#12 From Orphanage to Therapeutic Community: Portugal's Residential Care Revolution

Send us Fan MailColby Pearce connects with the core technical team of Livramento, a residential care home in Portugal with a remarkable 200-year history of supporting girls and young women from ages 6 to 25.• Tracing Livramento's journey from a closed orphanage during Napoleonic times to today's therapeutic community• Exploring how a revolutionary director in the 1970s transformed the institution by focusing on education and personal development• Developing a comprehensive therapeutic model with consultant Patrick Tomlinson that emphasizes reflective practice• Creating graduated independence through pre-autonomous living within the home and apartments in the community• Achieving a 99-100% academic success rate through educational partnerships and scholarship programs• Working systemically with families to promote healthy relationships and potential reunification• Building a culture where staff at all levels receive supervision and support to prevent burnout• Demonstrating how residential care can be the best option for some young people when implemented with therapeutic intentionMy guests, and I say guests because there are five of them, are Ivone, Maria, Bruna, Carla, and Liliana, from Lar Nossa Senhora do Livramento.About LivramentoThe Fundação Lar Nossa Senhora do Livramento (FLNSL) is a non-profit Private Social Solidarity Institution (IPSS) that receives female children and young people aged between 6 and 25 years old into its residential care programme. The history of Livramento is intertwined with the history of the city of Porto, dating back to the Napoleonic invasions. At that time, a group of citizens organised themselves to protect children and their mothers from abandonment and mistreatment, creating the first shelter in 1810. Livramento accommodates female children and young people aged 6 and over who are in a situation of danger or neglect, and whose reception is requested by the competent entities – Family and Juvenile Court or Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People at Risk. The objective of this social response is the protection and rehabilitation of children and young people, aiming at the following possible life projects: family reunification, foster care, adoption or autonomy. Livramento operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ensuring accommodation, food and personal care as well as monitoring and promoting their integral development.In recent years, the residential shelter has undergone a very significant transformation process, which I am hoping to discuss further in this episode of the podcast.Welcome Ivone (Psychologist), Maria (Social Worker), Carla (Psychologist), Liliana (Special Education Technician), and Bruna (Psychology Intern).Links:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheSecureStartPodcastPodcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/Secure Start Site: https://securestart.com.au/ DisclaimerInformation reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce.Support the show