La Bastide

La Bastide is a Belgian non-profit institution based in Namur that provides therapeutic residential support for adults who are deaf or deafblind and who face socio-professional, psychological, physical, or family-related difficulties. Founded in 1983, it was created to respond to the lack of adapted residential and mental-health services for people with hearing-related disabilities in the French-speaking part of Belgium. The organization works through a multidisciplinary approach and places communication at the center of care. It serves residents across several living environments, from more structured residential care to more autonomous supervised apartments, and it also opens part of its infrastructure to the wider associative and family community through meeting and conference spaces. Key Offerings Therapeutic residential care : A structured residential service for deaf and deafblind adults whose health and life situation require ongoing support. The team builds individualized care plans based on each resident’s aspirations, abilities, and difficulties. Structured residential units : The main residence offers a more intensive framework for residents with social integration difficulties, physical disabilities, or behavioral and socio-family challenges. It combines accommodation with psycho-social, educational, and medical support. Family-style supported living : Roquebrune provides a smaller, more intimate setting for deaf residents with multiple disabilities and greater psychological fragility. The environment is designed to feel like a family home while maintaining strong therapeutic structure. Supervised apartments : Lioba offers more autonomous housing for residents whose behavior is sufficiently stabilized to live with less continuous presence. Support focuses on daily-life skills, social integration, and responsible independence. Community and event spaces : La Bastide also makes conference and meeting rooms available to local associations and families, with optional catering and room setups for gatherings and professional events. Core Values Communication first : The institution gives priority to helping residents want to communicate, using sign language as the preferred mode of exchange and training staff accordingly. Individualized support : Each resident receives a tailored program that is regularly reviewed and adjusted according to personal goals, capacities, and evolving needs. Autonomy and reintegration : La Bastide aims to help residents progress toward greater independence, social reintegration, and, where possible, professional reinsertion. Human and relational care : The organization emphasizes stable relationships, a reassuring environment, and multidisciplinary teamwork to support both well-being and personal development. Community inclusion : Beyond residential care, it seeks to remain open to the broader social and associative life of the region through shared facilities and collaborative initiatives. Unique Aspects Only specialized residential service of its kind in French-speaking Belgium : La Bastide presents itself as the only residential and therapeutic service in the French-speaking part of the country with infrastructure specifically adapted for deaf and deafblind adults. Sign-language-based staffing model : The institution trains all staff in sign language and includes deaf professionals in its teams, reinforcing accessibility and peer understanding. Three complementary living models : Its residential offer spans highly structured care, family-style accommodation, and supervised apartments, allowing support to match different levels of autonomy. European leadership in deaf mental health : La Bastide helped create the European Society for Mental Health and Deafness and has long participated in cross-border professional exchanges on mental health care for deaf people. Longstanding recognized expertise : Since 1986 it has had official public recognition, and it has become a reference point for Belgian and international professionals working in deaf mental-health support.