Garden Cottage gives the vulnerable a warm, caring home

ALTHOUGH Cape Town is a metropolitan area with many services for a variety of non-disabled and disabled people, Garden Cottage is one of the few accommodation facilities for persons with intellectual disability.

Garden Cottage was established in 1985 and accommodates eight women with intellectual disability who lack the capacity and means to live independently. Garden Cottage is a “home” in the true sense of the word. We believe that the residents sometimes forget that their home is run by a nonprofit organisation. To them the cottage represents family, shared meals, special celebrations and outings, security and stability.

The women range in ability and in age. They come from backgrounds where their families are unable to care for them, because of poverty, lack of capacity, chronic illness or death of caregivers, or because they are at risk in the family’s care. (Reintegration into their families is facilitated where possible through regular family contact, visits and short holidays with their families).

The residents live full lives under the caring supervision of a housemother. Residents share rooms, meals and household chores and enjoy one another’s companionship. They contribute to cover rent, water, electricity and grocery cost which equals 73% of their disability grant.

Cape Mental Health (CMH) is responsible for all maintenance, and provides financial oversight and mentorship to each resident.

The programme offers supervised accommodation, balanced meals, monitoring of health, safety and hygiene, and access to medical resources within the community. The care workers also ensure that

the group home complies fully with health and safety regulations. The programme addresses the individual social, emotional and vocational needs of all the residents by encouraging them to participate actively in the home programme, by facilitating their attendance of the life skills and work skills programme of CMH’s Training Workshops Unlimited (TWU) in Athlone, and by providing training and opportunities in self-advocacy.

With the assistance of TWU, the eight women have learnt to use public transportation, and take the bus to work (TWU) and back home every day, so that they are able to get to and from the job. They are offered practical work skills, leisure time at TWU and the programme prepares them, where possible, to progress to the work skills programme, where they can reach their potential through training in work skills, subcontracting and enclave employment opportunities in woodwork, printing, sewing, cement, wire and beaded products.

GOOD DAY’S WORK: The team from Webber Wentzel, with the team from Cape Mental Health’s Donor Development Department, senior management from Cape Mental Health and some Garden Cottage residents.