shame to look for professional help. This self-help group operates in the South-Moravian region and its organiser, the civil society organisation Anabell, covers through this missing service of this kind.
Aims
The aim of the project is to provide help to clients to start a therapy.
Areas
Health, Social services
Effectiveness
Quantitative results: from 11/2005 to 30/4/2006 the project provided help (contact, education, consultation) to 1466 clients. Web pages are visited by 2700 visitors per month. Qualitative results were presented by extracts of clients´ positive feedback to the organisation.
Sustainability
For the realisation of this project, the main issue is to acquire financial aids. The project is currently financed by the EU programme PHARE.
Innovation
In the Czech Republic, there is no other organisation attending in such amount to people suffering from eating disorders. There is innovation not only in the idea itself, but also in the approach and dimensions of services offered. People who have or had experience with eating disorders are working in this service and therefore understand the situation of the clients.
Added Value
There is specificity in the target group, people with eating disorders. They are also in danger to become socially excluded, mainly at the time when they are in circle of illness and they don't try to make any change.
Transferability
The basic idea of project is not to refuse or blame clients, to give a helping hand, make a bridge between client and expert, help with information and orientation on this issue, set priority goals in the process of change etc., which is all connected to the time of treatment and after. In case of an empathetic approach, willingness to learn new things and an adequate mindset of the worker in the helping profession, the project is rather easy to transfer. Conditions: ability to address the target group, knowledge of the problem, financial basis, sufficient information.
Mainstreaming Potential
In the South-Moravian region, there is no other similar institution offering consultancy for this target group, people having eating disorder or their relatives. Anabell is the only organisation offering services in consulting, education, and support for families, relatives of this target group. The realisation of this activity is very beneficial for whole region; it allows for greater social integration of the target group in the region and offers support in also in the labour and in the social environment.
Costs of the Project
The project is financed by the EU programme PHARE.The estimated cost is 60 000 Euros.
People involved in the Project (number of people and profession)
1 Leader of project
1 Assistant of project
1 Psychologist
0,5 (part-time) Nutritive therapist
0,5 (part-time) Social worker
Editor of Report (10 hours per month)
External: webmaster, accountant, two supervisors, authors of articles for reports
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Project
The main strengths of this project are its uniqueness, the mediating character of the activity, and the very good involvement of volunteers with own experience of eating disorder.
Weaknesses concern the problem of effectiveness and its measurement, difficult sustainability and non-linking at other services.
Contact Person for the Project
PhDr. Ing. Jana Sladká ev?íkovájana.sladka@anabell.cz
posta@anabell.cz