Geel

Geel
	Geel
	Geel
State :	Belgium
Region :	Flanders
Province :	Antwerp
District :	Turnhout
Coordinates :	51 ° 10 ′ N , 4 ° 59 ′ E Coordinates: 51 ° 10 ′ N , 4 ° 59 ′ E
Area :	109.85 km²
Residents:	40,353 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density:	367 inhabitants per km²
Post Code:	2440
Prefix:	014
Mayor:	Vera Celis ( N-VA )
; Local government address :	Shipyard 20 ; 2440 Geel
Website:	www.geel.be

Geel is a city in northeast Belgium . The city is the seat of the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) of the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission

history

In 1944, the Battle of Geel took place in Geel, one of the toughest battles during the liberation of Belgium.

Integrative life model

In Geel, people with intellectual disabilities or mental illness are taken into foster families . For example, people work in the bicycle workshop , in the gardening shop , in the bookbinding shop or go to the hospital for occupational therapy every day . Placing in a family is intended to prevent mental neglect and hospitalism .

backgrounds

For centuries people with mental health problems have come to Geel because there was a relic of St. Dymphna there, which is said to have healing powers . Some pilgrims preferred to settle there rather than return to the madhouses and poorhouses . Little by little, the residents of Geel got used to her presence and took care of her.

Present and future of the integrative life model

Lately fewer and fewer people have come to Geel because modern psychotropic drugs enable them to lead an independent life. Ever since it became known that some farmers forced to hard labor, see nurses in the family after things. The Belgian state supports the foster families with 400 euros a month. However, family care is only an option for people who are not violent and whose symptoms can be reduced by medication .

In the future, the residents also want to open their doors to children with mental problems .

Integrative life models in other countries

Similar institutions based on the Geeler model have also been founded in France , Switzerland and Germany . There is also the Evangelical Alsterdorf Foundation in Hamburg, for example , where people with and without intellectual disabilities live together in a village. In Romania there is the 18 plus project , a type of assisted living for adults with disabilities, as well as a project based on the Alsterdorfer Anstalten type .

sons and daughters of the town

Edmond van Genechten (1903–1974), missionary and painter
Albert Westerlinck (1914–1984), literary scholar and writer
Jean-Pierre Wils (* 1957), theologian and ethicist
Herman Frison (born 1961), racing cyclist
Ludo Dierckxsens (* 1964), racing cyclist
Kathleen Aerts (* 1978), singer, ex-member of the group K3 (band)
Jan Heylen (* 1980), racing car driver
Rob Peeters (* 1985), cyclocross rider
Kirsten Flipkens (* 1986), tennis player

Town twinning

There are town partnerships with Tydavnet in Ireland and Xanten in Germany . Both town partnerships are based on the legends of Dymphna and Gerebernus and their connection to the three localities.

Web links

Commons : Geel - collection of images, videos and audio files

Community website