Manacor now has four new shared homes for people with mental disorders.
The objective is to guarantee the group access to a basic right and promote their autonomy and integration in all areas of society, with the help of professionals.
ManacorThe 3 Mental Health entities (Estrella de Levante, Es Garrover Foundation, and Gira-Sol Association), the Grec (National Council of the Regions), and the regional government presented the new Shared Home Service this Thursday in Manacor. This new, subsidized service will provide housing and specialized support to 50 people with mental disorders. The goal is to guarantee this group access to a basic right and promote their autonomy and integration in all areas of society, with the help of professionals. This is all thanks to the agreement with the Ministry of Families, Social Welfare, and Dependency Care.
The first home in Manacor has a capacity for three people, who will live independently, but will periodically receive external visits from Estrella de Levante professionals to address any potential difficulties they may have. All with an integrative and vital purpose, ultimately enabling these people to become permanently independent. A total of 12 places have been created in the municipality, distributed across four apartments.
Shared Homes are home to several people with mental health diagnoses. They do so with the support of the organizations, which are responsible for the rental, maintenance, and/or adaptation of the accommodation. This service covers basic needs (rent, housing, food, furniture, etc.) and offers the people in the service therapeutic accompaniment and specialized technical support through the organizations' professionals. The ultimate goal is to promote maximum personal autonomy and achieve adequate social and community integration.
Guillem Febrer, manager of Estrella de Levante and spokesperson for 3 Salut Mental, celebrated this "step forward in the right to housing for the collective" and recalled that people living with mental health disorders have more difficulties accessing housing due to the social barriers they often face. "Stigma closes its doors, but today collaboration opens them and protects people's rights with new services."
Febrero, who noted that this new service was a "historic demand of the entities," expressed his gratitude for "the significant public effort made" that will allow the 3 Salut Mental entities to "more than double their housing services, since by adding the places in the Shared Home services and the existing ones, we will provide specialized support to 82 people from the collective in Mallorca." "Together, we raise ceilings of dignity so that everyone has the right to build a life project full of hope, opportunities, and enthusiasm," he added.
The launch of this service also responds to a long-standing demand from the Mental Health 3 entities and the Mental Health Federation of Mallorca, which last year focused World Day on demanding more public policies in this area under the slogan "Housing for Mental Health."
This new service began to be implemented this August and has a total budget of almost 3.5 million euros until 2028 for Estel de Llevant, the Gira-Sol Association, and the Es Garrover Foundation. And up to 4 million if we add Grec.
A historical claim
Unlike the Supervised Housing service, which provides support 365 days a week, the support provided by the Shared Home service is of medium intensity and fosters an environment that reinforces the promotion of personal autonomy and self-management to facilitate social integration, in line with its purpose. It is a model, therefore, that encourages coexistence, co-responsibility, and the development of life projects in a normalized environment.
Minister Sandra Fernández participated in the presentation ceremony, visiting one of the new Estrella de Levante Homes in Manacor, accompanied by Guillem Febrer, manager of Estrella; Gori Molina, manager of the Es Garrover Foundation; Carmen de Lis, area director of the Gira-Sol Association; Carme Pujol, technical director of programs at Grec Mallorca; and Maria Castro, general director of Dependency Care.
By adding the spaces offered by the new Shared Homes service and the 38 spaces offered by the existing Supervised Housing service (also contracted with the Regional Ministry), the 3 Mental Health entities have doubled their housing services, increasing their management from 38 to 82 spaces. This represents a 116% increase in spaces, consolidating their position as a leading network supporting people with mental health diagnoses in Mallorca.
Special vulnerability
The greater difficulties in finding employment for this group, along with lower wages, make it more difficult for people with a serious mental health disorder to access housing on their own.
According to the Spanish Confederation of Mental Health, 8 out of 10 people with a mental health disorder cannot find work, and half of the 1,600 people supported by the Federation's entities live on less than €800 a month. "Under these conditions," sources from 3 Salut Mental have pointed out, "it is very difficult for a person to access housing on their own or have decent living conditions."
Along the same lines, the entities have highlighted the need to continue raising awareness in society to eradicate prejudice and avoid potential situations of rejection where people with a mental disorder are required to meet more restrictive entry conditions than the general population.