After nine years on the waiting list, Isabel Bennett-Henman, 34, moved to Paradise House, from inner city Bristol, where she’d nearly been run over on a busy road. As if by magic, Isabel’s life, and that of our entire family, was transformed overnight. Suddenly she benefitted from pioneering trauma-informed care, a choice of many friends, classes in painting, arts and crafts, a job in the on-site cafe and an enviously healthy diet. Isabel has Down’s Syndrome. This community of adults with learning difficulties has transformed her life, and those of the friends she has made at Paradise. Jake Lukas, CEO of the charity that runs the community, emphasises the positive interaction it’s had with the town of Painswick over the years. Paradise was gifted by Baroness Freida von Usslar to Friedrich and Eli Roder in 1975. It was a live-in Steiner Camphill community until it merged with the Cotswold Chine School in Minchinhampton.
Sadly, government regulators, such as the CQC (Care Quality Commission) and social services criticise village communities, as ‘legacy sites, which are too rural, remote, isolated and disconnected from ‘the community”. “They refused us even two more residents on these grounds, when waiting lists are long,’ Lukas says. ‘Our trustees are discussing ways to enhance our Paradise-Painwick relationship.
‘Paradise is by its very nature therapeutic, because the beauty of the environment creates positive relationships and positive health.
These are two of the biggest protective factors which support people who have experienced adversity. They can bring a place of positivity, acceptance and therapy, which allows people to develop resilience. If you look at the Covid times, it was the positive relationships of the residents with each other and the staff, which was the protective feature that got people through it.
‘On the other hand, let’s say you have learning disabilities and are automatically put into an “independent” supported living house in an urban street. When Covid comes along, people become even more isolated and unhealthy. At Paradise each of the houses was able to “silo down” and benefit from the on-site art rooms and communal spaces, taking safe walks around the grounds.
‘That’s why having a place like Paradise, and paying attention to the environment, is so important. There’s a global problem around mental health and depression and it’s because of the isolation. People cannot be around groups.’
Clare Irving, of St. Mary’s historic Church, echoes the thoughts of Jake Lukas about the village’s connections, pre-pandemic: Residents used to walk to services. They always stayed for coffee and sought out people they liked to talk to. Our church warden would grab people like Isabel on the day to help with the collection. When they were looking for volunteers to bake cakes residents would volunteer.”
Like residential care homes everywhere, Paradise is seeking staff and would especially welcome Painswick residents. As a parent, I know how valuable links with the local community can be. For Isabel, my daughter, Paradise and Painswick together represent something unique – home.
Written by Anita Bennett
Original Source: http://painswickbeacon.org.uk/archive/2022/aug22.pdf (Page 10)