Conservatorio Vincenzo Bugeja is made up of two residential homes: Fejda and Jeanne Antide. The service is presently catering for 22 residents between the ages of 11 and 18 years.
Our aim for the residents who are given care at the Homes is to help them regain their dignity by giving them the basic safety needs in order to help them unlearn previous coping skills and learn to function better in life through the therapeutic relationships formed in a caring environment. We strive to help the residents build a positive esteem of themselves to believe that they deserve a dignified life and ultimately achieve a state of self-actualisation.
A care plan is formulated together with the residents. This includes their residential stay, health, education and employment, contacts with families and other professionals, and long term placement. A meeting twice a year with Appogg social workers is set up to discuss the care plan of each resident.
Group therapy is held every fortnight in each of the Homes. The sessions are received well, and many residents choose to attend. Attendance for therapy sessions is not enforced on any of the residents, as our experience has shown that coercing residents into treatment has not been successful and that they don’t engage. Those residents who are resistant to participate in group therapy, are still given individual attention by the therapists while they are at the Home. These sessions have paved the way for several residents to choose to start engaging in one-to-one therapy sessions.
Tapping of EU funds is high on the agenda of the organisation, as they offer several opportunities for both the residents and staff alike. We have participated in several EU funded projects so far, namely through the Youth in Action and Erasmus+ programmes. Training and information sessions are regularly attended by staff members to see what opportunities are available for staff training and youth-related projects.
Annual events for which both residents and staff look forward to each year are the Christmas party, which has become a special themed event, a start of summer party, for which a theme is chosen by the residents, and a two night stay in Gozo, where all the residents get to be with each other in a more relaxed environment.
The care of the building is entrusted to the Board of Trustees of Vincenzo Bugeja. The Board of Trustees funds the upkeep and recurring needs of the Homes during the year. It also sponsors several initiatives and projects. Financial support for activities, special gifts and pocket money for visits abroad are given every year by the Board of Trustees.
For the running of the programme, the government allocates a budget. A Board of Management meeting with representatives from the Board of Trustees, Management and representatives from the Ministry of Family and Social Solidarity is held once monthly to discuss ongoing matters of the Homes.