Humanitarian Programmes Support Charitable Foundation (HPSCF) has been operating as registered Russian charity since 1998. We support the families of children with a range of disabilities and offer support and information to NGOs and professionals working with these families.

Together with our British partner Home Farm Trust and the parent volunteers we run a helpline for parents, a befriending service where specially trained parents support other parents who may be feeling frightened and confused about their child's future, seminars for NGOs, parents and professionals, drop-in sessions, therapeutic group work for parents and children, legal support, individual counseling and provide wheelchairs for children with severe physical disabilities.

Program "Befriends"

The program "Face to Face" - supports the families, isolated from a society and involves them in active life. Its purpose is psychological support and information help to parents, who have recently heard about the  diagnosis of their child.

The novelty of "Face to Face" service is, that the main service providers are Befrienders -    parents having personal experience of bringing up of a child with disabilities and who have done a special training of an adapted English course. Befrienders who have been in the same situation and overcome similar difficulties, know a situation "from inside" and are ready to share their knowledge and experience.

After birth of the child with disabilities many parents feel isolation and loneliness:

• we show, that around there are a lot of families who can empathies, with similar difficulties
• we prove through examples of other families, that active participation of parents in rehabilitation of the child brings success
• we emphasize the importance of early intervention
• we do not hide the truth and we do not promise "gold mountains"
• we give the objective information, we describe prospects
• we explain, that the way to the achieve main aims will be difficult and long. Knowing a complete picture of the present and an honest forecast, parents can make their own decisions and to take responsibility for the subsequent steps

Within the framework of the project we run a Help line. We hold seminars and trainings for the parents and regional experts. The educational groups are formed continuously. The training course is designed for 30 hours.

Program " School for the parents "

The basic purposes of the program is to provide psychological and information support for parents bringing up children with disabilities, help families to solve emotional problems in child's development, form a child's sense of social competence, expand information about the environment, prepare for further studies at school, and, as a consequence, integrate families into society.

The educational cycle consists of 32 sessions. The training plan is developed each time in light of the interests of the group

We pay attention to the importance of group work for children and parents. Parents communicate with each other and have an opportunity to share their own experience and to learn from the experience of other parents. They also receive information and psychological support from specialists.

The program helps to solve not only personal problems, but also to get social skills and to overcome the difficulties that have appeared with birth of the child with disabilities. Parents become more active and more responsible in making decisions, understanding that they are not alone and seeing examples of other families successfully coping with a similar situation.

Children's group is lead by psychologists and speech therapists. Where necessary the additional assistants are involved to help children with motor disorders. Group work includes role play, dramatized games, mobile games (at alevel accessible to the child). At each session changes in child's behaviour, involvement in the group work and progress are recorded, and, on the basis of these a report about the development of the child is made at the end of the whole training cycle. The main aim of these sessions is the development of emotional and communicative skills of the child. The training in other spheres occurs within the framework of this aim. Where necessary speech therapists work with children individually giving special massage, articulation exercises and sound work. Thematic holidays and excursions are organized for each group.

The program "School for the Parents" has been carried out by our Foundation during 3 years (since September, 2000). Since January, 2003 thanks to the Government of Moscow our work in this direction was included in the Complex program of measures of social protection of Moscow citizens. The Programme is financially supported by "United Way Moscow" Foundation and Fund "Moscow program of public development".

Medical Partnerships

Aim - the psychological preparation of medical workers for collaboration with the parents of children with complex disabilities.

Within the framework of the programme we run training for medical workers.

One of the aims of the project is the adaptation of the well-known programme for the training of specialists to work effectively with parents, created by the British psychologist Professor Hilton Davis.

The current programme will serve as a basic course for delivery in Russian educational institutions for the preparation and improvement of medical faculties.

Educational Partnerships

Aim - the psychological preparation of educational workers for collaboration with the parents of children with complex disabilities; methodological help in the education of such children; help with the creation of an appropriate microclimate in class.

Within the framework of the programme we deliver seminars for the directors of educational institutions, educational administrators, teachers and parents.

The programme includes helping the child to adapt to the children's collective, the resolution of psychological problems within the family, the preparation of parents for active collaboration with the school and participation in the process of educating the child.

Legal Service

Our specialists offer legal support to the families of children with disabilities, providing information and guiding them through current legislation and changes to legislation, stimulating parents to take steps to protect the legal rights and interests of their children.

To help parents we propose a second edition of the legal directory An ABC of Rights. This textbook , in which the distribution and systemizing of information about the rights of disabled children and their families granted by law, elucidates legislation about the mechanics of realising these rights.

Monthly, we run information-practical seminars for parents addressing the real problems of rights guarantees and the possibility of their realization.

Psychological Service

We offer free psychological help and informational support to families in person and by telephone. Experienced psychologists help to dispel negative feelings and to harmonize families' relationships with society.

We regularly run information-practical seminars and training for parents and specialists of government institutions.

What we do:

• v Offer free psychological help in-centre and by telephone
• v Work with parents and children in groups and individually
• v Provide information on questions of childhood disability
• v Run training and information-practical seminars

The " Special Seating " Programme

The Special Seating programme consists:

• provides those in need  with specialized wheelchairs;
• designs and produces technical rehabilitation equipment in response to medical requirements and the user's feedback.

"Special Seating" is a modern system of providing wheelchairs under the supervision of medical staff and technicians. Our wheelchairs offer people the chance to live a full life as active members of society.

In 1994 specialists from the Foundation, together with staff from the British charity "Моtivation" developed a wheelchair which we called "MOTI". "MOTI" is a new professional solution to meeting the medical and social needs of paralysed children. The MOTI chair with a special seat not only helps the child's current physical condition, but also serves to prevent the development of further complications. The modular design of the seating allows us to make each one individually, taking into account the complexity and form of impairment.  The wheelchair enables the child to be mobile, which in turn helps the development of their other skills and expands the range of people they can communicate and socialize with.