This initiative, named 'Breathing Space', aims to provide a solution during the first week of school holidays, a transitional period when families often have to care for their children without structured support. The goal is to avoid disrupting the young people's "routine" and offer "rest" to families, according to Sílvia Vaquero, the councillor for Feminisms.
The camp will run from June 22nd to 26th at the Garbí Special Education School. It is a pilot project offering eight places for users of the same center, who will attend activities for three hours daily. The councillor emphasized the importance of maintaining routine for these young people, as the holiday change can affect them "negatively".
This week, prior to the official start of summer camps, is used to finalize organizational details in schools. The initiative intends to be repeated in September, before the start of the school year, to continue supporting families.
Councillor Sílvia Vaquero highlighted that families with dependent individuals with disabilities often make significant "sacrifices". This project seeks to provide a "breathing space" for "caregiver mothers", alleviating their "mental load". Cristina Abellán, the project's responsible support worker, noted that even though the sessions are three hours long, they represent a "good respite" and provide a "response" to the needs of the users and their families.
La Merche, a representative of the user families from Garbí School, expressed "great hope" in this initiative, emphasizing that the professionals involved will be the same ones who already know the young people during the school year. "It's important that they do activities," she concluded.
