“Living a healthier life is possible and important for everyone”

Healthy living is important for everyone. A healthy lifestyle affects all facets of life. Aveleijn is an organization that provides care, support, treatment and advice to children, youth, adults and seniors with a mental disability or low social functioning in Twente and a small part of Achterhoek. Within Aveleijn, the theme of vitality is becoming increasingly important. “Every client can do something about a healthy lifestyle.”

Behaviour expert Jolien van der Kolk is affiliated with several Aveleijn locations. She advocates within the organization to raise awareness about the importance of a vital life. “In my daily life, I am very much concerned with a healthy lifestyle. Five years ago, I was asked, together with a colleague, to put vitality more on the map within Aveleijn. I was instantly enthusiastic. We started spreading information in an accessible way. We spread the word in the various magazines distributed at the locations, and there was information on the subject in the client portal. Last year we also developed tools to discuss the topic with clients. In the coming period, we will distribute these tools at the locations and among the supervisors. For example, the tools can be used to set client goals in the support plans,” she explains.

Healthy living is important for everyone. A healthy lifestyle affects all facets of life. Aveleijn is an organization that provides care, support, treatment and advice to children, youth, adults and seniors with a mental disability or low social functioning in Twente and a small part of Achterhoek. Within Aveleijn, the theme of vitality is becoming increasingly important. “Every client can do something about a healthy lifestyle.”

“Greater awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle begins with the supervisors within our organization setting a good example. Every day they pay attention to it and talk about it with each other. Every client can live a healthier life, but we must look carefully at appropriate and feasible options. We have a very diverse group of clients. Some are in wheelchairs and need a lot of help. Others are mobile and live independently. We look at each client to see how we can improve their vitality. Every little bit helps.”

Jolien and her colleague are not the only ones involved with the topic. “At different levels, we look at what we can do to promote our client vitality. For example, the support plans are important because they describe what will be worked on. These goals can be about exercising more, eating healthier, wanting to relax more or sleeping better. But there are also fun activities that clients can sign up for. Each location promotes vitality differently. At one location, there is a walking club, at another location a boot camp trainer visits once in a while, and at yet another location we cook fresh food together with the clients every day."

“I think vitality is essential. A healthy lifestyle is the basis and works preventively. A healthy lifestyle can prevent health problems later in life. It is good for everyone to be working on this. Furthermore, behavioural problems can be reduced through a good, healthy lifestyle. Consider the sleep and relaxation component. You are more irritable when you don’t sleep well or are stressed. The same is true for our clients. However, they cannot always communicate what is going on. This manifests itself in agitation and perhaps even aggression. So healthier living can help on many levels.”

Living healthier doesn’t have to be difficult, according to Jolien. “Small things can already help, like walking an extra meter or swapping a cookie for a piece of fruit. Or letting the client walk 20 meters to open the door instead of the accompaniment walking right in. All these small successes may not be victories in themselves, but they gain so much. The challenge is mostly to keep it simple. When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, there are so many movements or trends that are almost impossible to keep up with. Contrary to popular belief, healthy living does not have to be expensive or time-consuming. Making people see things differently is challenging, but I’m thrilled to contribute to that."