A Community That Saved Me. “Without community, there is no liberation” – Audre Lorde I arrived in Hamelin having had a chaotic and dangerous five or so years in and out of psychiatric hospitals. My loving family needed me to be safe and start my own life as well as lead a full life themselves. … Continued
What the Community means to service users, relatives, external professionals and staff.
The Community is safely and effectively keeping these patients well.
Simple Beginnings & The Community Today
They (the staff) always think of us in a good way, nothings too hard for them.
The Community now has many houses in rural and urban settings, where people live and make their home, a large staff team dedicated to working alongside and supporting individuals as well as an administrative support team. The family has grown up but it is still very much involved in the life of the Community.
Through the years the Community has grown and developed, but it has remained our consistent aim to preserve its sense of domesticity, sanctuary and belonging, enabling those living with us to find a place in the wider community.
In the Community we believe in the dignity of every human being, however vulnerable.
The service had a strong person centred culture which helped people to express their views and share their points of view.
We are wary of religious descriptions of the Community but it should be said that what is so different about it originates in a theological understanding of people and a deep concern with the inherent dignity of every human being, however vulnerable.
We work with people coming from situations of legal or physical constraint. Our principle resource in this consists in restoring to them the ordinary dynamics of domestic life, self-support and human interaction. In this context the issues of relating to others as equals, the exercise of rights and choices and the recognition of responsibilities are fundamental.
The Community is not an alternative to other treatments, but offers a different setting in which conventional treatments can work.
We believe that one of the key motivations of human life is enjoyment. We thus put a great emphasis on our wide range of activities that are social, cultural and educational. This is enhanced by our Outdoor Activities programme, which seeks to provide adventure and fun as well as fostering physical health.
In a society which lays tremendous importance on employment, we seek to encourage preparation for work. Even where self support through employment will never be possible, it is vital that people have the opportunity to contribute. An example of this is our ten year relationship with the National Trust in work projects of lasting importance and of a high standard, in which those involved can take real pride.
Fulfilment and happiness are the rights of everyone. By providing a rich and varied life style in a supportive and caring environment, we aim to make this ideal a reality.