Deinstitutionalization & Community Living - Other Useful Links
On this page are links to organizations around the world that provide community-based services and/or work in the area of deinstitutionalization. Organizations listed here may work with people with intellectual disabilities, people with mental health problems, or both.
ALTRA - Committee for Innovations in Mental Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia, is a non-governmental organization providing a wide range of services to people with mental health problems. Programs include group homes, care management, self-help groups, counseling, a drop-in center, and a work rehabilitation program. All of Altra's programs are based on the organization's main aims: user empowerment, abolishment of social and material exclusion, expansion of the consumer's social network, active use of spare time, and consumer participation. More information is available at: http://www.altra.si/ (Slovenian language only), or email drustvoaltra@hotmail.com.
Arahura Trust, Auckland, New Zealand, provides a variety of services with a recovery approach to people with mental health problems in the Auckland area. The primary focus of Auckland Trust is supported accommodation. The organization also offers day services through Crossroads Clubhouse and transitional support for consumers leaving supported housing. It is involved in a de-stigmatization campaign that works to raise public awareness of the issues around mental illness. More information is available at: http://www.arahura.org.nz/.
atempo, with offices in Graz and Vienna, Austria, seeks equality and empowerment for people with intellectual disabilities. atempo offers products and services, and the experts doing the work are people with intellectual disabilities. Different groups at atempo develop Easy-to-Read texts, offer services in data management, evaluate the quality of residential services for people with intellectual disabilities, and engage in self advocacy work. More information is available at: http://www.atempo.at/.
Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) is a Canada-wide association of family members and others working for the benefit of persons of all ages who have an intellectual disability. Founded in 1958 by parents of children with intellectual disabilities who wanted supports and services within the community instead of in institutions, CACL has become one of Canada's ten largest charitable organizations and has grown into a federation of 10 provincial and three territorial associations comprising over 40,000 members. More information is available at: http://www.cacl.ca/english/aboutus.
Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, is a research, training, and service organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons who have psychiatric disabilities. The mission of the Center is to increase knowledge in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation and to apply this body of knowledge to train treatment personnel, to develop effective rehabilitation programs, and to assist in organizing both personnel and programs into efficient and coordinated service delivery systems. More information is available at: http://www.bu.edu/cpr/about/index.html.
Centre for Community Mental Health, Birmingham, United Kingdom, works to improve services for people with mental health problems. The organization places particular emphasis on social inclusion, working towards this end through training, education and research. More information is available at: http://www.ccmh.uce.ac.uk/index.htm.
Community Care Trust, Dunedin, New Zealand, provides community-based services to people with intellectual disabilities in two New Zealand communities. With a mission of "supporting people to support themselves," the organization offers a range of services, from supported living to work training. All supports are based on the belief that people with intellectual disabilities have the right to live and participate fully in their communities. Consequently, empowerment of consumers is a key goal. More information is available at: http://www.cct.org.nz/.
Community Entry Services, Riverton, Wyoming, USA, empowers people with disabilities to maximize their independence while living in the community. The organization provides services to people with intellectual disabilities in four local communities. Services provided are in the areas of community living, community integration, employment, recreation, and personal evaluation. More information is available at: http://www.ces-usa.com/.
Community Interface Services, Carlsbad, California, USA, provides training services, support and advocacy for adults with intellectual disabilities. Specific community-living services offered include vocational and community-based day programs, supported employment, housing assistance, life skills training, and support for client self-determination. More information is available at: http://www.communityinterfaceservices.org/.
Community Living London, London, Ontario, Canada, provides community access services to assist adults with intellectual disabilities to explore their interests and dreams. The organization connects individuals to activities in the community, based on suitability and choice, in the areas of volunteerism, leisure, recreation and lifelong learning. More information is available at: http://www.cll.on.ca/.
European Coalition for Community Living (ECCL) is a Europe-wide, cross-disability initiative that works towards the social inclusion of people with disabilities by promoting community-based services as an alternative to institutionalization. In its work, ECCL targets relevant parties in all sectors -- at the local, national, and European levels and in government and civil society. ECCL believes that in order for people with disabilities to live as equal citizens they must be allowed to make choices about the situations that affect their daily lives and must have opportunities to actively participate in their communities. Membership of ECCL is open to all organizations and individuals concerned with deinstitutionalization and community living. More information is available at: http://www.community-living.info/.
Institute for Community Inclusion, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, supports the rights of children and adults with disabilities to participate in all aspects of the community. As practitioners, researchers and teachers, they form partnerships with individuals, families and communities. Together they advocate for personal choice, self-determination, and social and economic justice in the areas of employment, general education and transition from school to adult life, assistive technologies, and capacity building of NGOs. More information is available at: http://www.communityinclusion.org/.
Institute on Community Integration, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, is dedicated to ensuring that people with intellectual disabilities are given opportunities to live as included and valued members in their communities. The Institute works with community service providers, school districts, advocacy and self-advocacy organizations, policymakers, and researchers around the world to improve the relevant services that are available and to highlight state-of-the-art practices that support the community integration of individuals with disabilities. More information is available at: http://ici.umn.edu/default.html.
Intellectual Disability Empowerment in Action (IDEA), with headquarters in Wellington, is the largest provider of services to people with intellectual disabilities in New Zealand. With aims to empower, include, support and respond to the needs of people with intellectual disabilities, IDEA offers services for children and adults and has supportive programs in the categories of Living, Working, and Family & Whanau. IDEA also maintains a resource library on intellectual disability that is available for free to consumers and their families. More information is available at: http://www.ihc.org.nz/.
Mencap, London, United Kingdom, advocates for equal rights for people with intellectual disabilities in the United Kingdom. The organization envisions a world in which all people have equal access to choice, opportunity and respect in their lives. Mencap's goals for 2004-2009 include: fighting for change and understanding; being a trusted source of information; supporting people in the Mencap community; providing support services; and offering people tools to raise their potential. More information is available at: http://www.mencap.org.uk/.
Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities provides information, education, and training to build knowledge, develop skills, and change attitudes that will lead to increased independence, productivity, self determination, integration and inclusion (IPSII) for people with developmental disabilities and their families. More information is available at: http://www.mncdd.org/.
Parca, in Burlingame, California, USA, is a non-profit organization offering services in independent living and supported living for people with intellectual disabilities. The organization's work is based on the philosophy that all people have the same value and human rights and that all people have the right to make choices about their own lives. Parca provides programs, services, and advocacy for children, adults, and families. More information is available at: http://www.parca.org/.
Personal Assistance Services Association (PASA), Portland, Maine, USA, is committed to the development of all professional personal assistance workers in order to enhance the quality of life and independence of all Maine people. It built on the findings of the Work Group for Community-Based Living, a cross-disability consumer advisory task force that was convened in 2000 to develop a single coherent vision for achieving community integration and Maine's response to the US Supreme Court Olmstead decision. More information is available at: http://www.mainepasa.org/.
Redwood Coast Regional Center (RCRC), Eureka, California, USA, is a private, non-profit regional center providing a wide range of community-based services to people with intellectual disabilities. RCRC supports the right and ability of people with intellectual disabilities to have a variety of opportunities and to make choices about their own lives. RCRC provides direct services to consumers and also offers referrals to other appropriate agencies. More information is available at: http://www.redwoodcoastrc.org/.
The Research and Training Center on Community Living, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, provides research, evaluation, training, technical assistance and information dissemination to support the aspirations of persons with intellectual disabilities to live full, productive and integrated lives in their communities. More information is available at: http://rtc.umn.edu/.
Soteria Foundation, Budapest, Hungary, provides multiple services to people with mental health problems and their families and communities. Soteria's clubhouses (day centers) offer transitional support, self-care education, organized activities, and opportunities to build and foster friendships. The Támpont Working Group services cooperate with prospective companies to provide employment opportunities for mental health consumers; the Labirintus Working Group supports clients to live and receive services where they prefer. More information is available at: http://www.soteria.hu/.
Speaking Up is a registered United Kingdom charity in Cambridge that provides advocacy services for people who experience learning difficulties, mental ill health and other disabilities. Speaking Up also supports self advocacy initiatives and One for Us - an Easy-to-Read informational website for self advocates. More information is available at: http://www.speakingup.org/.
TransMONEE Database, available from the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, contains statistical information on children in 27 countries across Central and Eastern Europe. The site contains relevant child protection indicators, including the number of children in institutional care. More information is available at: http://www.unicef-icdc.org/resources/.