Warm Hearth

Warm Hearth, known in Armenia as Jermik Ankyun (Ջերմիկ անկյուն), is a nation-wide Armenian non-profit movement that provides long-term group homes for people with special needs who have outgrown the country's orphanages. It began as an idea and a commitment to a first group of residents, and grew into a network of homes supported by an Armenian nonprofit, the Jermik Ankyun Foundation, together with the U.S.-based Friends of Warm Hearth. The project was initiated in December 2005 by Natalie Rizieri, a former volunteer of the international organization Peace Corps, in cooperation with the charitable NGO Mission Armenia. It is described as the first long-term group-home model for mentally disabled orphans in the CIS region, aiming to make young people with intellectual disabilities and mild mental disorders full members of society. In 2006 the first long-term group home opened in 3rd Village, Armenia, to eight residents who were on the brink of being sent to psychiatric institutions because there was no other means of support. In 2008 and 2009 a second group of residents with the same needs was welcomed, and the Jermik Ankyun Foundation was established to protect and serve the residents. In 2012 a "garden house" was added on the property as a living space for residents with greater needs, and two additional residents who had lived in psychiatric institutions for two to five years were brought home. In 2018 a second home opened in the village of Arinj for eight new residents, and in early 2020 a home opened in Geghanist. Warm Hearth describes itself as an organic project centered around its residents, with a vision of providing peace and nurture and engaging in mutually transformative relationships. Its stated goals are to provide residents with dignified care and medical assistance, to develop important life skills, and to promote their integration into society. The group home in Yerevan's Silikyan district (3rd Village) houses 14 residents over the age of 30 with mental and physical diagnoses. Exhibitions of residents' handicrafts — paintings, tapestries, needlework and souvenirs — are organized periodically. The organization operates as a charitable nonprofit rather than a commercial enterprise, funded through donations and the support of Friends of Warm Hearth. Its public-facing identity is carried by the Friends of Warm Hearth website and the Jermik Ankyun Foundation in Armenia.

Warm Hearth, known in Armenia as Jermik Ankyun (Ջերմիկ անկյուն), began as an idea born out of love and a commitment to a first group of residents. According to the Armenian Wikipedia entry, the first long-term group home for disabled orphans was created in December 2005 by Natalie Rizieri, a former volunteer of the international organization Peace Corps. The charitable NGO Mission Armenia, together with the U.S. Peace Corps, undertook and brought to life the "Jermik Ankyun" group-home model for young people with intellectual disabilities — a model that Armenia was the first among CIS countries to implement, with the aim of making young people with intellectual disabilities and mild mental disorders full members of society. In 2006, the first long-term group home opened in 3rd Village, Armenia, to eight residents. These first residents were on the brink of being sent to psychiatric institutions only because there was no other means of support. In 2008 and 2009, a second group of residents with the same needs was welcomed — people who had outgrown the orphanages. In addition, the organization established its own Armenian nonprofit, the Jermik Ankyun Foundation, dedicated to protecting and serving its residents. The Armenian Wikipedia entry dates the founding of the Jermik Ankyun Foundation to 2008, noting that it continues the group home's activity. In 2012, a "garden house" was added on the property to serve as a living space for residents with greater needs, and two additional residents were brought home who had been living in psychiatric institutions for two to five years. In 2018, a second home opened in the village of Arinj to eight new residents, and in early 2020, a home opened in Geghanist. The project's stated goals are to provide residents with dignified care and medical assistance, to develop important life skills, and to promote their integration into society. The group home in Yerevan's Silikyan district (3rd Village) houses 14 residents over the age of 30 with mental and physical diagnoses. Exhibitions are organized periodically to present the residents' handicrafts — paintings, tapestries, needlework and souvenirs. The project was implemented in a purchased three-story private house with a small garden and an auxiliary structure, located at 14/16-1, 1st Lane, 4th Street, Silikyan district (3rd Village), Yerevan. Warm Hearth describes itself as a nation-wide movement in Armenia providing forever homes for people with special needs, and frames its work as a "theory of change" in which all words and actions aim to put radical acceptance and support on the hearts and minds of people so that anything less is no longer acceptable. It presents itself as an organic project centered around its residents, with a vision of providing peace and nurture and engaging in mutually transformative relationships.

• 2020

  A home opens in Geghanist in early 2020.

• 2018

  A second home opens in the village of Arinj to eight new residents.

• 2012

  A "garden house" is added for residents with greater needs; two residents from psychiatric institutions are brought home.

• 2009

  A second group of residents who had outgrown the orphanages is welcomed.

• 2008

  The Jermik Ankyun Foundation is established; a second group of residents is welcomed.

• 2006

  The first long-term group home opens in 3rd Village, Armenia, to eight residents.

• 2005

  Jermik Ankyun (Warm Hearth) is created in December by Natalie Rizieri, a former Peace Corps volunteer, in cooperation with Mission Armenia.

A charitable, resident-centered movement providing forever homes and radical acceptance for abandoned Armenians with special needs.

• Long-term group homes

  Residential homes for adults with special needs who have outgrown orphanages.

• Garden house

  A living space added in 2012 for residents with greater needs.

• Handicraft exhibitions

  Periodic exhibitions of residents' paintings, tapestries, needlework and souvenirs.

1. 1Friends of Warm Hearth - Homefriendsofwarmhearth.org
2. 2Warm Hearth (Wikidata)wikidata.org
3. 3Ջերմիկ անկյուն (Armenian Wikipedia)hy.wikipedia.org