ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
VISION
We are passionately committed to enhancing psychosocial care, with a focus on peer support. We firmly believe that individuals who have shared similar challenges and experiences are uniquely positioned to support each other in profound and meaningful ways. Through mutual support, we facilitate a healing process based on empathy, understanding, and shared growth.
Our vision is to create sanctuaries where individuals facing emotional and psychosocial challenges can find refuge from the psychiatric system, empower each other, and regain control of their lives. We aim to create a place where individual experiences, even the most extraordinary conditions, are given space and acceptance.
We plan to provide free and easily accessible safe spaces for those who are or have been faced with emotional and/or psychosocial difficulties. Here, they can come together, connect, and experience healing processes. Our focus is on creating environments that promote regular social interactions and foster supportive friendships.
Our services, which extend beyond the boundaries of traditional psychiatric methods, are designed to support individuals in their personal growth, empowerment, and resilience. The activities we initiate are diverse and revolve around creative expressions, including writing, singing, theater, reading circles, arts and crafts, film, photo, and music production, movie screenings, communal music making, language courses, cooking events, and much more.
OBJECTIVES
- Preventive Support: Providing a safe haven for individuals who can’t find support or are not looking for traditional therapeutic treatment. Daily support to assist people through tough times and avoid invasive, life-altering hospital stays. Assistance for those wanting to break the cycle of repeated hospital admissions.
- Suicide Prevention: Implementing a “living room” concept where participants can drop by daily and connect with others who have overcome similar mental challenges.
- Creating Barrier-Free Workplaces: Developing individualized work environments tailored to each person’s specific needs and opening opportunities for volunteer and professional participation. We aim to provide suitable employment opportunities, especially for people who face obstacles in the traditional job market due to their individual challenges. These adaptive and supportive workplaces allow affected individuals to apply their skills and talents in an environment that offers understanding and flexibility. Opening opportunities for volunteer and professional participation to promote integration and self-realization.
We are determined to create a space of understanding, acceptance, and positive change. A space that supports individuals in experiencing ongoing healing processes, unfolding their full potential, and living their lives with dignity and self-determination.
Satzung/Gesellschaftsvertrag (similar to articles of incorporation and bylaws)
The statutes of RECASAS gGmbH are the result of comprehensive considerations and careful planning. They clearly outline our objectives, organizational structure, and principles, setting the framework within which we strive to bring about positive and sustainable changes in our community. You can download our statutes here: Gesellschaftsvertrag_neu_nebst_Besch._§54_GmbHG
Guiding Principles
Our commitment to tolerance and respect is the foundation of our organizational culture. We value the diversity and uniqueness of each individual and are firmly convinced that an inclusive environment promotes innovation and collaboration. We are committed to behavior characterized by courtesy, respect, and appreciation towards all people. We categorically reject intolerant, disrespectful, and discriminatory behavior, especially when based on ethnic origin, skin color, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, against older people, or people with disabilities. Violence has no place in our organization. We neither tolerate physical nor psychological violence and advocate for a working and interaction environment that is safe, supportive, and empowering for all.
Our goal is to primarily hire individuals who bring personal experiences with mental crises. We believe that work not only promotes self-esteem and societal recognition but also provides a structured environment for personal growth. In a team where everyone understands the nuances of mental crises, support is more intuitive, empathetic, and responsive as early warning signs are quickly recognized and addressed. This eliminates stigmatization and inhibitions when one needs a day of rest.
The RECASAS team does not view emotional and psychosocial challenges as symptoms of a disease or deficit. We see them as signs of an overload of individual coping mechanisms and social support. We understand and appreciate that every behavior, however unusual it may appear, has a specific meaning and function for the affected individual.
Organizational Name Change
At the end of 2022, we decided to move away from our previous name warmherzige Beschützer (Warm-hearted Protectors), as it did not explicitly reflect what is central to us. After careful consideration and team discussion, we launched RECASAS, an acronym that expresses the core elements of our organizational culture and our commitment to the community.
R – Resilience and Resource Orientation: We strengthen individual abilities and resources for better crisis management and a more resilient future.
E – Empowerment: We empower our participants to articulate their desires and needs and actively participate in shaping our offerings to promote a sense of personal responsibility and participation.
C – Community: Our “living room” concept offers a safe space for building community and inclusion, serving as a platform for exchange and support to counteract isolation and stigmatization.
A – Art and Academy: We promote the free arts as a means of identity formation and social participation. Creative expressions enable participants to tell their stories and strengthen their mental health.
S – Safety and Security: In an environment characterized by respect and appreciation, we provide protection and security. Nonviolent communication and appreciative behavior are fundamental principles to us.
A – Acceptance: We create conditions of acceptance and tolerance where each individual is welcomed and valued for their uniqueness, promoting respectful and inclusive interaction.
S – Self-determination and Self-help: We support self-determination and self-help, encouraging individuals to make their own decisions and actively participate in overcoming their challenges.
With RECASAS, we present a dynamic, inclusive, and people-centered organizational culture aimed at promoting and protecting the dignity, well-being, and potentials of each individual. We are confident that this new name better represents our values and commitment and lays the foundation for our continued efforts to positively impact the lives of the people we serve.
