Jyrki himself is the father of two, now grown sons, Markus and Robin, who suffer from mental disabilities. Years ago, Jyrki, his wife Marianne and other parents of similarly disabled children met at a school for children with special needs in Helsinki and together they decided to provide their children with housing in which they could function independently according to their ideas, of course with personal assistance according to their individual needs. Despite the fact that the system of support for individual housing for the mentally handicapped is very advanced in Finland, the process of building a house took 8 years. In addition to choosing the location, creating architectural plans, the construction itself and furnishing the interiors, Jirky and other parents also struggled with finding suitable staff and especially with the phenomenon of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard).

For the next 4 evenings throughout the week, we also met speakers from all over the Czech Republic, who shared their experiences and know-how on the topic of housing for people with mental disabilities. The whole week was full of inspiring experiences and stories. It was an immense honor for us to participate in this project and we look forward to more opportunities.

If you would like to support the Society for the Support of People with Mental Disabilities in the Czech Republic, you can find out more about its activities at https://www.spmpcr.cz/