A new community model after the pandemic: registrations open for the fifteenth edition of the training course “Volunteers and Families networking for Mental Health” of the Don Luigi Di Liegro International Foundation
“It may sound strange, but I had to reach the age of almost 50 to seek support in my relationship with my sister, who has always suffered from mental disorders.” tells Joseph, IT expert who in 2018 participated in the "Course for Volunteers and Families on the Internet" promoted by the Di Liegro Foundation "From the first phone call I understood that it was the right place to find not only understanding, but also new tools to be close to her. Taking part in the course allowed me to "see" his illness from a different perspective, more detached and lucid. I needed to get out of the domestic and family dimension which, paradoxically, represented a limit for me. Among the many things I brought home at the end of the meetings " goes on “the most precious is having become part of a network of people, made up of volunteers and operators. A fundamental dimension, even more so today after the pandemic, in which the possibility of establishing deep and concrete contacts has almost completely been lost”.
“I learned about the Foundation Course thanks to a fellow student", He says Federica, 23 years old, about to obtain a master's degree in Psychology "After much theoretical study, the time had come for me to confront reality and practice. The Foundation's approach, for promoting the well-being of the person at 360 degrees, reassured me and allowed me to come into contact in a "simple" way with the complex world of mental health. It was an opportunity for discussion that enriched me greatly on the human side.” “First through participation in the course, where despite the lockdown due to Covid, I was able to come into contact with people very distant from me, not just geographically. Then with my inclusion in the Foundation's theater laboratory, where each person makes their own characteristics and abilities available in a perspective of growth and mutual exchange".
Like Giuseppe and Federica they are beyond 2.000 the people who, in recent years, have participated in the “Course for Volunteers and Families in the Mental Health Network” promoted by the Don Luigi Di Liegro Foundation – onlus.
The theme around which this year's edition will revolve is "A new community model after the pandemic”: a cycle of seven meetings that will start next Saturday 9 October, held by psychiatrists, university professors, heads of the Mental Health Departments of the ASL of Rome, representatives of family associations.
The course, to which you can still sign up, is open to the participation of all those who want to broaden their knowledge of the world of mental health and commit to building a support network for people with mental health problems and their families: students, local service operators, volunteers, family members.
“The spread of Covid 19, as is now recognized by many, has unfortunately further exacerbated the burden of economic and social inequalities and caused the resurgence of psychological problems starting from the youngest.” He has declared Luigina Di Liegro General Secretary of the Don Luigi Di Liegro Onlus Foundation “Volunteering, today more than ever, plays a fundamental role: helping to remedy critical issues, working alongside and integrating with traditional public welfare systems. This is why we promote the course for volunteers and families, with profound awareness that strengthening the family environment can provide fundamental indirect help to the person who suffers.”
The training course will take place, where possible in person, The Saturday morning from 9 October to 11 December from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm at the premises of the Di Liegro Foundation, near the historic Centrale Montemartini in Rome (via Ostiense 106).
There is a small contribution of 40 euros (20 for university students).
For information and registration: 06/6792669 segreteria@fondazionediliegro.it
Photo by Liza Summer from Pexels
