Carmen James is her nephew’s best friend and inspiration, and she feels blessed to have him, Joseph, at Casal Nuovo where he is taken care of with love, respect, and dedication. Joseph, who is now 40 years old, lost his mother at a young age but was fortunate enough to find a mother figure in his aunt, Carmen, who loves him deeply as though he is one of her children.
“Our Joseph was transferred from Mount Carmel Hospital to Casal Nuovo a year ago, and it was life-changing for him, for us, and for his family, as well. Unfortunately, Joseph’s father could not take care of him himself because he resides in an elderly home. Over the years I supported my late sister’s husband as much as I could as their son Joseph has a challenging behaviour”.
With tears in her eyes, Carmen recalls the many difficult situations that her nephew and his father had to endure over the years when they were living in their home, especially after her sister passed away. But now that Joseph has been residing at Casal Nuovo, Carmen feels reassured that he is safe and protected.
Casal Nuovo is what Joseph needs, said Carmen, “even though I am his aunt, I care for him as though he is one of my children and for me, the fact that I see him happy gives me a sense of reassurance and my only wish is to see Casal Nuovo his forever home”. She continues to explain how at Casal Nuovo the environment gives the clients peace and how the initiatives that they take on are targeted specifically to improve their well-being.
Carmen also mentions how from time to time, apart from visiting him herself, every day, together with her husband she organises outings with Joseph’s father. “To make this possible, I pick up Joseph from Casal Nuovo and my husband goes for his father, who resides in an elderly home, and we then meet all of us together for a coffee or for a meal. It is simply wonderful whenever we see them together and thanks to my husband, who supports me a lot, we try and organise this kind of outing on a regular basis”.
For Carmen, the fact that Joseph interacts with other people it is vital and apart from taking him out herself to different places where he meets different people, she believes that the sense of community that is present at Casal Nuovo led to a drastic positive change in her nephew that ultimately led to greater happiness.
