In Athens, people who are homebound by serious illness have extremely limited access to home palliative care, and almost no structured psychosocial support to go with it. In Greece, only a small fraction of estimated palliative care needs are currently met, leaving many isolated patients to face fear, loneliness and complex social needs without specialised support in their own home.
Many of the patients supported through home palliative care have no support network of their own to lean on. Homebound by illness, they often face loneliness and social isolation, and struggle to meet even basic daily needs. Without regular support, their physical and emotional condition tends to deteriorate, and for some, a visit from a care team is the only human contact they have all week.
The project
The project makes sure no one is left without psychosocial support simply because they are too unwell to leave home or facing financial hardship. Support is delivered directly in patients' own homes, as part of a wider multidisciplinary home palliative care model, working alongside treating physicians to keep care coordinated and centred on the person rather than the illness alone.
Every intervention is tailored to each patient's individual needs, recognising that serious illness touches physical, emotional and social wellbeing all at once. By folding home-based psychosocial support into palliative care, the project offers a genuinely holistic model of care that remains largely unavailable elsewhere in Greece, reducing loneliness, strengthening emotional wellbeing, and helping each person stay connected, supported and treated with dignity.
Who the project is for
The project's direct beneficiaries are 50 homebound adults living with serious illness who have little or no support network of their own. Each receives one year of free, home-based psychosocial support, tailored to their individual needs and coordinated closely with their treating physicians.
Project name: No One Should Face Serious Illness Alone – Reaching Seriously Ill People Who Have No One to Care for Them
Proposing organisation: Nosilia Association
Area of intervention: Health & Welfare
Country: Greece