Caring Spaces – spaces where care flourishes

Not every space has four walls. In the strategic thematic field of Caring Society, we use the term and focus topic ‘Caring Spaces’ to refer to spaces in which care becomes possible. This encompasses geographical spaces as well as social communities and digital meeting spaces that enable close relationships even across distances.

In projects within this strategic thematic field, we explore what innovative housing models might look like, but also what it means to have no space – no home – in other words, to be homeless. We want to understand how people in care or social institutions can be given power and agency to exercise their rights.

What spatial conditions help people to form caring relationships? We look for answers from which we can derive concrete measures that make change possible. One project that has already been implemented is the Menopause Café, a space where anyone affected or interested can discuss about the menopause and learn from others in a relaxed atmosphere and free of taboos. Other projects are being planned to explore diverse kinds of spaces. The following selection illustrates the full bandwidth of Caring Spaces.

CONNECT: Ageing whilst experiencing homelessness

The interdisciplinary CONNECT project builds on the findings of the ReachOut research project and the preliminary CONNECT project. The two-year project is being carried out in the cities of Bern and Zurich. Three questions for the project co-managers Sabrina Laimbacher and Simone Gäumann:

Why is a project like CONNECT needed?

Homelessness means living in extremely precarious conditions. As people grow older whilst experiencing homelessness, health problems and the challenges of coping with daily life become more acute. Due to the stigma they have experienced throughout their lives and negative experiences with institutions, many of those affected withdraw and avoid contact with support services. At present, little is known about the situation of ageing homeless people. This is where CONNECT comes in: we want to understand what it is like to grow old whilst experiencing homelessness and what subjective needs arise in old age with regard to health and housing.

What precisely is the project investigating?

CONNECT is conducting ethnographic research with older homeless people in Bern and Zurich. The aim is to highlight, from their perspective, the changes associated with ageing, their coping strategies and their support needs. At the same time, we are actively involving their ‘Caring Communities’ — the professionals, informal networks and private individuals in their social environment. On this basis, we are collaborating to develop a new product that will improve access to support and strengthen these Caring Communities. After testing and further refinement, it will eventually be implemented.

What contribution does CONNECT hope to make in the long term?

Our goal is to refine the provision of support to make it low-threshold, diversity-sensitive and needs-oriented. By actively involving the homeless themselves, we hope to gain insight into their perspectives and promote social awareness. The long-term aim of the project is to help reduce the marginalisation of the older homeless and make greater self-determination in old age a reality for them.

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Promoting personal agency for people with disabilities in residential and care homes by reducing informal coercion

How can a residential or care home be developed into a genuine ‘Caring Space’ – a place that combines care with personal agency? This is precisely the question being explored by a current research project. It is based on a preliminary project involving those affected, relatives, support workers and specialists. Project co-manager Daniela Willener explains:

Why is this project needed?

People with disabilities living in residential and care homes often experience restrictions on their freedom and personal agency. Besides the well-known, legally defined forms of coercion, there are more subtle, informal forms of coercion, such as fixed mealtimes or institutional routines, that actually have the greatest impact on their daily lives. These forms of coercion have scarcely been described to date, and there is a lack of systematic proposals for reducing them. It is also clear that legal representatives play a key role, although there has been very little research on this: their involvement is inconsistent, their responsibilities are often unclear, and informal coercion often remains invisible to them as well. The project is a response to this pressing need for clarity, awareness-raising and structured options for action.

What specifically is the project seeking to investigate?

The project investigates the forms of non-formal coercion experienced by people with disabilities in residential and care homes, and how they come about. To gain more insight, case studies are being conducted in three institutions. These involve interviews with people with disabilities, legal representatives and professionals, and analysing structural and organisational frameworks as well as the roles, decision-making processes and scope for action of all those involved. The findings from the preliminary project provide an important basis for this; for example, a lack of choice, unclear responsibilities or the fear of losing one’s place in the home.

What longer-term contribution does the project hope to make?

Our goal is to permanently strengthen the personal agency of people with disabilities. The purpose of the project is to gain insight into how informal coercion arises, how it can be identified, and what means of corrective action can be taken. Central to this is the development of a practice-based toolbox, developed collaboratively with both persons with disabilities and experts. The aim here is to empower all those involved to systematically reflect on, address and dismantle informal coercion. In the long term, this should create an environment in which people with disabilities can live out their rights and needs with personal power and agency.

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Diversity and participation in communities

To strengthen participation in communities, especially for population groups that have previously been difficult to reach, the project combines innovative approaches from social work with social design methods. This gives rise to new, sensory, creative forms of participation. Thanks to seed funding from the thematic field, an Agora application is currently being prepared for the Swiss National Science Foundation. The goal is to consolidate existing research findings and work with selected municipalities to develop concrete improvements to the participation situation. Project manager Prof. Dr Annina Tischhauser explains:

Why is this project needed?

Many municipalities are already committed to participation, networking and support, in the spirit of a Caring Society. And yet certain population groups still remain hard to reach – such as people dealing with multiple challenges, socially isolated individuals or such with limited knowledge of the majority language. The project addresses this gap by consolidating existing research findings on diversity-sensitive engagement and participation and making them accessible to municipalities. The goal is to break down barriers to participation and open up new avenues for interaction and communication.

What specifically does the project hope to achieve?

The project takes tried-and-tested formats from social work and social design and applies them in practice in two or three municipalities in Bern. This includes making research findings from the School of Social Work and the Academy of the Arts available for the diversity-sensitive design of outreach and participation. We are currently consolidating the project findings to date, conducting needs assessments with interested municipalities and defining a common approach for the application process.

What longer-term contribution does the project hope to make?

In the long term, the project will help to enable municipalities to use low-threshold, diversity-sensitive and creative participation formats and tools to promote participation. Furthermore, the project strengthens public engagement, creates new spaces for interaction and supports municipalities in actively shaping a sense of belonging and participation. We see this as a contribution to promoting equal opportunities and social cohesion.

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The projects presented here demonstrate clearly how diverse Caring Spaces can be. What they have in common is that they take different perspectives, break down barriers and strengthen relationships. And they illustrate that Caring Spaces are not formed automatically, but require commitment and effort. They come about when research, practice and those affected work together to develop new forms of coexistence.

The aim of the Caring Society thematic field is to promote a society in which personal agency is strengthened and social participation is made possible for all. To achieve this, we continue to investigate Caring Spaces and, where possible, translate the insights gained into sustainable structures.