Therefore, even the families are ashamed of their children, brothers, sisters who they keep indoors without letting them out to "mix" with the rest of the world. There are even cases of complete disowning the closest relatives and leaving them in an institution. However, there are also those who think differently.
„My brother is not living in a home asylum. He is visiting our relatives and often goes for a cup of coffee to the neighbours`," says the sister of Darko Mijailovic (28), who has diminished mental capabilities. She also adds that her brother "needs love and attention as any other living being needs them. He is capable of giving them although he cannot state those feelings in words."
Even though tendencies are for deinstitutionalisation to be carried through, there are still those people who have to be in residential institutions since they need professional help 24 hours a day. All the residential institutions are already overcrowded and the lack of money and personnel are the reason for residents to live in unsatisfactory conditions.
"In Europe one resident has one assistant who has coordinator who, again, has his/her superior. Therefore, three professionals are responsible for one resident. Unlike this, in Serbia we have 20 residents and one professional," says Tanja Staljonic from the non-governmental organisation "Decje srce" ("Child`s Heart").
Besides residential institutions, there are 49 Day Care Centres meaning the children virtually live with their families but have to come every day to the Day Care Centre to receive professional help. In these institutions beneficiaries get health care and food and their families are helped in order to function better while children occupy themselves with activities appropriate to their capabilities.
One such institution is the Day Care Centre in Sekspirova Street in Belgrade that is the part of the Centre for Accommodation and Day Care Centre for Children and Youth with Diminished Mental Development.
"Darko is their beneficiary and I am very satisfied with the way they treat him there but I am still afraid of what will happen with him the day he would have to go to an institution," emphasises Darko`s sister.
Manager of the Day Care Centre Mikailo Kijanovic agrees conditions in residential institutions are not splendid and adds the biggest fault is their capacities.
"If the institution in Kragujevac has even 900 residents with 5,000 employees no one can convince me the life over there is the quality one," says Kijanovic adding the most painful event for the residents is their transfer from the Day Care Centre to a residential institution.
"Some of them has spent even 18 years here, acquired certain habits, positive behaviour, and then, all of a sudden, they are pushed into any residential social institution with enough room and spare bed. Everything that has been formed virtually comes to nothing which is something they take worse than the children spending their whole life there," says he.
He adds that the Extended Day Care Centre Project is good both for parents who have a place to leave their children in case they have some engagements and beneficiaries who are becoming independent that way. The Extended Day Care includes the possibility for beneficiaries to stay two days in the Centre. However, Kijanovic adds that they have problems with project funding because local authorities refuse to support the project and there are less and less foreign donations.
Some solutions Kijanovic sees in the social security reform that could provide for "transitional institutions," something in between day care centre and residential institution, where a child could stay for a while and prepare for a new environment while the teams of experts should be in charge of evaluating a child and recommending the next step and institution. Currently this problem has been solved in a very rough way when beneficiaries are concerned, says Kijanovic adding residential institutions exist everywhere in the world and will continue to exist but not with such great number of residents as is the case in Serbia.
The East European countries that have joined the European Union (EU) had to reduce residential institutions` capacities and from 500 they ended with between 200 and 300 residents. With this only, conditions and relations have become more human, they have acquired more space and the possibility to give more attention to each resident.
According to Kijanovic, within the social security reform residential institutions` regionalisation should be done for the convenience of relatives to visit residents. As residential institutions are unequally placed in Serbia, it is common that beneficiary is hospitalised in the institution in small town of Kuline in Southern Serbia, which is 250 kilometres away from his/her family who lives in Belgrade. There is an institution in Belgrade suburb Sremcica, but it accepts only children up to 16 years old, and beneficiaries older then 25 years have to be displaced to other institution. Hundred kilometres away.
A part of people with diminished mental capabilities spend their whole lives in residential institutions, others are with their families. Nevertheless, the time comes when the parents are gone and their destiny is to end up in an institution. The rest of them could get independent and live in small home communities. Although it is announced "living with support" will be deinstitutionalised, no fundamental preconditions for this idea have been realised for the time being.
Tanja Staljonic emphasises that we should not only copy the European models but adapt them according to our mentality and living conditions. She also adds that the proper preparation is very important.
"There is no point in buying apartments and moving the people in. That way we shall make many small asylums out of several big ones. It is necessary to act with great attention, and prepare beneficiaries carefully. We should educate personnel according to the European model and work on greater consciousness awareness of the whole society having in mind and taking care of our mentality," explains Staljonic.
European experience also confirms proper preparation is the key to success. In Sweden, big problem was inadequate preparation of residents for the new way of life. As the consequence, some of them thanks to being unprepared for the independent life in small household communities have ended up in other institutions with even bigger problems.
Staljonic says that their organisation has made the School of Life Skills Programme accredited by the Ministry for Labour and Social Policy. Within this programme, professionals are educated to work with people with special needs. Their intention is to make the database and assessment of all beneficiaries in order to avoid possible unwanted consequences.
It seems like the wish to look like Europe as soon as possible has made Serbia to come to resolution on ban for new beneficiaries` admission in residential institutions without previously having been done enough regarding other ways of taking care.
"I think that decision is absolutely illogical. If a child`s parents are dead, it is necessary to make special requests in order for the Ministry to approve admission to an institution. This is a long, senseless proceeding," emphasises Kijanovic.
Darko`s sister says she often hears different politicians` statements that people with diminished mental development should live with their families, that they should be taken care of, that we all should be tolerant. She thinks that all this ends up with very statements.
"The State does nothing enough to help us. There is a lack of parents` education; there are no people who could help family in appropriate way; we are not informed well enough on where to look for help, not to mention the financial compensation for additional caring being not sufficient to cover all expenses," she says and adds that for "significant changes in this area primarily politicians` good will is needed."
* Jelena Milicevic is a freelance journalist. CEV magazine is an online publication of the Centre for European Values
