What we do

The aim of our work is to guide young people with intellectual disabilities who need support in independent living on a path that helps them to become a healthy, partially self-sufficient member of human society, and to be able to adapt to everyday requirements.
Our goal is to strengthen their self-advocacy skills, improve their quality of life through employment, artistic development, recreational opportunities, group and individual movement development, and legal and lifestyle counseling.
Therefore, the focus of our pedagogical approach is not the fact of disability, but the human dignity of young people living independently. Our mission is to be a full-fledged active member of the community and to live a full life.

Zoltán, Selényi

Executive Director

selenyi.zoltan@fogdakezemalapitvany.hu

Péter, Tóth

chairman of the board of trustees

toth.peter@fogdakezemalapitvany.hu

Contact

adress

7634 Pécs,
Kovács Béla street 10.

Contact Us (Judit, Futár)

futar.judit@fogdakezemalapitvany.hu

Our Hours

MON-THU 07:30 – 16:00

FRIDAY 08:00 – 14:00

Our story


Hold My Hand Foundation has been established in 1991, just around the regime and system change in Hungary. The NGO’s got more and more tasks from the government, and they became very strong social service providers already in few years. Now we have a culture of associations, foundations and other types of
civil forms, where people gather to fulfill goals and help other people in need.

The Hold My Hand Foundation is working with mentally disabled (or more correctly called nowdays mentally challenged) adult people above 16 years, who
fulfilled their compulsory education, and would like to work in a protected workshop environment. The Foundation operates a Work and Therapy Centre (Daycare Centre) and a Residential Home (Living Centre).

The Hold my Hand Foundation’s Work and Therapy Centre (Daycare Centre) hosts the volunteer to support the activities of the disabled young people, the
address: 7634 Pécs, Béla Kovács street 10. The Daycare Centre provides an institutional employment and development preparation for 40 persons, currently in
five workshops: (candle, paper, creative, household assembly type of hired labor).
Employment is the cornerstone of the Foundation’s work, partially from the Foundation’s point of view, because we must strive more toward self-preservation, on the other hand from the point of view of the disabled young people working at our place, they get wages for their work, thereby increasing their self-esteem, selfevaluation, an important member of society, not living on welfare, but also adds to the joint. The volunteer spends the daily activities in one of these workshops together with our mentally disabled youngsters led by the workshop leader specialist. The volunteer has the opportunity to unfold his talents and individual skills within the workshop, we are open to his ideas.In the afternoons through daycare setting our youngsters are involved in recreational programs. The volunteers are welcome to organize and carry out such programs once in awhile in collaboration with our recreation specialist colleague. These programs will be organized in a free informal way, they participate in the occasions, who are interested in that specific topic (eg. cooking, watching movies, baking, photography, music and rhythm, etc). It’s proven, that we more effectively can learn the knowledge, what we learn in an informal way, and is better engraved, further, even we are able to remember until the end of our lives. As being an informal, free to choose programme, those, who are interested prefer more likely to participate, their motivation is more sustainable. For several years there has been going on artistic vocational training, therapy and work type of group sessions in the field of fine arts (Art Brut direction) and theater (movement, dance, drama, forum theater, play-back). These sessions regular occasions, usually on a monthly basis carried out in blocks, also before exhibition or performance the participants intensively preparing for that specific event. The volunteer can be involved in all activities, although we ask them to focus on one main project, which will be targeted as his project area. She/he can learn about theater workshop techniques or art techniques. “Project in the project” is the realisation of the volunteer’s own imagination, ideas, dreams in the framework of the existing human and material resources. The volunteer prepares the project plan, budget, organizes and manages the event, makes the promotional material, writes the project diary, administers with photographs, carries out the event, prepares a presentation, and evaluating the project together with the mentor and the coordinator. This is our program, which we have been using for several years within the EVS framework, an effective tool in the learning process, which the volunteer can utilize in his later work as well. During the oneyear the volunteer gets ready for this, also we ensure through the activity, that the volunteer learns the necessary skills, that are necessary to implement smaller or larger projects even alone, with very little help. The most successful projects are incorporated in our work, we try to plant it into the daily operational activities, and also occasionally we hold EVS days, when we commemorate our ex-volunteers through these programs.

Our programs

Ability Cafe™

In 2013, we launched our own initiative to implement a social campaign to strengthen the integration and acceptance of people with disabilities in the frequented cafés and restaurants of the city of Pécs. In June 2014, due to the collection of the funds collected, we had uniforms sewn. In 2015, the program was nominated for a Sozial Marie award, where more people could learn about our professional program. The former campaign has now grown into a work environment, the ultimate goal of which is to open its own café in Pécs. It has grown to a national level since the beginning of the programme: already in Orosháza (2015), Gyula (2017) and Békéscsaba (2018), guests can meet people living with intellectual disability serving. In this way, guests can experience the presence of participating these people during conversation and service, not because of their disability, but because of their human values. Currently every Friday at Breakfast bar (7621 Pécs, Király Street 23-25.) you can meet our Ability Cafe colleagues within the scope of Ability on Fridays.

Art Brut Seminar

In September 2015 we started in collaboration with the Faculty of Arts of Pécs University the Art Brut! – our integrated art seminar. The aim of the optional special seminar is to find a connection between the creative artists of people living with intellectual disability and the students of the vocational education and training courses, the source research of art and the present time of Art Brut. As a kind of guest students, our Youngsters  get an insight into the life of the university every two weeks of the semester, while students can gather inspiration from the honest, uninhibited creative process of our young people.

Job for you, dream for me!

It is natural for many of us to be able to try ourselves in anything, be it craft work, assembling computers or packing goods. For our Youngsters, however, these are dreams that rarely come true.

On the day of A work for you, a dream for me!, the program co-organized with the Salva Vita Foundation, disabled participants can work for half a day with a co-worker in a workplace, which interests them, in a job, that interests them, and they can get a closer look at the day-to-day activities of an employee. On this open day, people living with disabilities can introduce themselves, while employers and the working community can learn about the individual skills, abilities and personality of the participants, who visits them.

Our services

The Hold My Hand Foundation was founded in 1991 on the initiative of parents and professionals with the aim of helping day-to-day caring for young people with intellectual disabilities, who have gotten out of the educational system due to become adult. In 1998, the Foundation’s Therapy and Work Home opened in its current location, where from the very beginning we focused on handicrafts and development through work.

According to the needs, this was followed a year later by our eight placement St. Kinga Residential Home in downtown Pécs, so the Youngsters can become more independent in the everyday life. Since 2007 we can not only offer day care, but also employment has started, so our Youngsters have been paid for their work ever since. In 2017, we have an assisted living, where four of our Youngsters have the opportunity to live independent lives.

Therapy- and workcentre

We currently operate 5 workshops in our Therapy- and Workcentre, the day is spent working in the mornings, leisure and development sessions in the afternoons, (self-) helping and thematic group sessions. The Youngsters work in the Creative (handmade paper booklets, jewellery and printed products), Candle, hired labor work, Therapeutic (ceramic objects) or Kitchen and household workshops according to their abilities and interests. Also an important part of our daily activities is the professional and supervised group and individual movement development. Then they take part in movement theater and drama plays, in film club and fine arts classes, but also at that time can they get access to advices on life management.

Address: 7634 Pécs, Kovács Béla street 10.

Phonenumber: +36 72 252-322
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 4 pm, Friday from 8 am to 2 pm.

Our information material for interested parents can be downloaded by clicking here.

Please visit us!

St. Kinga Livingcentre

In 1999, with financial support from the “Nest” program of the Hand in Hand Foundation, we established a livinghome for nine adult young people. Situated in the centre of Pécs, in a family zone area, the livingcentre is an integrated two-storey family house with six separate rooms, so that when returning home, the Youngsters have the opportunity to go separately, to spend their free time usefully, to do self-care and to take care of the chores around the house.

Address: 7623 Pécs, Kandó Kálmán street 5.

You can reach our staff every day on the phone +3670 332 8812 (Monday to Friday from 5 pm to 8 pm).

Supported living

Supported living is a form of service that creates the right conditions for people with disabilities to develop a more open, family-friendly lifestyle for themselves. Our goal is to maintain and promote independent living according to the age, health status and self-sufficiency of the users. Since the supported living is based on an individual’s existing relationship system (unlike to the traditional residential care), this allows for more personal treatment and greater autonomy. At our Foundation since 2018, four Youngsters have the opportunity to live independently in the suburbs of Pécs.

Hired Labor work

Our Foundation undertakes hired labor work, and also acts as accredited employer. Within the framework of this, our organization undertakes hired labor work, which we carry out at our site.

If required, please contact our organization’s managing director (+36 70 332-8811) or financial manager (+36 70 455-1682) for further consultation!

Labour market programs

For the people with changed work abilities and people living with intellectual disability our partner organisation the Special Pécs for the disabled Foundation offers and provides employment services.

Our products

Pieces

We have dreamt it with Vera Burány (a fashion and textile designer), we have been supported by the Salva Vita Foundation, our Youngsters have prepared. Our hand-made abstraction development game can be ordered in vivid and pastel editions via e-mail or can be purchased at the Monokrom Design Store in Pécs and on the Helping Shopping’s webshop.

Seed paper

Our decorated germinable paper made from recycled paper using the seeds of one-summer plants can be a perfect choice as a wedding gift.

Ceramic ornaments

Our ceramic decorations made of red and white clay decorate the garden in spring and the Christmas tree in winter. Snails, fairy houses and water lilies made by the Youngsters can be a fun addition to the rock gardens, while our Christmas decorations contribute to the intimate, sometimes bohemian Christmas spirit.

Volunteering

School community service

Our foundation has been actively involved in helping the school community service of high school students from almost the beginning, we are in constant contact with several schools in Pécs, we regularly receive students in our therapy and work places and houses.

Individuals

As a volunteer, anyone can join our work. We need help primarily during the special sales periods (in August at the Devil’s Kettle and in december at the Advent market), but we welcome those, who are interested at our Foundation at any time of the year.

ESC (European Solidarity Corps)

Volunteers from abroad are an important part of our Foundation, who implement their own projects independently within the foundation and in cooperation with other institutions. This is how they help our work day by day by organizing various programs, making products.

You can find our Foundation at the EVS database!

Donation

Dear Partners, Supporters!

If you would like to make a donation to us, please transfer it to this bank account number!

Country: Hungary
Bank name: Takarékbank Zrt.
Bank SWIFT BIC: TAKBHUHBXXX
IBAN: HU45 5080 0104 1102 4831 0000 0000
Bank account: 50800104-11024831
Subject: supporting