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Organisation: Yes We Can Clinics - Hilvarenbeek

Architect: (existing building)

Stakeholders:

Derek van Enk, Director Culture & Hospitality

 

 

Team

Derek van Enk.jpeg

Derek van Enk

Description Design

The surroundings of Yes We Can Clinics. Entering Yes We Can Clinics feels like you are entering the peace. Before you reach the estate, you drive over a long, well-kept and clean driveway.

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Surrounded by a clean and perfectly maintained environment, which contributes to a feeling of safety. The gardener greets you warmly, while colleagues park their cars to give their all for the fellows again this day. The oasis of peace can also be found in the clinic, where you will be warmly welcomed by the reception, where the Youth Coaches talk through the night, where the kitchen prepares the fresh, healthy breakfast for the fellows and where interior caretakers ensure that both colleagues and fellows can focus on what is really important: their recovery. In a place where they can feel at home. The clinic is divided into two parts, with both buildings being equal to each other, because everyone is equal and deserves only the very best.

The large gardens surrounding the clinic offer space for active games and moments together. In addition, the site offers approximately 3 kilometers of walking paths, which means that being outside is an important part of the treatment, and one-on-one sessions often take place outside. When you walk this path and walk along the pond, you will come across a group of fellows who are overcoming their fears on the high ropes course, which has been constructed in the forest. Another group is on the multicourt, where they do sports with goals such as: working together, taking the lead, but also being physically active and getting to know new sports. For the daily (outdoor) activities, in addition to the outdoor facilities, there is also an indoor sports area. Here the fellows can do sports in CrossFit, boxing and relaxing, but always together with other fellows and of course the coaches, who take on a big brother/sister role towards the fellows. If you walk a little further, you will come to the coach house, where coaches can spend the night, relax and get together. In addition, the clinic has its own teams that constantly ensure that everything looks tiptop. For example, the Technical Service, Kitchen, Medical Service, and Domestic Service give their all for the fellows every day and maintain personal contact with the young people. They know better than anyone how important a safe, clean environment and healthy food are for the recovery of the fellows.

At the end of the walk you will come to a beautiful, white building: Yes We Can Youth Clinics, where fellows from all over the world stay. This building is surrounded by a green lawn and a beautiful courtyard. After the walk in nature you can relax in the warmly decorated living room including fresh flowers, where there are dining tables, chairs and benches, together with a water tap, toilets and access to the group session rooms. Towards the evening, a colleague shares his life story with the fellows in the auditorium, which is equipped with a wall with photos of the high ropes course, rows of tables at different heights and chairs. What is still missing from this tour are of course the bedrooms of the fellows, which they share with one or two others, which are cleaned every day by the interior caretakers. An environment where the young people really feel at home is extremely important for the recovery climate. You can see in everything that warmth, care, hygiene and comfort are of paramount importance at Yes We Can.

 

At the end of the tour you leave the estate via the long driveway. You look in your rearview mirror one more time and hope: see you soon.

About MADE-Life Foundation

We are committed to the advancement of mental health of children, young adults in the Netherlands and beyond. We do this by organising 'challenges' that innovate, inspire and inform in every possible way. These challenges act as a flywheel for the much needed changes in the mental health space.

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