Follow-up Program
The interventions of the personalized aid and accompaniment service are done within the persons living environment and are based on the person’s motivation to fulfill a life project designed according to his/her aptitudes and personal pace as well as on the principle of respect and mutual trust. A socio-judiciary service is also offered.
Intervene with the person to help her/him achieve a better emotional and psychological equilibrium. The worker also supports the person in her/his personal progress. The worker helps the person obtain her/his objectives that aim towards not only the acquisition of social skills but also the development of individual aptitudes and the resolution of practical problems.
Description of the follow-up interventions
In addition to putting the person at ease, they allow the worker to assess needs that are not expressed by the person, but also to observe how the individual evolves in his natural environment. Following these observations, appropriate help can be suggested and then given if the person wants it.
These are meetings carried out in a place chosen by the person. These interventions are carried out in a less formal setting, such as a café-bistro, which offer the practitioner the opportunity to discover the person’s social environment. At the request of the person, the worker can also accompany him/her during a meeting with a health professional or during a process in a public service. They can also accompany them to help them with grocery shopping or familiarize them with banking transactions, municipal library services or other community services. This year, we also supported residents in their move.
In order to better adapt services to the needs of the service users, we offer people who do not wish to receive home visits or meet the worker in a public place, the opportunity to confide in meeting his/her worker in the quiet of the office. An emergency intervention can also be performed there when the practitioner has a too busy schedule to travel to the person’s home, and discussions in a private place is preferred over a public place. The procedure can also be done in the office when the use of a computer is required.
These are meetings with the person that include professionals, community workers, people from the community or relatives who aim to work together with the person for their well-being.
These interventions are intended only for people who already benefit from the services of the organization and who, following a crime, need assistance to evolve in the legal world. After having entrusted the intervenor with the circumstances of the offense or the disputed situation, the latter informs the person to the best of his knowledge about the consequences of the action taken and discusses the remedies and procedures to be carried out with the authorities. The first is to contact a lawyer and ensure their cooperation. A meeting is then scheduled to inform the lawyer of the circumstances in which the offence was committed, but also of the person’s problem. Role plays are used to prepare for court appearance. The intervener may also be called upon to testify or to write a pre-sentencing report in order to enlighten the magistrate in rendering a more humane verdict. These reports provide alternatives to detention which, depending on the offence, is unsuitable for this clientele. The accompaniments consist of assisting the person during meetings with the lawyer who assures his defence and of being present during his appearance in court.
We intervene with third parties when the resident authorizes us to do so, or when we consider that his/her life or that of others may be endangered. In the majority of situations, the person is pres
Helped by the intervention worker, the person identifies his/her needs, determines realistic objectives and chooses the means to attain them. Better equipped psychologically thanks to the regular follow-up, the person makes his/her own decisions and assumes responsibility for them.
We have seen increased autonomy and self-esteem, the maintenance in their natural milieu, the improvement of the conditions and the quality of life and the decrease in the number of hospitalizations.
The Quebec population is aging and we observe in North America a significant rise in mental health problems. Organizations that offer services to elderly people do exist. We can also find psychogeriatric programs which focus their services on elderly people that have developed mental health problems related to aging. However, very rare are the organizations that serve those who already have chronic mental health problems.
Friendship Volunteer Association Inc. has always made it a duty to make accessible and to offer all its services and programs to this specific clientele. Our community follow-up services is also offered to them.
This particular aspect of the community follow-up service is adapted to their needs by offering them a special type of assistance related to the needs of the elderly persons. The goals of the interventions are to help them reduce psychological distress, to diminish their social isolation and to defend their rights related to abuses. We can also help them facing typical problems associated to elderly.