游擊文化

Everyday Encounters Under The Roofs: A Community Service Worker’s Notes On Mental Illness Care
屋簷下的交會：當社區關懷訪視員走進精神失序者的家

Author REN,YI-DAO 任依島 
ISBN: 9789869762717
Date: 8/2019
Pages: 304
Length: 114,220

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• Winner of 2020 TIBE Book Prize (Nonfiction)

This book tells the life stories of encounters between an experienced community care visitor, individuals with mental disorders, and their families.
 During his work, he immersed himself in the community, observing the daily lives of those with mental disorders and listening to the struggles of their families.Through twenty themes, the author presents the “differences" and “similarities" of living with mental disorders in the community, as well as the many challenges faced by their families.

What Impact Does Mental Disorder Have on an Individual and Their Family?

This book tells the life stories of an experienced community care visitor’s encounters with individuals with mental disorders and their families.
  The author is a community care visitor. During his work, he stepped into the community, observing the daily lives of those with mental disorders and listening to the struggles of their families. Through twenty themes, the author shares his observations, illustrating both the “differences" and “similarities" of living with mental disorders in the community, as well as the myriad challenges faced by their families.   The stories include the pain of social exclusion and discrimination experienced by individuals with mental disorders; the conflicts, struggles, cries for help, and helplessness among family members; and moments of humanity’s warmth—stories of hope that allow individuals with mental disorders to find spaces of belonging within their communities or workplaces.

  The author also offers reflections from the perspective of a helper, exploring how to approach the life worlds of those being served. He delves into the importance of fostering “mutual subjectivity" and connecting with others in a shared human experience, bridging the gap to understand their world.

The book is divided into three sections:

1. The daily lives of individuals with mental disorders.
2. The caregiving experiences of their families.
3. The identity and work of community care visitors, along with critiques of systemic issues and the author’s personal reflections on encounters with individuals with mental disorders and their families.
   

Through these stories, the author aims to provide the public with a more nuanced understanding of individuals with mental disorders, breaking stereotypes and removing labels. Beyond their identity as patients, they are also someone’s grandmother, mother, father, sister, husband, child, neighbor, and friend—human beings with their own unique lives and connections.

REN,YI-DAO 任依島

Born in 1977. He has worked as an educator in institutions for individuals with physical and mental disabilities, a suicide prevention visitor, and a community care visitor for people with mental disorders. Currently, he describes himself as an unconventional mental health worker. In addition to providing individual counseling, he is passionate about home visits and traveling across Taiwan. He enjoys observing and writing, and finds inspiration in hiking and listening to the heartbeat of the land.