A social program for special parents

Context

A person with a disability is one who has one or more physical, sensory, mental, or intellectual deficiencies of a permanent nature that, by interacting with various attitudinal and environmental barriers, does not exercise or may be impeded in the exercise of their rights and their full inclusion. and effective in society, on equal terms with the others.

Research Problem

For parents, the news of a child's disability can make them feel as if their world has changed overnight. The moment of diagnosis provokes a crisis situation that can have a great impact on their lives; because we humans fantasize about the reality of our children before we begin to conceive them. Such a discrepancy can be so great that parents find themselves, at least temporarily, without the resources to overcome the situation they must face.

The solution

For this reason, "Welcome to Holland" was born, a social mentoring program that provides emotional support and information to young and first-time parents, whose children are between 0 and 12 years old and have intellectual disabilities, putting them in contact with parent volunteers who have already been through it and They seek to serve as a guide and accompaniment in this new adventure.

Taking as a concept the premise that life is an intense journey, full of challenges and adventures where the important thing is not the destination, but who accompanies you. Welcome to Holland, seeks to position itself as the ideal partner for this new stage in their lives.

Project phases

This project was structured in 3 stages:

1. In the first stage, the design of the program was carried out.

• The goal of the program is that the mentor parents offer their support individually and voluntarily, to families who have just learned of the diagnosis of their children's disability, in such a way that they are helped to address their concerns.
• Because mentor parents know first-hand what it means to have a child with a disability, they can offer both emotional support and information.
• Each parent who voluntarily wishes to be a mentor will first go through an interview to ensure that they have the necessary skills, and subsequently receive training by professionals specialized in the subject.
• The first meeting between mentor parents and first-time parents is organized by Wellcome to Holland, taking into account that both have children with disabilities and similar difficulties. and it is hoped that they can form a friendship that transcends time.

2. The second stage consists of a volunteer recruitment campaign through the social network Facebook and the press, where parents with older children and with experience with intellectual disabilities will be invited; and in turn, to anyone who wants and can collaborate with the project.

For this, a web page was designed, with information about the program, intellectual disability, an informative blog, and contact and registration forms.

3. Later, with a consolidated team of volunteers, the third stage will begin, in which the program will be promoted in different media so that it can reach any parent who needs it.