Gustavo is happy that he has been able to “reset his life.”
In 2007, he suffered an outbreak of schizophrenia, followed by severe depression. When he was hospitalised for psychiatric treatment at the Agudo Ávila Regional Centre for Mental Health, in the city of Rosario, Santa Fe province, he thought he had hit rock bottom.
He had recently returned to Argentina from Spain, where he had left a small daughter behind. He couldn’t find a job. His loneliness was devastating.
When talking about his recovery, the first thing Gustavo, 47, remembers is the emotional reunion he had with his 12-year-old daughter more than a decade later.
Then he recalls his first visit, in 2011, to Casa del Paraná, a place for people suffering from mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or depression.
“I remember the director came up to me and said ‘You won’t be alone’ “he says. Casa del Paraná is where he managed to bounce back.
Casa del Paraná was founded in Rosario in 2007 to help people with mental illnesses reintegrate into society and be able to work.
The goal was to end the social and economic isolation of people who struggle with mental issues.
In 1990, the Clubhouse International organisation was created to oversee 320 houses that reach around 100,000 people in 34 countries each year.
Since its creation, it has welcomed 155 members, all 18 years or older. Today, Casa del Paraná has 35 active members, “17% of whom are also doing paid work experience,” Rita Larrañaga, director of Casa del Paraná, says.
“Our mission is to help these people reach their full potential and be respected as co-workers, neighbours and friends,” Jorge Baldarenas, president of Casa del Paraná, says.
Both Gustavo and Baldarenas underline that autonomy is the first thing that people with mental disorders lose.
That is why the nonprofit works towards helping them reacquire it. That is also why each member decides when he or she is ready to leave the house.
Among Casa del Paraná’s activities, there is a social program with recreational outings; an educational program with spelling, music, mathematics and computer workshops; and an ’employment in transition’ program, which offers members the opportunity to accept paid work outside the house and still be able to participate in clubhouse activities.
To take the initiative further, a group of professionals founded the Casaclub Foundation, based on the model of Casa del Paraná, which will launch a new clubhouse pilot project in the city of Buenos Aires, the second one in Argentina.
Beyond returning to work and feeling proud of recovering his autonomy, Gustavo says that the best thing about having taken part in Casa del Paraná was the friends he made there.
“They’re my engine,” he says, “the ones who lift me up when I’m about to fall.”
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Source: The Straits Times, 30 June 2019