Covid-19: After one Month, Life Goes On in our Centres

In the five residential facilities and services operated by Dianova Italy, the lives of our residents and staff members have changed: here is the latest news

Dianova Italy staff members

“A remote service managed by one of our psychotherapist has been set up to provide our staff members with adequate counselling and support” – Photo: Dianova Italy, CC

In a very short period of time, the world as a whole has somewhat adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the association Dianova Italy is no exception.

Residential facilities, especially those that accommodate large numbers of people, are the environments potentially most exposed to the risk of infection, however, the use of personal protective equipment by our staff members (80 are still in operation) and the hygiene and social distancing measures adopted by the 130 residents present in our centres have helped us to maintain safe and secure environments within the five residential centres operated by Dianova Italy.

Support Dianova Italy with a donation

Not only Dianova has endeavoured to abide by the rules imposed on all of us throughout the country, but the association has also, for more than a month now, suspended all activities that might involve contacts outside (job search, family visits, medical consultations, etc.) For our residents, as well as for all of us, this is not an easy period: respecting these rules has led to many changes in their daily routines, and to the necessary revision of each one’s personal objectives in the course of the treatment programme. Lastly, in terms of programme management, we had to proceed with a thorough service reorganization.

 

In some of Dianova’s residential facilities, “editorial groups” have been set up to collect any relevant information about the current situation, as well as about other topics (news, sports, etc.), in order to share it with all the residents. New arts and crafts activities have been developed: like many among us, our young residents have taken to cooking elaborate, and often time consuming, dishes.

With the first warm days of spring, outdoor sports activities are being held with volleyball, football and basketball tournaments.

In some residential centres, where counsellors have to stay at home for health reasons, individual interviews and other activities have been organized via Skype or video-conferencing, as well as external interviews with relevant services. These same tools are used to keep in touch with those among our residents who had been spending a period of time with their families before the outbreak of the epidemic, and who are now unable to resume their treatment programmes due to stay-at-home orders.

The staff members of Dianova’s outpatient centres continue to remotely manage all individual requests for treatment by organizing telephone or Skype interviews in order to ensure a minimum level of support and counselling. Addiction-related problems continue and we know that the difficulties of those concerned might be worsened by the current crisis. Unfortunately, for the time being no procedure has been found to enable us to admit new residents without endangering those present in our centres.

A remote service managed by one of our psychotherapist has been set up to provide our staff members with adequate counselling and support, and some of our employees in Dianova’s internal departments and services have been able to qualify for social security benefits.

 

As the saying goes, opportunities often arise from crises. This is why we will try to seize these opportunities, without ever forgetting that our primary role is to respond, on behalf of society, to the needs of the most vulnerable. We live now in a suspended time, with limited activities, but as soon as the authorities give us the go-ahead to resume our normal work (while ensuring everyone’s safety), we will resume our mission: to give those who want to do so an opportunity to change their lives.

And we will put the same passion into it as we do today!

But for now: #restiamoincomunità (let’s stay in our centres)