The Association for Regional Development and Mental Health - EPAPSY is a non-profit organization established in 1998, aiming at equipping communities with an alternative psychiatric care model, based on the principles of Social Psychiatry and Psychosocial Rehabilitation.
EPAPSY holds scientific and administrative responsibility for 24 Psychosocial Rehabilitation Housing Facilities for adults and youth, two Mental Health Mobile Units in the Cycladic islands and one Day Centre in the Attica region. In addition, EPAPSY has supported the establishment and operation of Social Cooperatives and at the same time provides psychosocial services to vulnerable refugees through its partnerships with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Quality of care is ensured through interdisciplinary cooperation, application of guidance issued by the World Health Organization, close liaison with local services and actors, the battle against stigmatization and social exclusion and the continued training and certification of professionals working across EPAPSY’s Units.
Youth Psychosocial Rehabilitation Unit
Since 2019, EPAPSY maintains, among other, responsibility for the operation of the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Unit for Young People (Youth Shelter), which constitutes a model outpatient mental health residential facility for adolescents aged 13-18 years old in need of special treatment outside their existing family and social environment. Currently, eight boys and girls are hosted in the shelter.
The Youth Shelter’s main objectives include the provision of a stable and individualized residential and treatment framework that can address the psychological and emotional needs of adolescents diagnosed with psychiatric conditions and enable their personal, educational, social and vocational development. At the same time, beneficiaries and their families receive counselling services aiming at facilitating the former’s gradual reintegration, both to their family structures and to their communities at large.
In light of the sensitive nature that characterizes adolescents as a group, the age-appropriate and functional design of the Youth Shelter is essential. The young people hosted there often arrive from economically challenging environments and have experienced material and emotional deprivation. As part of rehabilitation, it is essential that they are hosted in an appropriately designed space where they can enjoy feelings of safety, privacy and familiarity, all of which will address their educational, social and recreational needs. With the support of Matilda Foundation, the Youth Shelter procured new housing equipment, including furniture, electrical appliances, linens, utensils and more, thus becoming more functional and improving quality of life for its guests.