More than 80 people with intellectual disabilities live in the 14 homes of Fundación Personas.
Cristina, Begoña, Mercedes and Enrique have breakfast, lunch and spend time together daily in a centrally located supervised apartment in Valladolid. All of them have some kind of functional diversity and live with four other companions in one of the sheltered housing units of Fundación Personas in the province. In them, more than eighty people have the opportunity to be independent and have their own life, but always under guardianship. Rubén Oliveros is in charge of supervising that life in the apartment runs smoothly.
She comes every afternoon to check how their day has gone, what they have done and to see if they are following the homework schedule. “They have total freedom and independence, but we tutors come to make sure they are doing well and that they haven’t had any problems,” she explains in the supervised apartment.
The existence of these homes provides peace of mind to families and allows their tenants to integrate into society. It is a specialized resource, designed for the housing, coexistence and personal and social assistance of people with intellectual disabilities. All those enrolled in the program are of legal age and require support, to a greater or lesser extent, to participate in the activities of daily living and the environment in which they live. Javier González, coordinator of sheltered housing at Fundación Personas in Valladolid, goes through all of them to make sure that the coexistence is correct. “Many of them have a place arranged by the social services through the Junta de Castilla y León and it is the families who are in charge of applying for it,” he explains. With a total of 14 homes in the province, Javier comments that all members are “perfectly integrated in the community of neighbors, have a relationship with the nearest local businesses and carry out their tasks with total normality”.
Task sharing
Cristina, Begoña, Mercedes and Enrique explain almost in unison how hectic their schedule is. “In the morning I get up at twenty to seven and have a quick breakfast to go to the occupational center to work,” says Cristina. Among the tasks assigned to them, each one chooses the one he or she prefers, and if there are several who opt for the same one, the tutor is the one who acts as an intermediary in the designation. Cristina is currently in charge of putting the dishwasher on and taking it off, as well as setting the table and cooking on some days. Enrique is assigned to clean the hallway and the dining room and admits to being happy, unlike when he is responsible for the laundry. “When I have to put washing machines in they tell me that it takes me a long time but if there are a lot of clothes I have to put in several, two or three, because I don’t like to leave it half done. Besides, it’s not something I like to do, but if I have to do it, I’m happy to do it,” he explains with a smile. He has a walker because of the mobility problems he has and allows himself the license to go to his post at the occupational center a little later, which he laughs about to the amusement of his roommates.
Without taking off his Real Valladolid sweatshirt, Enrique says he is a Madrid fan, but he is grateful to be able to watch the games with his friends in the bar. When Mercedes gets up, he is lucky enough to share breakfast with a colleague, and he loves that, but one of his favorite plans is to go to the village every fortnight. “I take the opportunity to go and enjoy the walks in the countryside, and I also go out for a drink at the bar and I’m happy there,” she says. Her daily chores include going to her work station, where she labels bottles of wine, packs sugar or does whatever task she is asked to do. She shares her work with Begoña, who says she enjoys her job but prefers the plans she makes in the afternoon. “I have a boyfriend and we go out almost every day for walks around the Campo Grande or the Plaza Mayor, sometimes we have a chocolate and that’s enough for us,” she explains. In her room, shared with another girl, she has stuffed animals and photographs, but the books and the large closet where she keeps her clothes stand out. “I love having such a big room and I’m very comfortable here,” she says.
But Cristina will soon have no space to store all her clothes, because in addition to having changed the layout of her room by herself, she is learning to sew with a new machine. “I’ve made a skirt that I’ve already worn for the first time and everyone has told me it’s very pretty, now I’m thinking of making something else to wear during the vacations, but I don’t know if I’ll have time,” she says uneasily. She proudly shows off the skirt and her colleagues are full of praise for its creator. “She’s an artist,” says Begoña. “Besides, it looks great on her,” Mercedes adds.
They are roommates, co-workers, but also friends. And they remember it constantly because they are also a close family. Now, their dream is to remain so for many years to come.
