Criticism of life support

People with disabilities are being torn from their environment

Annemarie H. with her severely disabled daughter Manuela (left, 50), who is now very scared.

(Bild: Spitzbart Wolfgang/Wolfgang Spitzbart)

Lebenshilfe wants to relocate six long-established residents of its sheltered home in Steyrermühl and distribute them to various care facilities. The concerns of those affected and their relatives are enormous. They want to prevent the group from being torn apart and individuals from being housed far away from each other.

"We are desperate," says Annemarie H. (70) from Laakirchen with tears in her eyes. She is almost heartbroken that her severely impaired daughter Manuela (50) and five other residents of the Lebenshilfe residential home in Steyrermühl are to be moved away and allocated to other care facilities.

A resident for 30 years
"My Manuela is intellectually at the developmental level of a two-year-old. She has lived in the home for 30 years, feels at home with her carers and fellow residents and is now simply to be torn away from her familiar surroundings? Ever since she found out about this, she has been very frightened and restless," says the mother.

According to Lebenshilfe, the rooms are unsuitable for older residents.

(Bild: Lebenshilfe)

A letter to this effect from Lebenshilfe managing director Gerhard Scheinast has caused uproar among the relatives of those affected. The reason given for the planned move is that the home's infrastructure is allegedly poorly suited to meeting the needs of older residents (47 to 64 years old) who require nursing and care.

"This is incomprehensible, after all, five years ago an elevator and a special bathtub with access aid were purchased, among other things," says H. She also paid for new room furnishings for her daughter this year. "There was no talk of that at the time. We are now very much hoping for help from the state so that this can be examined objectively!" 

„Krone“-Kommentar

Die Ängste sind nachvollziehbar

It is understandable that the relatives of the residents of the Lebenshilfe home in Steyrermühl, who are threatened with eviction, are up in arms.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Alexander Schwarzl, Markus Wenzel)

After all, it is often not easy even for intellectually healthy people to leave their familiar surroundings and, for example, to give up their familiar four walls for work-related reasons or due to physical infirmity and to embrace something new.

But how difficult it must be for people like the mentally impaired Manuela - who has known nothing else for 30 years - to adjust to new surroundings, caregivers and roommates!