Today was pretty awesome. After class, we had a site visit to DOM, a half-way house in Prague. Although we got lost trying to find it (45 people wandering around a small village outside of Prague was kind of sketchy), we finally found the venue and had a substantial discussion with the director of the program. It was really interesting to see the operation of these facilities in foreign countries. From what I understand, they operate pretty similarly to half-way houses in the states. While working with Tumbleweed, a center for youth in Tempe, I realized how important it is to offer these types of services to local people who have been displaced. It’s interesting, because the director of DOM discussed how they originally didn’t offer services to those suffering from mentally disorders. However, they quickly realized how many people suffer from mental disorders. They would likely have few clients if they restricted their enrollment. They offer counseling services, assist in acquiring documents, and housing. Furthermore, they help clients find and hold jobs, even if the jobs happen to be with DOM doing tasks like cooking or cleaning. The director said she believes they have around a 70% success rate, which is quite good considering the intense nature of drugs, mental disorder and the ties of living on the street. Overall, the site visit was a great opportunity to learn something outside my bubble.
Naturally, we went out dancing again. Naturally, it was a very good time! J
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cue the love notes - right here. ;)