This week I submitted a proposal to the The Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction 2018
This is a link to the submission: The Therapeutic Village
There is also a petition on OurActionStation that will be delivered to the Government and again to the Inquiry at the end of November 2018
There is a quote from the opening section of the proposal.
The Proposal
The proposal is that Government develops a framework for the establishment of a series of therapeutic villages.Such villages will support families and individuals who are already receiving a variety of care. The villages complement but do not replace existing services. They can also perform a preventative function.
The therapeutic village concept envisaged in this submission refers to a group of people living in connection with each other (nearby, though not necessarily all in the same housing) with the purpose of mutual well being. This is not the familiar institutional model of residential care, nor the existing ‘wrap-around’ model, which provides services but no community. The village concept is flexible, built around specific patient/client needs, and puts relationships at the heart of therapeutic work. Villages are guided by a professional team with leadership and coordinating functions, that will facilitate village cohesion. The staff will build and maintain relationships with existing services such as medical centres, schools, daycare, regular therapy group providers and many other services. Continuity of relationships will enable ongoing assessment of needs and coordination of services.