We're often asked: does Ombre e Luci favor mainstream school integration or special schools? Family homes or residential institutions? Private or public care?
We don't take sides, because we believe it is a precious good to choose what seems best for your child—and "best" means what suits him or her as they truly are. Sometimes "best" means the least harmful option. Sometimes it means what your family needs right now simply to survive.
We feel bound to state this position clearly, especially when we hear declarations like: "I'd rather he died than go into an institution!" or "I'd prefer he stay with his siblings rather than..." Such phrases strike us as neither realistic nor fair to the countless people who dedicate their entire lives to welcoming thousands of people who have nowhere else to go.
We are certain that a child with a disability belongs first in the family home. But family alone cannot provide rehabilitation, education, leisure, job training, or—above all—care when parents die or can no longer keep their child.
We believe we have a responsibility to make known the services available—public or private, faith-based or secular—provided they are well-run, competently directed with love, and free from exploitation.
Perhaps one day this knowledge will matter to someone, and we thank God that such places exist, imperfect though they are, as all human works must be.
The documentation and photographs below were provided by the director of Casa Sacra Famiglia, located in Fratta Polesine (RO) and administered by the Sisters of Don Guanella.
Casa Sacra Famiglia, founded in Fratta Polesine (RO) in 1900, is a private religious institution recognized by law (D.L. 29/7/37 no. 1663). The House began by welcoming orphaned girls, a small number of elderly men and women, and a few elderly priests without family. Over its eighty-five years, the institution has evolved, specializing in residential care and adapting its physical structures to reflect advances in human sciences and changes in law. Today it operates with a focus on medical, psychological, social, and educational rehabilitation, organized in two sectors:
- Medical Psychopedagogical Institute (IMPP): for girls and young women with intellectual disabilities, aged 14 and above.
- Residential home for the elderly: for elderly women with intellectual disabilities or those lacking self-sufficiency.
The House provides full-time care for 84 women and girls with intellectual and physical disabilities, aged 15 to 54; two attend on a day-basis.
About 7 or 8 of them are considered mild to moderate cases with good prospects for rehabilitation and social reintegration.
The facility comprises five buildings: three serve as residences for the girls; one houses workshops, a gymnasium, a domestic-arts kitchen, a music room, and offices for the specialist team; the fifth contains medical and administrative offices. The grounds include spacious courtyards, gardens, lawn, and cultivated land.
The girls' living spaces are organized as seven independent apartments, furnished to reflect the needs of their residents and foster a sense of group belonging and family atmosphere.
Each apartment, housing about ten residents, is supervised by a sister-educator who plays a vital role in engaging residents, stimulating individual and group development, and helping each girl achieve personal autonomy, maturity, and overall growth.
The specialist team includes two psychiatrists, two psychologists, a social worker, and a director.
Rehabilitation and Job Training
Six workshops operate within the facility, each staffed by a master instructor. The girls are trained in crafts—sewing, crochet, knitting, embroidery, costume jewelry, basketry, puppetry, leatherwork—while those with more severe disabilities receive occupational therapy.
Beyond workshop training, the program includes:
- physical education and sports;
- psychomotor activities;
- domestic skills training, in small groups, teaching the basics of cooking and housekeeping;
- gardening;
- animal husbandry;
- music and singing;
- ongoing educational activities to maintain cultural skills;
- ergotherapy throughout the House—modest domestic tasks that allow young women to feel valued and useful.
Placement in outside employment is a goal pursued for only a small number, given the severity of the residents' disabilities; yet it remains an objective the staff pursue with patience and determination.
For young women with enough ability to manage simple domestic work or slightly more demanding tasks in a small business or workshop, the staff actively seek external placement opportunities.
Six girls currently in trial placements are showing positive results. This demands constant effort from the institution: cultivating relationships with employers, supporting both the employers and the young women through the inevitable difficulties—insecurity, emotional fragility, inconsistency, peer relationships, workplace discipline.
For socialization, the House uses both internal and external resources. Staff organize small outings for shopping, recreation, and walks, using public transportation when possible or the institutional minibus for those less able.
The House arranges recreational and cultural outings and seasonal stays (at the seaside and in the mountains), either organized by the institution itself or in partnership with other social agencies.
For girls without family, the House maintains a seaside property in San Pietro in Volta (VE), where summer rotations are arranged to offer experiences beyond the normal institutional routine.
Participation by some girls in external youth recreation and sports groups is experienced by them as deeply rewarding.
The House encourages visits from organized youth groups that offer recreational activities and social engagement, seeing this as particularly enriching for residents less likely to be integrated externally.
Family relationships are central to the institution's work, since the family is understood as the foundation for all rehabilitation and recovery efforts.
The staff encourage—and sometimes request—visits home for holidays and summer vacation; when possible, they ask for weekly or biweekly family contact.
The social-work team maintains family connections through planned meetings, informal visits during regular family visitations, and joint sessions with the medical, psychological, and educational team to help families become more actively engaged with their daughters and involved in the House's varied activities.
1986