The subject of the bachelor’s thesis was to involve family and friends in the care of mental health patients living in sheltered housing. The work was executed as a practice-based thesis, the client being a care home Hoitokoti Peltola Oy. The purpose was to organize an engaging event for the family and friends of the care home patients. The work aimed for the family and friends to understand the importance of supporting their loved ones as that is a part of the patients’ well-being and rehabilitation. Another aim was to ease the co-operation between the family and the care home in the future. Thus, hopes and resources of the family and friends were gathered during the event.

The first part of the evening concerned the coping and sources of strength of the participants. PowerPoint presentation was used as a method of demonstration. The second part gathered ideas and opinions of, for instance, how the participants want to be involved in the every day life and rehabilitation of their loved ones. The Learning Café method was used as a functional technique. The main ideas the participants brought up were peer support; communication between them and the care home; the role of the patient’s named nurse in keeping contact; and the closeness and love towards the loved one. The participants felt it important to be a part of their loved one’s life. There were 14 participants in the event.

The purpose and the aim of the thesis were realized; the participants’ understanding of the importance of supporting their loved ones manifested in the conversations during the evening. In the future, Hoitokoti Peltola may want to look into the possibility of organizing peer support and improving flow of information from the care home to the friends and family of the patients.