 | | Typical Russian orphanage |
Orphanages in Russia are considered, on the whole, to be clean, safe, and staffed largely by invested and loving caregivers. But they are also run on a schedule according to a strict timetable. The schedules are usually posted near the Director’s office: Time for meals, time for naps, time for classes, time for exercise. The schedule provides the rhythm to the orphanage’s day, and is probably the only way for a minimal staff to care for many children. There is no room for decision-making, personal exceptions, or choices, and there is scant opportunity for little ones to learn from older children, since they are housed in same-age groups.
When children are released from the orphanage at age 17 or 18, they are crossing into the real world, with very few real-world skills – how to plan and make a decision, how to get a job, how to make one’s way through daily life. It's no wonder that the statistics on outcomes for children who grew up in an orphanage are striking and sad:
Of the estimated 15,000 young adults who are released from state orphanages in Russia each year,10% commit suicide, 30% commit crimes, 33% are unemployed and 40% are homeless.
 | | Abilitation Center at Byelskoe Ustye |
Children’s Home Society decided to become part of a solution for at least some of these children. Since 2006, CHSFS has substantially funded the “Abilitation Center at Byelskoe Ustye” (quite a mouthful!). The center is similar to a halfway house, in that it serves to assist the transition from orphanage to independent living. It is staffed by a housemother as well as teachers and social workers. The young adults do daily chores, help maintain the home, and also grow food to help with the budget. As they gain skills, the young adults do some outside work as well. Eventually they are launched into the real world, and space is freed up for the next resident.
Without these opportunities, the outlook for these particular residents in Byelskoe Ustye is particularly grim. They are graduates of a “psychoneurological” orphanage ; many, if not most, were misdiagnosed with psychoneurological deficits. Without the Abilitation Center, the plan for graduates of those orphanages is warehousing in a mental institution. We must prevent that! If you want to help, please contact Carol Wahl at 651-255-2266.
| 
