Although we know that a great space is not sufficient in itself to ensure good quality of life outcomes for people, we also know that the space in which someone lives goes a long way towards empowering and enabling someone to live independently and have the room to exercise choice and control over their life. Over the last 20 years, the move from institutional to supported community based care has been a challenge for many organizations, countries and service providers. Our dream is to transform not only the services within South Africa, but also the spaces in which people live. We see a world where there are no longer institutional buildings, but creative wholesome environments for people to flourish.
We have done considerable work through years of consultation with experts in the field – including service providers and architects, as well as with people with learning disability and mental health to come up with a specification for two types of buildings that would support the move from institutional to person-centred care in South Africa (1) a Transitional Living Centre (TLC) and (2) Community based housing.
Transitional Living Centre
In South Africa, due to the high rate of crime, limited budgets available for staff to support people, and in many instances a lack of community infrastructure it may not always be possible (at least not yet) to safely and cost effectively support vulnerable adults living in community based housing. As a means to enable the move to more person-centred living we have designed the Transitional Living Centre. A set of independent flats, with communal spaces that will safely provide the personal space for people to thrive while keeping costs reasonable by the sharing of support staff across the centre.
Special Needs Housing Committee
The Special Needs Housing Committee is formed of representatives across all groups of vulnerable adults and children in South Africa. This committee took the Government to task around its failure to provide housing for vulnerable people, which was found to be in breach of the South African Constitution.
As part of the Special Needs Housing Committee, Climb Any Mountain was invited to represent people with intellectual disability and mental illness and produce a set of building specifications that would guide the Government in their funding of future buildings for this particular vulnerable group. We produced one specification for a Halfway House i.e. a Transitional Living Centre, and one for Community Based Housing.
We have also produced detailed plans to develop a Transitional Living Centre on the grounds of the Pietermaritzburg Mental Health Society.
Please contact us if you are interested in supporting us with capital funding to fulfil on this project.
