Andrea Reyes is 26 years old and is one of the participants in the ‘Respir’ project of the Fundació Sant Tomàs, an initiative that seeks to improve the quality of life of families who care for people with intellectual disabilities. This is a project that offers families that have a member with intellectual disabilities the possibility of having a break during an agreed period of time.
Since 1994, when the initiative was launched, there has been little renewal of foster families and, therefore, they are now calling for new ones to sign up. “It fills me up a lot, I learn from them,” says Reyes, who encourages more families to take the plunge.
The ‘Respir’ service offers families that have a member with a disability stays in foster families for an agreed period of time so that they can enjoy a few days off. This service makes it possible to respond to specific reception needs, specific support in daily care and help at home, among others.
The Fundació Sant Tomàs was one of the pioneers in Catalonia in launching this service. However, now, almost 30 years later, they call for a renewal of the families they welcome. “Some have been offering shelters since 1994 and, for this reason, it is important that new ones come in and that they be renewed”, explains Abel Fontanet, director of the Sant Tomàs community support resources area.
In addition, the covid also caused the number of volunteers to decrease, despite the fact that the data has been recovering and there are currently 29 foster families.
Fontanet explains that there is no profile of a specific person or family that can participate in the project, but that what works best is looked at in each case. “For example, if we have an adult person with a disability who is interested in theater or cinema, we will look for a larger foster family, who also likes cultural activities,” she relates. On the contrary, “if the user is a young person, perhaps we are interested in finding a family that has children and that, in some way, can participate in the family dynamics.”
Families that benefit from the service can enjoy 15 days of family reception per year and have to make a small co-payment, the rest is subsidized by the Barcelona Provincial Council. In addition, foster families receive a small financial compensation to meet any extraordinary expenses they may have.
Maria Àngels Escalé is the mother of Ernest, a 27-year-old boy with an intellectual disability. She and her husband have been using the ‘Respir’ service for ten years. She recounts that, at first, she was not at all clear about it: “First it was a bit difficult for us because you leave your son with someone you don’t know, but later you see that it is fantastic both for him and for us. Escalé explains that her son is “very attached” to his parents, so being able to leave him with someone for a weekend has been good for him to be able to “take off”.
This mother says that, without realizing it, families with children with disabilities “are assuming the burden and responsibility and it is very difficult to make the decision to let someone help them take care of your family member.” “It seems that you want to park it, but in no case is it anything like that,” explains Escalé.
On the other hand, there are welcoming people or families. This is the case of Andrea Reyes, who has been fostering with her partner since she was 18 years old. Now, Reyes is 26 and she explains that she started doing it because her sister worked at the Fundació Sant Tomàs. However, she immediately saw that the project filled her more than she thought. “A foster care is like having a friend at home. You do everything for him. You have to keep in mind that he is a special person and that he needs your support, but sometimes we need his too, ”explains Reyes.
She ensures that she and her partner learn much more from the people they welcome than the other way around. “I have learned to be very patient. I didn’t have any before and, as I’ve been fostering, I’ve improved a lot,” says Reyes. In addition, she assures that, once the weekend is over, she feels that they have not been empty days, rather that they have filled them a lot.
