Without freedom of action

Ten years ago, the court recognized Andrei as incompetent. Instead of his favorite room with a tape recorder and a shelf with books, he left several meters of official housing in a neuropsychiatric boarding school. And if it were not for hope, a free life for Andrei would have left behind

“Andrey found !!! Thanks to everyone for the reposts, participation and a separate gratitude to the Lisa Alert detachment, ”this entry on Facebook of the Center for medical pedagogy has collected more than a thousand likes and hundreds of rests. Prior to this, 37-year-old Andrei Druzhinin searched for two days, dozens of people searched for two days, only in search of thirty people participated directly on Moscow streets. They tried to act as quickly as possible, although usually in urgent services even a statement about the loss of adults do not accept in such terms. Andrei was accustomed to always be in touch, but this time his phone was discharged, and two days before the moment when he nevertheless asked for passers-by and called, apparently, he spent on frosty streets.

Andrei is 37 years old, he loves to play on a flute and piano. He can independently make almost any decisions: where to go today, what to buy for dinner and what to do in the evening. Andrei works as a volunteer in the Life Way charity fund. Andrei has behavioral features, because he has autism.

Andrei was recognized as incompetent - the court ruled that Andrei could not control his actions and understand them.

“Lisa Alert” often has to look for disoriented people, and it is far from always a matter of autism - simply forgetful, scattered people are also lost. Lawyers and colleagues of the fund are sure that Andrei is not to consider incompetent and deprivation of civil rights incorrectly. They know that he can live independently, just needs special support and a person nearby. And Andrei has such a person.

Nadezhda Andrey

Nadezhda Pelepets stands next to the newly found Andrei and looks very happy and very tired at the same time. This amazing pair was talked a lot long before the disappearance of a “special volunteer”. The story of Andrei Druzhinin - of those rare happy cases when a person was able to rescue from the walls of a neuropsychiatric boarding school. Although the path to this was long.

In a last life, Andrei lived in a solid “three -wing” in the center of Moscow. He had his own room with books and beloved tape recorders and loving mom and grandmother nearby. The diagnosis of autism was made at four years old, but he studied at a regular school, although he could not finish more than eight classes. Now Nadezhda thinks that it happened because the relatives did not support the studies of Andrei, but he could not cope because of a difficult nature: “He would like-and everything worked out.”

After school, Andrei went to classes on hippotherapy at the rehabilitation center of “Our Sunny World”. And then he stayed there to work - he helped to take care of the horses at the stable. There Andrei got acquainted with hope - in the center she was engaged in the treatment of “special” children. It was then that Andrei died at Andrei and everything became different: in his life there was a cousin who worked in a psychiatric clinic.

Andrey and Nadezhda in Andrei's apartment photo: Vasily Kolotilov for TD

Without his mother, Andrei was hard, he became more frequent for nervous breakdowns, and Aunt sent him to psychiatric treatment. After several weeks in the clinic home, Andrei did not return. Aunt convinced her nephew to arrange a disability and made a power of attorney to manage Andrei Housing. She achieved in court the recognition of a man incompetent and handed over her nephew to the custody of a neuropsychiatric boarding school.

Public organizations working with people with mental disorders are convinced that in PNI there can not be acceptable human conditions, these are closed institutions of almost a prison regime that poorly affect the state of people with disabilities. Pavel Kantor, a lawyer of the Center for medical pedagogy, explains that formally there was no violation of the law by aunt. The only problem is that no one took into account the opinion and interests of Andrew himself.

“Both relatives and the state followed the path of the least resistance, that is, instead of somehow helping and supporting the person who had just died, they decided to arrange him in the boarding school. Andrei, as a weak person and in stress, could not protect his rights, ”says Cantor. “But it is not necessary to make from the relatives of the Facials of Hell - it is quite possible that they sincerely believed that it was better and more correct that Andrei is an unhealthy person, that he would be better in the boarding school, and if he is in the boarding school, then why would he have an apartment and unnecessary troubles and risks.” “Such things” tried to contact Druzhinin’s relative, but could not talk to her.

When Andrei got into PNI, they had a little more with hope. "I just knew that there is such a person and what his name is." Colleagues told about the incident, the girl was excited, and she began to visit Andrei in a boarding school as a volunteer. True, the attention of hopes for Andrei caused a boarding school at the boarding school and constant questions “what?”, “Why?” And "why?"

The boarding school made the hope of the impression of a particularly dangerous guarded object. “Passing, fence with barbed wire, security, documents. You can’t even close the door in the toilet. It is clear that there are people who are not independent, and they need help. But if a person does not need constant assistance, he still cannot even wash private. The orderly told Andrei: “Stop sitting in the bath, you will take the bath at home.” To which Andrei answered: “In general, it is believed that I am at home here,” recalls Nadezhda.

Andrey plays piano during classes in the center of medical pedagogy photo: Vasily Kolotilov for TD

Hope found out that Andrei had a aunt, and she wanted to meet her with Ama. And everything was even good ... until Andrei and Nadezhda began to spend more and more time together, go for walks to the park, go to the cinema and visit.

“I was imbued with feelings. I went to him all of 2010, and finally they even began to let him go out with me. Then his aunt-she also went to him-began to suspect and worry something. I don’t know what she thought, I was not frank with me. But finally she said something to the administration, and they stopped letting him go with me. ”

A year later, the idea was established in the head of hope that Andrei should be taken from the boarding school. The girl decided to fight for the restoration of legal capacity herself - both she and Andrey were optimistic. As Nadezhda explains, Andrei has high -functional autism: he can communicate, reflect, make decisions, although he still has features of behavior: he is hard for him to concentrate and talk with strangers. But still, Andrei submitted documents to the court to restore legal capacity.

Twice is incompetent

Boarding schools are not interested in helping the wards to restore civil rights, says Elena Klochko, a member of the Council on Board of Trustees in the Social Sphere under the Government of the Russian Federation. Boarding schools are officially considered the guardians of the residents and at the same time perform social services for them. “This is where the conflict happens, because everything happens uncontrollably: you fulfill the services yourself, and control yourself. A formally incompetent person can apply to the court to restore legal capacity, but in practice this rarely happens, because the incapable person has a guardian who decides whether he may submit an application or not. And the guardian makes all decisions without a special account of the opinion of an incompetent person. An incompetent person in a boarding school cannot even dispose of the funds of his pension, from which 75% is charged by the state at the account of detention in the boarding school, ”says Klochko.

Andrey and Nadezhda photo: Vasily Kolotilov for TD

At the same time as an attempt to restore capacity, hope and Andrei began to sue for challenging the housing transaction. Inherited by Andrei from his mother, the share in the apartment now belonged to the son of aunt. Nadezhda understood that she needed legal assistance, but most of the specialists to whom she turned to, listened to her and refused to even take up this business. Things where the plaintiff is an incompetent person is obviously unpromising. Andrei was heavily worried about endless proceedings and communication with new people, but retained optimism. Until the last - until the boarding school has decided to conduct the examination of its psychological state necessary for legal capacity. The examination was carried out in the hospital, and what, in the hospital, happened - hope does not know, and Andrei does not tell.

“I came and found him in a completely different state - incomprehensible in general. He was broken, completely crushed. In such poor condition, I have not seen him yet. There were different things with him, but not so. He lowered his hands. He said that he could no longer, he was nothing at all. This has not happened yet. ”

Although the court made a decision in favor of Andrei about the housing, it was not possible to regain legal capacity. The court refused, insisting on a second examination, but Andrei categorically did not want to return to this. Nadezhda realized that now the only way to rescue Andrei from the boarding school is to try to design it under guardianship. “Everyone warned me that it would be difficult and difficult. And I didn't even argue. At that moment, it was all unbearable, because he is there, inside, in a boarding school. And there, in the boarding school, no one was shy to say that “a maximum of two years, and you would return it back to us”. They spoke in the eyes and eyes, ”recalls Nadezhda Pelepes.

With the design of guardianship, it was also not easy. Hope her own two -room apartment did not fit the demands - too small, and she had to rent a larger area. Even more the commission from guardianship was embarrassed that someone suddenly turned out to be an adult with a psychiatric diagnosis, and even not a relative.

Andrey plays a flute during classes in the center of medical pedagogy photo: Vasily Kolotilov for TD

"A million times I was asked the question:" Why did you give up like this? " It's simple, he really wanted to go home, and I wanted him to be free. She said, as it is, that yes - was imbued with. Everyone was surprised, but nobody told me this right in the face, ”recalls Nadezhda. - They spoke behind their backs, especially when there were active military operations with the boarding school. They reported that I have a selfish interest. Where is self -interest and what? I don't really understand. I have the right to live with him in the square that he has, but that's all. I do not rely reward. "

The lawyers of the Center for medical pedagogy helped the hope of collecting the necessary documents for registration of guardianship, and after four years spent by Andrei in PNI, the girl finally was able to take him home. “The law does not determine the possibility of being a guardian with related connections. But if not a relative, but an outsider, always want to take care, this always causes concerns and alertness, even if all the necessary documents are collected. Therefore, Nadia had to face great resistance, and in fact we can say that only the authority of public organizations that had entered it helped to achieve a positive decision, ”says Pavel Kantor, lawyer Pavel Clp.

A story that has not ended

Hope became the official guardian of Andrei, and all the courts and commissions seemed to end. But a new lawsuit began - formally, the court handed over half the apartment to Andrei, only there were no keys to the apartment and access to it, and relatives did not go to contact. When the court nevertheless ordered Andrei to put Andrei into the housing belonging to him by right, his relatives suggested buying these square meters at a market price. Nadezhda agreed and bought an apartment in the suburbs for Andrei - for Andrei.

Although Andrei is registered in the apartment with Nadezhda, they no longer live together. “The love story ended at some point. Some stories end, and this is not about the characteristics of people, this is about life. And in life it happens. In any case, I am a guardian, and Andrey is part of our family. My son, if someone asks at school when we come to his performances with Andrei: “Who is it?” - answers: "Uncle." My relatives are aware that we have Andrei in our family. And everyone knows that he has relatives, and we are. ”

Andrey in his apartment photo: Vasily Kolotilov for TD

Hope says that for Andrei, moral support and a reliable shoulder are most important for Andrei. He can do everything himself, he easily copes with all household problems. And even if, in terms of absent -mindedness, he makes decisions on his own and is responsible for them - for example, he can lose a passport and immediately go to submit documents for restoration.

Now for Andrei, the main thing is the work by the volunteer of the “Working Working” program. Three times a week he comes to the Life Path Foundation in order to spend time with its wards - adults with developmental disabilities. At this time, parents can relax or go about their business: go to a hairdresser, a hospital or a store. Among the volunteers of this program are students, young specialists and people who have nothing to do with psychology, pedagogy. Andrei in this team is called a “special” volunteer: he does not need to be accompanied, he himself gets to the place of work and can help others, although he himself needs additional support.

Andrei can and should live on his own, says Alena Legostaeva, the head of the Working Shippingday program. He just has bad periods when he disorients and he needs support. “Someone does not even understand that he has autism and some features of development: he calmly contacts, answers questions, makes the impression of a just modest person. He needs some assistant-for example, a distributed custody, which we still do not have, or limited legal capacity. It is extremely unfair to deprive of the legal capacity of such people. They need help, not control and deprivation of rights. ”

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