Hajime Shiomitsu
Executive Director of Social Welfare Corporation Yukari,
Community Life Support Base Yukari Manager,
Consultant Support Specialist (community life support base project coordinator)

Social Welfare Corporation Yukari

The Yukari Gakuen (school), which was established in 1967, was an admission facility for the disabled with a maximum capacity of 110 people, but the capacity has been reduced to only 40 people and has promoted community shifts to group homes, etc. In 2007, Yukari Nursery School was opened with the concept of accepting all children and being committed to inclusive childcare. In 2017, Yukari, a community life support base was also opened.

Initiatives in Kagoshima City

In the Fourth Phase of the Kagoshima City Disability Welfare Plan, the target value for the development of community life support bases (henceforth referred to as bases), etc. in fiscal 2017 was to aim for the development of at least one of these bases. Kagoshima City set up a working group for the development of the base and started by considering the overall plan of the base in Kagoshima City.

The foundation for this has been the establishment of the Kagoshima City Core Consultation Support Center for Individuals with Disabilities (henceforth referred to as “the core”) in October 2012, which has led to efforts related to consultation support and community transition support up to the present.

Community life support bases and core consultation support center

Cases of emergency consultation (that may lead to temporary emergency protection) received at the core and centers are handled through a communication system that enables information to be shared with bases and administrative agencies in a timely manner. Information on emergency consultations and individuals with the possibility of temporary protection obtained by the core and bases is mutually shared based on consultation reception forms and support-related documents prepared by related organizations. The consultation reception form has a common format so that both the core office and bases can easily grasp the information.

There is no pre-registration system, but there has been established a communication system that allows us to gather information at the core and check each other's information when necessary. We are ready to share immediately when we receive a consultation from an individual who may lead to temporary emergency protection.

In cases that are likely to lead to emergency consultations, administrative and core personnel will provide advance information to the base coordinator and base night duty personnel. In order to respond smoothly to emergency consultations during the hours when the core office is not open, a communication system has been established to share necessary information between the core office and bases, as well as administrative agencies and related organizations. We are also ready to respond immediately to consultations from individuals concerned and their families.

We also use the secretariat meeting of the independence support council regular meeting and a meeting that occurs once a month as a place to share information on a regular basis. It is very important to collaborate with other parties concerned (including the core and administrative agencies) to share the plan of what can be considered before temporary protection is provided, such as what kind of acceptance conditions should be set, what direction a future life should take, etc. Although many cases do not result in temporary protection, we feel that the accumulation of such information and communication during normal times leads to a sense of security in the event of an emergency. The base is a support system 24 hours a day, 365 days a year but answering the phone in the middle of the night is especially nerve-racking. Night duty work at the base is handled by consultation support specialists or managers because decisions must be made on the spot. Emergency and temporary acceptance, etc., are reported to the core and the Welfare Division for Persons with Disabilities the next morning or early the next week.

Although it is a heavy responsibility, in fact, the cell phone number for the Chief of Kagoshima City Welfare Division for Persons with Disabilities is also posted on the contact list for the taking over of night duty work This is for consulting when in doubt about a decision or some other serious matter. The burden on the division chief when it comes to 24 hour a day, 365 days a year support is a matter of concern, but we can really rely on Welfare Division to recognize that this is necessary.  We are building a system that allows us to contact the Health Support Division (public health center), corporate bodies that have concluded cooperation agreements with the base project, and other related organizations in the region when necessary.

It is said that a partnership with the government is important, and in the case of Kagoshima City, they are working together to solve problems, embodying this idea.

A system that is both a multifunctional base development type and an area development type

Outside of the core reception hours, we also handle abuse reports. The night duty workers are supposed to wait in the night duty room on the first floor of the four-story structure. The first call is received by the night shift worker in the group home on the upper floor, and depending on the degree of urgency, he/she is supposed to call the night duty worker on the extension line and ask the night duty worker to respond to the emergency. Of the 60 members of the corporate body in the city that make up the core management council, 17 of them have signed corporation agreements. These corporate body members are responsible for accepting emergency temporary protection requests, etc. at their respective offices and are also expected to assume night duty shifts at the base several times a month. Before the opening, some people wondered, "Why should we help other corporations with their business?" However, one night during the first year of opening, the manager of the office that routinely supports emergency responders came to us and said, “You helped me in a difficult time, and I would like to help you.” We are very happy about this and are slowly increasing the number of our friendly acquaintances in this way.

A set of overnight stays will be handed over to the night duty staff with a bag that contains a set of clean bed sheets, and a night duty file with keys to an official car, a night duty room, an elevator, and a telephone handset at the appropriate time. The phone in the night duty room is set not to ring for outside lines, so the staff can take a nap if nothing happens. If a call comes in from the inner line the staff member must deal with the problem promptly. However, even if a staff member leaves the staff room and goes to the restroom. the rule is they must carry with them the receiver which must be on at all times.

Emergency response case

◎Temporary Emergency Protection: April [ 2 days and 1 night] Telephone consultation from the person concerned　

[2 subjects]
Female with physical disabilities in her 50s
Female with Intellectual disabilities (A2) in her 20s

* Suspected of being abused by family members

* 2 subjects due to emergency response cases for both mother and daughter

[Main support contents] The person concerned contacted the abuse prevention center forwarding service for help. The base counselor responded and called the police. The police went to the site and accompanied them to the base where they were placed under temporary protection.

⇒ In order to rebuild community life, temporarily utilized emergency protection and short-term admission services to connect to the next office.

☆Consulted with the local police station for cooperative response (have the police intervene and take charge of explaining the situation to the family members living together and consolidating information)

"Those who are aware are those who are responsible" (= "Those who become aware of social issues and contradictions are those who are responsible for changing society," said Mr. Kazuo Itoga, the "Father of Social Welfare"). While we aim to be like that, there is nothing we can do as individuals, so we feel the need to work together as a team, including all the related offices and offices in the area, as well as Kagoshima City.

Expectations for Community Life Support Bases: Issues and Future Initiatives for the Kagoshima City Model

Since the base cannot be established by the efforts of a single corporate body, we feel the need to expand the network in the entire area based on the multifunctional base development type. Centering on close cooperation between the Kagoshima City Administration and core centers, collaboration with local offices (offices of welfare services for persons with disabilities including consultations) is essential.

Issues with the Kagoshima City Model include (1) insufficient provision of opportunities for experience and public awareness, (2) cooperation with educational institutions, (3) strengthening cooperation with the Welfare Division in accepting emergency cases (mainly for the needy: it is also important to expand the use of existing social resources such as shelters and relief facilities). These were mentioned at the Community Life Support Base Subcommittee meeting.

Future initiatives include (1) utilization of existing social resources (police, fire departments, relief facilities, DV counseling and responding agencies, women's counseling, child consultation center, etc.), (2) child-related emergency response issues, (3) cooperation with medical institutions, (4) Cooperation with admission facilities, (5) public awareness of base projects. We would like to resolve such these issues together with the organizations we cooperate with.

"The entire city of Kagoshima needs to become a community life support base." The words of the head of the Kagoshima City Welfare Division for Persons with Disabilities in the opening year of the center remain in my memory. We all have to shape this way of thinking. Not only after the death of my parents but now and in the future as well, I would like to take root as one of Kagoshima City's efforts to create a comfortable society (town development).