ESTIA AGIOS NIKOLAOS was founded in Greece, with the purpose of becoming an inclusive, enriching and sustainable life-sharing community for adults with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers.

Today, 31 years on, the community is flourishing, is financially viable and its governance is strong. At the same time, it is also cracking at the seams, with every home and workshop full and with long waiting lists for members with disabilities and volunteers.

To fulfill its vision and become truly sustainable over the long-term, ESTIA’s plans are focusing on three interrelated areas:

  • Provide a full range of living and working choices for each of our members with intellectual disabilities, both within and outside the ESTIA “village”, to respond to their different individual expectations and needs.
  • Improve and expand the infrastructure and the facilities in the ESTIA “village” and create additional external homes and workshops in town.
  • Create different opportunities to further connect with the broader region of Fokida, becoming a motor of inclusion and participation for local society.

More specifically, the key priority plans include:

  • The creation of a new standalone house, House Mazi (Together)  in the town of Itea, 20’ away from our ‘village’, to follow our model of mixed living of people with and without disabilities, but adapt it to life in town. This step, for which we are already fundraising, will be used as a pilot for the development of a blueprint for other such homes in Greece.
  • The physical adaptation of the facilities of each current house in the ‘village’ to enable our aging infirm members with dementia to continue living comfortably in their own home. In parallel, we are adding nursing staff in each House, and we are training each ESTIA member to address the needs of people with dementia.
  • The addition of a second Assistive Technology workshop in Itea, to help locals with disabilities and other groups (old age pensioners, housewives etc.) to acquire basic digital skills. The coaches will include some of our members with disabilities with strong digital know-how.
  • The achievement of net zero energy (efficiency) in our ‘village’, through the completion of the environmental upgrade of our facilities and the full move to renewable energy.

Additionally, we are aiming to construct one additional home within the ESTIA “village”, House Agapi (Love), to absorb some of our waiting lists by housing members with disabilities, working members, and volunteers.  We are awaiting the new legal framework for Homes for Assisted Living before launching this project.

Both Houses Mazi and Agapi are intended to include rooms for short term residents, i.e. for respite care.

To raise the capital for these projects, ESTIA is launching an international fundraising campaign to reach foundations, companies, and individuals in 21 European countries and in the USA.