The Social Cooperative of the Dodecanese Mental Health Sector, based on Leros, is a Mental Health Unit which aims at the social and professional rehabilitation of individuals with psychosocial problems.
It was founded in 2002 and is a result of the psychiatric reform that was initially carried out in Leros and extended to psychiatric hospitals throughout Greece.
At the start of this journey, 20 years ago in Leros, the first operational Social Cooperative in Greece had as basic direction to overcome the asylum behavior, which crushed the human dignity , and the fight against institutionalization and social exclusion.
Today with many years of experience, the Social Cooperative, valuating the needs of the present, functions as a modern Mental Health Unit targeting the creation of quality jobs for individuals with mental health problems and the prevention of institutionalization through innovative human-centered activities
Beekeeping, the cultivation of medicinal aromatic plants, the production of pastries and folk art, and last but not least the visitable farm “the Caserma” are the ‘therapeutic tools’ to achieve these goals.