In Denmark, tens of thousands of children and adults live with developmental disabilities, and many families face the challenges and needs that come with this every day. It is a daily reality that demands greater awareness, more patience, and, above all, a greater fight for rights. As a family, this can be a difficult and lonely struggle—which is why there is a need for a place to turn to for support.

That is why the Sol og Strand Foundation has Sol og Strand to donate 75,000 kroner to Lev (the National Association for People with Developmental Disabilities) to support the organization’s counseling services for families affected by developmental disabilities.

“This donation is of great significance to a member-based organization like ours, which relies heavily on support from private donors and foundations. Specifically, these funds will allow us to expand our counseling services and thus ensure that even more families in vulnerable situations receive the support and assistance they need,” says Marie Louise Johannesen, Executive Director of Lev.

– For many families, getting the right guidance at the right time is crucial. It can prevent a difficult situation from escalating into a deadlocked conflict or prolonged unhappiness. With this donation, we can strengthen our counseling services—both in-person and online—so that even more families feel they are not alone, she says.

Last year, the demand for support exceeded what Lev could handle. In 2025, the organization recorded nearly 900 unanswered calls. It is therefore encouraging that it has been possible to expand the personal counseling service by 16 hours—after the summer break, it will be increased to 21 hours.

– In addition, we are launching a new digital knowledge hub that is available whenever the need arises. Here, families can find answers to questions that don’t necessarily require a counselor. Among other things, they will have even better access to guidance materials, podcasts, videos, and articles that can help them move forward, explains Marie Louise Johannesen.

Direktør Marie Louise Johannesen glæder sig over donationen, som betyder, at flere familier kan hjælpes.

For mange familier er det afgørende at få den rigtige rådgivning på det rigtige tidspunkt. Det kan betyde, at en svær situation ikke udvikler sig til en fastlåst konflikt eller langvarig mistrivsel. Med denne donation kan vi styrke vores rådgivning – både den personlige og den digitale – så endnu flere familier oplever, at de ikke står alene, siger hun.

The inquiries Lev receives range from questions about support and rights to peer-to-peer conversations with volunteer family members who themselves have firsthand experience of life with a developmental disability. In many cases, families lack the emotional bandwidth, and their finances are strained because they’ve had to reduce their working hours or simply stop working altogether.

– We find that many families feel challenged when it comes to maintaining a sense of normalcy in their daily lives with a child who has a developmental disability. This can relate to work or family life. Through our social work counseling, we try to figure out how we can help change their living conditions so that the whole family thrives. This might involve helping them understand their rights regarding respite care, lost wages, and so on,” says Marie Louise Johannesen.

Lev was founded in 1952 and has been working for more than 70 years to secure better rights and living conditions for people with developmental disabilities and their families.