Petr and Bára have spent a large part of their lives in institutions. Since 2020, they have been living in an apartment in sheltered housing in an apartment building in Prague. They have spoken about their lives, often with dramatic moments, at conferences, and the then-director Terezie Hradilková recorded part of their life in the home with a special regime. With their consent, we continue to record their lives with the support of community services. JDI employers visit them every month.

Both spent several years in Bohnice, then in an institutional facility, a “home with a special regime for Prague residents,” located in the château in the village of Svojšice in the Central Bohemian Region. Petr lived on the first floor of the building, sharing a dormitory with three other men; Bára on the second floor with one roommate. They received services under a 24-hour care regime, including cleaning, laundry and linen care, cooking, and meals.

They had a strictly regimented daily schedule in the institution – strictly set times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a communal dining hall; taking medications at the nurse’s station; time for hygiene; and bedtime. In their free time they smoked, watched television, and visited each other’s rooms. “It was boring,” Bára recalls.

“I used to visit Mirek from the village and play slot machines,” Petr says of how he passed the time.

Most of their days were spent inside the château building, in the courtyard, or in the adjoining park. Their movement was confined to the castle, the courtyard, and the fenced park: there was a gate in the wall leading outside, but only staff had the key. Petr and Bára don’t remember ever taking a trip together beyond the villa

ge where the château stood. One special event was when an arranged bus transported clients and several staff members en masse to Prague’s Matějská Fair. “Petr and I met at DZR Svojšice in 2014, when I arrived there from Bohnice. We got to know each other in the smoking room, where Petr offered me a cigarette,” Bára recounts. Gradually they began to spend more time together—meeting at meals, in the corridors, or in their rooms. “From the first meeting in the smoking room we started to get to know each other and to miss each other when we weren’t together,” Bára says. They lacked privacy. Even when Bára’s sister came to visit and they wanted to talk alone, Bára first had to “bribe” her roommate with a cigarette to leave them in private.

Strict rules applied to outside visitors – the Visiting Regulations. Visits were allowed only in prescribed times and had to be registered with staff both in advance and upon entering the building. Residents’ finances were managed by a social worker and released by a guardian – the village mayor, who served the same role for 54 other residents of that facility.

Living and Sharing Life Together
In 2019 the institution’s leadership changed and support began to be individualized according to the personal goals and needs expressed by the people living there. Bára and Petr seized this opportunity to express their wish and determination to live together and make decisions about their own lives. With staff they planned a gradual transition: practicing doing things together; receiving support in recognizing and managing their medications; learning to operate household appliances; enrolling in a pre-vocational training course; planning a shared household and its furnishings. After half a year they were finally able to move into an apartment in the supported housing building on the institution’s grounds. At the “For Change” conference in November 2019, which Bára and Petr were invited to attend to tell their story, Bára said: “We’re halfway there. We want to get married and live somewhere normal… somewhere other than an institution…”

Back to Prague
The closure of the château building in Svojšice in October 2020 – due to the deteriorating condition of its electrical wiring and wastewater treatment system – and the overall transformation of DZR’s social services accelerated Bára and Petr’s move. They returned to Prague, where both had lived before being placed in institutions. After temporary accommodation in a seniors’ home, they moved into supported housing in an ordinary residential building provided by the City of Prague.
In December 2020 they spent their first Christmas together outside an institution. They had a tree and shared cooking tasks – Petr prepared the meal and Bára baked cookies. On Christmas Eve they watched the fairy-tale film Three Wishes for Cinderella on television. Bára’s sister sent them a poem. Besides their housing support worker, several friends came to visit.

Support for Independence
After moving in, they received 4 hours/day of supported-housing assistance, five days a week. In their early days of independent living, this support, which had started during their final six months in the institution, was crucial. They needed help managing their shared finances and coping with changes involving their new guardian, doctors, and government authorities. As their independence grew, the hours of support gradually decreased. After two years they needed 4 hours of supported-housing assistance per week, plus 2 hours/week of counseling and 4 hours/month of social rehabilitation.

Working and Being Useful
In the first years they used social rehabilitation and employment support services and found part-time work distributing leaflets. Because Bára had not worked for a long time in the institution, she was not yet eligible for an invalidity pension and still needs to work several more years. Petr receives an invalidity pension. Over three years they saved up for a new television, a computer, and a vacuum cleaner. Petr enjoys buying Bára new clothes.

Their great wish to marry and become spouses has been hindered by their limited legal capacity. With the help of assistance, Bára applied this year to have her full legal capacity restored, but the court did not grant it. She plans to try again; she wants to make decisions for herself and potentially become Petr’s guardian. “We don’t mind that we’re not married, as long as we’re together.”

Bára and Petr live like any ordinary couple. They share all daily worries and joys. “We’re both stubborn and sometimes get on each other’s nerves. We even argue now and then, but we’ve learned how to make up and how important it is to apologize.”
They have renewed and maintained contact with their families, visiting each other in Prague and at relatives’ homes outside the city. Bára’s father spent several days with them at Christmas.

Plans and Travel
Since Christmas they have been planning a vacation and a joint outing. Last year they camped; this year they want to rent a cottage in South Bohemia, where they used to pick blueberries. For a trip Petr initially wanted to go to Berlin, but Bára insisted on Vienna because of its famous cafés and sights, especially Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens.

Ongoing Support and Services
They each have supported-housing assistance tailored to their needs: 4 hours per week, partly at home and partly accompanying them to offices, court appointments, and work. Their estate management is provided by a guardian from the local authority. They take care of their own shopping, cooking, laundry, and cleaning. Petr loves to cook; Bára has taken on the cleaning. When it was Petr’s birthday, Bára baked him a poppy-seed cake, the kind he loves.