Presentation of the organisation Accueil & Vie
The initiative for the creation of A&V is due to parents worried by the lack of structures for people with intellectual disabilities. A&V is an association of three homes and one day center welcoming people with a light to moderate intellectual disability.
Located on the outskirts of Brussels, they offer a family life to people who are supervised by professionals and volunteers.
During the day, the majority of interns work in sheltered workshops, others go to the day center.
The A&V’s mission is to create, manage and run activities and places to live, and work to ensure a social integration of quality to people with intellectual disabilities. It seems to us that the diversity of social contacts is an asset for the residents. That is why we want to enrich the lives of homes and strengthen community spirit by welcoming a volunteer, for a period of 3 to 12 months, who must have the desire to live everyday with people with disabilities in a family, friendly and supportive atmosphere.
A&V is a private association that receives no subsidies from the State. We depend solely on the rent paid by the people welcomed by the organization as well as on donations from individuals, which explains why the management team is limited and why we are working very hard with volunteers.
The school population has a slight to moderate backwardness and shows no violent behavior that may affect the volunteer.
Objectives of welcoming a volunteer
We see volunteering as an opportunity to welcome a dynamic and self-willed volunteer, from another area, to pursue our objective of welcoming resourceless people in our society. Living with people with a disability is a humanly rich and intense life experience. Accompanying them daily brings us simplicity and authenticity and by mixing with them, we learn to accept everyone as a unique person, rich of its differences.
For the volunteer, this community life project is a unique opportunity to broaden its mind.
Giving the volunteer the chance to mix with people with disabilities in a shelter gives an opportunity of social work and civic engagement. We have been hosting international volunteers for nearly five years.
Volunteers’ profile
We welcome volunteers from all around the world, with no geographical, economic or social distinction, but with a real motivation for this project.
A&V wishes to welcome people having reached their legal majority, and having the maturity needed to face daily life with disabled people.
Prior knowledge of French is essential because some residents need clear indications, in order to avoid misunderstandings that could frighten or upset them. The A&V homes need volunteers that are dynamic, motivated, keen to learn and to take initiatives, able to question themselves, and to accept remarks from the staff. They also need to be aware that they will live several months with different people who have a way of life, sometimes, totally opposed to our daily life. Be ready, if necessary, to inform yourself on mental disability, autism, psychosis and other syndromes. We think that volunteers have to take an important place in the homes and we wish to put in place all the conditions to create a positive exchange.
As residents need a stable and serene accompaniment and as the professional team is reduced, it seems difficult to accommodate volunteers who themselves have a psychological or physical fragility. Homes are unfortunately not suitable for people with reduced mobility (stairs ...).
Structure name: Maison Notre Dame Avenue des Trembles, 11,1640 Rhode St Genèse.
Person in charge of volunteers: Bernard Winkin.
Structure type & timetable: 13 people with a light to moderate intellectual disability and adult men and women.
Work time: Mo-Fri: 4pm – 10pm and/or 6am – 9am. One week-end a month (Fri 3pm-10pm; Sat- Sun 10am-10pm). The home is closed one weekend per month.
Number of free places + type: One place. A small flat with a room + washbasin + living room with micro-wave. Shared Toilet, shower/bath and kitchen.
Other: Expenses met for 150 euros/month. Food. Washing machine. Internet. French lessons (depending on the arrival date).
We suggest that the volunteer takes French lessons when he gets here. This is the easiest way to rapidly get in touch with the residents.
A&V pays for the lessons but not for the journey to get to the school. Classes generally start at the beginning of September and January. It is often impossible to get lessons outside these dates.
Duration of the stay
The stay must last from three months to maximum one year.
For non-EU volunteers visas are given for a maximum period of 3 months.
The maximum of one year exists in order to give other volunteers the opportunity to participate. A longer stay can however be discussed with the team.
How does the volunteer work in the association?
Teams in the three houses collaborate regularly and integrate volunteers’ participation in their daily functioning in order to offer the residents a rich and wide social environment.The volunteer is entirely part of the team, and participates to every meeting with the only restriction of meetings under professional confidence.The volunteer will participate to the community life: during the evenings (4pm to 9.30pm), sometimes in the morning (6am to 8am), and some weekends (from Friday 3.30pm to Sunday 10pm), with a maximum of 35h/week. For the day center, the timetables are as following: Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm with a maximum of 35h/week. The exact timetable will be set with the volunteer in order to attend his needs and requests. It will also take into account the French lessons (for max. 5h/week). Each month, the exact daily planning will be delivered to the volunteers.
In July, the homes are closed for three weeks. If the volunteer wants to, he can participate to the holidays organised by the association.
The volunteer will have to respect the common rules: respect cleanness and tidiness of common places, respect resident’s sleep (no noise after 9pm), respect no-smoking places (inside the house), and accept not to drink alcohol inside the house in front of the residents (he will be given the house rules). He will always be accompanied by a responsible person during his work hours.
Role
a) General role of the volunteer :
The SVI volunteer will have to take an active role in the homes, always with the person in charge of him, in order to help the residents in their daily life. The volunteer has to ask questions if there are things that he does not understand about the way we work, as working with mentally deficient people is very specific.
We wish to give the maximum space to the volunteer and encourage him to take initiatives for specific activities (e.g. language lessons, sport, artistic activities …). The role of the volunteer is also to share its culture and knowledge. He will therefore have the opportunity to get experience in group management, conflict resolution, activities preparation and running, as well as different working techniques necessary to manage a group of adults with mental disability.
b) Volunteers in the homes :
Attend all house and A&V team meetings
Prepare menus list for the week
Participate to weekly shopping
Prepare the menu of the day
Help in the garden and buildings
Welcome the residents when they come back from their activities
Accompany the residents to common activities during evenings and weekends
Accompany the residents to medical or paramedical appointments
Help when residents wake up and have breakfast
Help people to manage their time
Remind residents about hygiene (change clothes, personal care)
c) Volunteers in the day center:
Help the person in charge in the organisation with the activity calendar
Help residents with shopping and cooking
Help the person in charge with group activities and with the running of these activities
Meet the parents to put in place the individual project, and the annual assessment
Attend team meetings of the day center, and A&V meetings.
Attend extra activities (visits, holidays …)
The volunteer can organise new workshops and activities that suit his tastes and skills.
Food:
Food will be provided to the volunteer during his working hours. The rest of the time, he will have to cook for himself.
The volunteer has the possibility to go to the shop with the person in charge or to make an order for one week. This order must be ready on Thursday at 3pm in order to facilitate the organisation.
We ask the volunteer not to use the existing stocks because they are needed for the residents’ weekly meals. A shelf in the fridge will be provided to each volunteer, who is responsible for the conservation of his food. Eventual allergies or special diets must be communicated to the person in charge. There is a kitchen available for the volunteers in every house. It must be cleaned up and tidied up after each use, because we are subject to hygiene regulations.
Accommodation:
The volunteer is asked to clean his room or apartment during his stay and when he leaves. Cleaning equipment and products are available.
A key will be given to the volunteer, and must be returned when he leaves. If he loses it, we might have to change the locks.
Transport:
When the volunteer is working, transport costs are paid for by A&V. Outside working hours, every transport costs (even for French lessons) have to be paid for by the volunteer.
There is a bicycle with helmet and security jacket in every house. It is mandatory to wear them when using the bicycle. The volunteer is asked to respect the rules of the road and the equipment made available to him.
Internet – phone:
A phone and an internet access will be given to the volunteer by A&V. We expect him to make a responsible use of these tools. We do not endorse access to illegal downloads sites as well as erotic and pornographic websites.
Aware that some volunteers come from far, they are authorized to make phone calls to their family. However, for economic reasons, we encourage the use of Internet tools such as "Skype."
Procedure for problem prevention:
Formally, there are three trimestral evaluations so that the team and the volunteer can exchange their points of view on precise topics.
Informally, home and team meetings will allow volunteers and the team to exchange their views.
In case of problem :
Problem with a resident or the group of residents :
The volunteer must inform the members of the educative team of his center.
General problem :
The person in charge of the educative team will have to manage it.
Problem with a member of the educative team :
The volunteer can inform the director, or ask the presence of the Chairman of the Board.
Generally, problems are managed internally. If no solution/improvement is seen, the volunteer will inform the organisation in charge of him.
This will also be the case if the educative team has an unsolvable problem with the volunteer.