Today (11/12/2024), I had the pleasure to open a seminar on Guidance on independent living and inclusion in the community of persons with disabilities in the context of EU funding. The European Commission document is an important step in promoting the right of people with disabilities to live independently and to be included in their communities….
I was invited to speak during a workshop of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and social affairs. The workshop was about Deinstitutionalisation and independent living of persons with disabilities. The workshop, chaired by Li Andersson MEP, took place on 2 December 2024 in Brussels. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of…
“Giving effect to independent living involves redirecting investments and resources from institutional settings and services to accessible and non-segregated places of residence, community-based services and support for persons with disabilities.” The European Commission released a Notice on “Guidance on independent living and inclusion in the community of persons with disabilities in the context of EU funding”. The Guidance…
We all know how hard it is to get your message outside of your usual circles. And how valuable it is, too. I’m so impressed seeing this from our member in Slovenia: A cover story, 3-page interview in a supplement to one of the daily newspapers. The interview is with Mateja de Reya, director of…
Every person leaving an institution needs support in establishing a new life, and in overcoming the harm and trauma caused by institutionalisation. Presentation of principles and some examples of supporting people with intellectual disabilities to live independently and to be included. With particular focus on support for people leaving “care” institutions. I made this presentation…
Many politicians, public authorities, and disability service providers act as if they don’t know what the law says about inclusion of people with disabilities.As if they never heard of good disability support. They keep forcing people into “care” institutions, even building new ones.They delay the necessary de-segregation with talk about “need for evidence”, or about…
It is not acceptable for funders to continue paying for segregation of people with intellectual disabilities. All funders need to respect the rights of people with disabilities.They need to listen to what people with disabilities are saying about how the money should be used. Funders are, for example: Countries (including national, regional, local public budgets);…
The EEG (European Expert Group) is a coalition of organisations advocating to replace institutionalisation with family- and community-based support. The EEG has played big part in establishing deinstitutionalisation as part of EU policies, and promoting the use of EU funds for this purpose. The EEG has created a number of useful tools, such as: Guidelines…
Gerard Quinn, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, published a report on transformation of services for people with disabilities. I tried to summarise. (Written for Inclusion Europe.) The report calls for support services to implement these changes: Services based on personhood, focused on supporting personal development and inclusion in the community. Policy…
I was supposed to have a day off work that Friday. I was supposed to spend it off social media too. But I did neither, and I’m very happy with that. The day before, the United Kingdom’s House of Lords (parliament’s second chamber) published a report by its Adult Social Care Committee called “A gloriously…
