Penza, 21 January 2016. PenzaNews. The Penza “Kvartal Louie” plans to open another center for the disabled where the young men and women who have no relatives to care for them would be able to live, study and work, Maria Lvova-Belova, chairman of the Penza civil organization “Blagovest,” director of “Kvartal Louie,” told PenzaNews agency.

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According to her, the new center will be a standalone bulding, possibly located close to the first center “Kvartal Louie” and the art hall of the same name.

“We have a mission: we strive to take the children from the Nizhny Lomov orphanage under our wing until this summer. […] There are several children in a very severe condition. They can use the wheelchair just as well, their minds are clear, but they have atrophied hands, for example. That is, they would never be able to change diapers or move a wheelchair on their own. They will never be able to live independently, that is a fact. And these kids have a one-hundred-percent chance of getting only to the Serdobsk veteran center, they have no alternative,” Maria Lvova-Belova said.

There are currently six such children in the institution, but some more would potentially arrive as well, she added.

“We think we need a place that would become home for these children. But, of course, that is not about moving on to an independent live. Although who knows: one of our students plans to be getting married in summer, so maybe something similar will be further too,” she noted.

According to Maria Lvova-Belova, even though the new center will have a slightly different purpose, the young people living there will nevertheless work and study from their locations, and have adapted workplaces in such areas as computer-related jobs.

“The center will be designed for 10 people. Six will move there at the opening. But we are creating it with plans for growth, to encompass all children, because they have a very short lifespan in the veteran center – about 4-5 years. They do not receive the necessary care there, and the atmosphere there is gloomy,” explained the chairman of “Blagovest.”

The Penza diocese actively supports the expansion of “Kvartal Louie,” she stressed.

In addition, she added, there is a possibility that the regional authorities will provide aid as well: the creation of the new center will be discussed during the meeting of the project creators with the governor Ivan Belozertsev, scheduled on February 6.

As an alternative option, Maria Lvova-Belova added, the center might take form as a standalone house that will be fully bought and adapted for the disabled.