General
The Associação para o Estudo e Integração Psicossocial (AEIPS) is a private organization created in 1987 by a group of professionals, families and people with mental illness.
AEIPS’s mission is the promotion of recovery and social inclusion of people with a mental illness, by enhancing users’ self-determination, choice and control over their own lives and providing support to facilitate people’s access and social participation in community’s natural contexts, in terms of housing, education and employment.
Program involved in the project
Personal and academic enrichment contains the capacity of transforming and empowering individuals. The increased level of knowledge equals to an increase in people’s personal power and thus fosters the ability to better control the events of their life, and facilitate access to new and better job opportunities.
The Education, training and employment program provides an array of support services in terms of choosing, getting and keeping educational, training and employment projects, fostering community liaisons and people’s social inclusion.
Through the Supported education program, people with mental illness have access to: regular schools and universities; information about educational opportunities and resources; educational projects according to individual preferences; support throughout the educational project and community connections.
Supported Education Activities: Support to enroll in schools; individualized plans of study; regular meetings with teachers; Students’ Group; monitored study; Educational Development.
Expected Results: Educational and academic success; allow accessibility to integrated schools in the community; increased sense of empowerment and Community participation; personal development; acquisition of knowledge; ensure accessibility to education.
The Supported Education Program maintains strong contacts with community educational contexts, involved in young and adult education, such as: schools, colleges, universities and training centers.
There is also strong cooperation with ISPA – Higher Education Institution.
Previous activities in supported education
AEIPS established protocols with several New Opportunities and training Centres, as well as Secondary Schools and Universities, where AEIPS works in partnership as consultant and as a support at studying in Supported Education.
In 2007 AEIPS organized a Supported Education Conference “ Educação Apoiada: Suportes educativos para jovens e adultos com doença mental no ensino básico, secundário e superior”, with the participation as keynote speakers of Steve Szivalgyi, Ex-Director of the Supported Education Community Action Group, School of Social Work, University of Michigan and Judith A. Cook, from the Centre on Mental Health Services Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Role in the project
AEIPS will:
- Perform assessments in Portugal
- Describe good practices from Portugal
- Co-develop the toolkit and manual
- Disseminate the outcomes in Portugal
- Recruit members for ENSED
The operational and financial management of the project within the organisation will be conducted by AEIPS’ Administrative and Financial Department.