The Healing Power of Acceptance: Lessons from a Belgian Town

Ellen Baxter, inspired by a town in Belgium called Hale, sought to bring a family foster care model to the US for mental health care. The model revolves around acceptance rather than trying to fix individuals. In Hale, families welcomed strangers with mental illness into their homes and allowed them to stay for extended periods of time, resulting in a sense of belonging and community. These individuals were not labeled or diagnosed, contributing to the overall acceptance and care they received. However, efforts to replicate this model in the US have been challenging due to societal attitudes towards mental illness and the American belief in finding cures.