Penza, 12 April 2016. PenzaNews. The construction of “House of Veronika,” a new center for young people with disabilities, will begin in Penza on Friday, April 15.

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The official beginning ceremony will take place at 10.30 in the Veselovka residential area of the city on Permskaya street, 2A, close to the isagoge to the Church of the Holy Mother of God. It will involve the Archbishop Serafim of Penza and Nizhny Novgorod; Maria Lvova-Belova, chairman of the Penza civil organization “Blagovest”; students of “Kvartal Louie”; and future residents of the new center.

Reportedly, they will plant the garden around the center and make a symbolic first step in the construction.

“At present, ‘Kvartal Louie’ is unable to offer residence to new members – we simply have no places left. But we receive requests even from other regions. A new generation of the Nizhny Lomov boarding house is due to graduate, and we feel our responsibility for them. The live points us towards making the next step – which is ‘House of Veronica’,” Maria Lvova-Belova told PenzaNews.

According to her, the new project will be an active boarding house for young people with disabilities that will become an extension and a part of “Kvartal Louie.”

“The graduates of the Nizhny Lomov boarding house who need specific support and assistance would be able to be as active as possible among their friends in a commune where everyone is equal, instead of moving to the veterans house where their future would be quite restricted. The experience of ‘Kvartal Louie’ shows that the chosen model of assistance is successful and in demand, and the project organizers agreed to proceed onward,” she explained.

According to Maria Lvova-Belova, “House of Veronika” will be a comfortable and versatile complex of several buildings that features a residence house for ten, a set of all-inclusive workshops, a photo and film studio, a cafe, a mini-farm and a therapeutic garden.

“The Penza diocese provided us with the land for construction. The whole project is implemented with support from the regional government. We are currently actively preparing the project: the architects are developing plans of the buildings, taking land measurements, agree the required documentation; the art hall ‘Kvartal Louie’ is holding charity events to collect money for the construction. Anybody can join the good cause and contribute to the construction of the center as much as they can spare,” she pointed out.