More information
Description
The project ACCESS HUB - Enhancing active citizenship for people with disabilities, aims to address the problem of people with disabilities (youths, children and their parents) through empowering them to become proactive and reactive to violation of rights and low quality of public services. This will enhance their capacity to become a strong voice for addressing to local authorities and require a respectable, normal life, participation and inclusion in the community life. Despite the legal frame (law 448/2006, law 272/2004) and national and intern convention for human rights, children’s rights, people with disability rights, in Romania, people with disabilities, especially children are still limited in living a decent life, according with their specific needs, conducting to serious violation of rights (lack of funds for free medicines, for special therapies, stigmatization, un proper educational system, etc). The life of future young person is dramatically threatened regarding the opportunities for integration in the society and development. The project will gradually enhance the capacity of parents (as representatives of their own children with disabilities) and young people to be a voice of their peers in sufferance, to act at the level of local authorities, to influence or produce change for in their benefit. Two informal groups will be constituted (parents and young people). Gradually, the project will prepare beneficiaries on topics like rights, services, access to relevant info, campaigns to meetings with 6 local authorities. Proper preparation for meetings will take place along the project implementation both for beneficiaries as for the local authorities. 6 face to face meetings will take place with relevant local authorities to debate on gaps regarding laws, services at county and local level. Three public documents from the area of education, accessibility, social services, benefits, opportunities will be released and get forward to local authorities.
Summary of project results
The main drive of the project was the need of addressing the lack of access to information, the lack of services in the community and the communication barriers people with disabilities meet in their relationship with the authorities. The project aimed, therefore, at increasing the degree of initiative and participation of it’s beneficiaries.
The first activities implemented were the organization of personal development, public speaking, public participation sessions and awareness campaigns. The INFOABIL platform developed is an important tool since it comprises structured information about rights, benefits and services. Several meetings were held between people with disabilities, authorities and professionals, during which specific problems were exposed and discussed. Another important result consists in the organization of recurring meetings with the Prefect''s Institution where institutions, persons with disabilities and their families were invited to identify concrete measures to support the development of an inclusive community. Social counseling and legal assistance services were also provided for 60 parents and 20 young people, and integrated support services for 35 children with disabilities and 34 parents. Finally, the capacity building activity involved an extensive fundraising campaign, as well as a strategic planning process that resulted in an organizational strategy.
In terms of results and effects the project had on it’s beneficiaries, 36% of the parents declared that by participating in the personal development and public speaking sessions they acquired new skills and improved the already existing ones. Also, 76.9% of the beneficiaries mentioned they obtained information about the institutions which deal with protecting and defending the rights of people with disabilities. 83% of the children with disabilities included in the project significantly improved their verbal expression and reduced their sensory barriers associated with the diagnosis.