Albena Atanasova, Deputy Mayor of the City of Sofia: The "Assistant for Independent Living" service is for people with disabilities who want to study and work

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Albena Atanasova, Deputy Mayor of the City of Sofia: The "Assistant for Independent Living" service is for people with disabilities who want to study and work
Albena Atanasova, Deputy Mayor of the City of Sofia: The "Assistant for Independent Living" service is for people with disabilities who want to study and work
Anonim

Mrs. Atanasova, there has been a great interest on the part of disadvantaged people and their relatives in the social service "Assistants for independent living" since you became deputy mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality. What makes it so preferred by people with disabilities over other similar social services in the country?

– Since its launch, the social service "Assistant for Independent Living" complements the variety of services in the community and compensates the deficit for people with permanent disabilities in their social activity and daily service. Its specific focus is to provide an innovative social service for a specific risk group of disadvantaged people in order to prevent their social exclusion and promote their professional realization, training and socialization. Already with the adoption of the Ordinance on the provision of social services "Assistants for independent living", the interest in these services is great. Over time, they established themselves as the most sought after and preferred by the underprivileged in the capital.

Mrs. Atanasova, when does the campaign for collecting documents for using the "Assistant for Independent Living" services in 2015 end?

– The acceptance of documents for using the service in the next calendar year started on September 1 and will continue until October 31. The period is the same every year. The documents are submitted to the Social Services Bureau of the Metropolitan Municipality. Colleagues are committed to assisting in filling out the documents, visiting the applicants' homes and doing the social survey together with them, as well as carrying out controls afterwards.

What makes these social services so attractive?

– I believe that these services bring benefits not only to their users. People en titled to use these services are in a particularly dependent position. If there is no one to assist them, they are practically helpless. They usually receive help from their relatives, which, among other things, is also a guarantee that at least one member of the family cannot go to work and develop professionally to provide these cares.

Part of people with severe disabilities have the will and desire to get an education, work, improve their qualifications, improve their condition. With the provision of services under this ordinance, the quality of life of these people and their families has changed.

What exactly are the benefits for people with disabilities?

– The benefits for people with severe disabilities are that they have assistants to accompany them as needed to kindergarten, school, university, to work. According to user surveys, thanks to these services, more than 400 children can attend kindergartens and schools, and the number of students using the social service is also increasing.

Among the users we have nearly 100 students

and over 400 working on labor, civil contracts, or running their own companies and organizations.

User assistants receive a reward that is determined by the hours they spent helping those in need to complete their daily tasks. In most cases, this is unattractive and difficult work. The funds are provided by the budget of the Metropolitan Municipality and it controls whether the commitments are fulfilled.

The Metropolitan Municipality, the Municipal Council and all residents of our capital sympathize with this group of people.

And last but not least - these unique services give people the opportunity for more social contacts, recreational activities, rehabilitation activities, cultural and sports activities, various courses, or in other words - to lead a normal life. This is how it should be in a European city.

We often hear from you that the services are unique. With what exactly?

– The uniqueness lies in the meaning of the ordinance. People choose their own assistants, they can be up to 5 people, and the remuneration they receive for their work is close to the national average. The services "Assistant for Independent Living" and "Assistant for Independent Childhood" allow users to rely on their assistants at any time of the day and on weekends.

Let's not forget the philosophy behind the ordinance and the fact that these services are provided only in the capital.

What do you understand by ordinance philosophy?

– The philosophy of the regulation on the provision of social services "Assistants for independent living" is to motivate and support users in their efforts for their own realization and development. And I dare to say that the Metropolitan Municipality, as a provider of these services, fulfills exactly this philosophy.

Every year some of those wishing to use the services do not qualify. Why does this happen?

– There are tens of thousands of adults and children in the capital with TELK's expert solutions, making them potential users of the service. You yourself understand that it is too much for the municipality to provide these services to everyone. Severe disabilities in themselves impose a number of restrictions on people, but with the adoption of this regulation, we support those of them who, despite their condition, do not give up, but make serious efforts to study, work, and realize themselves in life and professionally. This is the main reason why some of the applicants, who do not study or work, do not rank among users at the beginning of the year. Some of these people see the social services in question as a "welfare program" and regardless

do not meet all criteria, still apply

The ordinance provides for the possibility of permanent additional admission for the services, in the event that budget savings are realized under the ordinance, formed due to expired TELK decisions, dropped persons, unused and unpaid activities by the users in the relevant months or moving users to other settlements. Thus, a chance is also given to those not included in the services since the beginning of the year to find a place among the users at a later stage.

They reproach you that this ordinance gives preferences only to a part of the needy

– Even if it is perceived as a preference, it is expressed in support of those who are working, studying, visiting he alth or social institutions. We will not get tired of explaining that the "Assistant for Independent Living" services support their users not only because they are severely disabled, but because, despite all the limitations and difficulties resulting from this, they show a desire and persistence to learn, retrain, to looking for and finding work, to make serious efforts for their rehabilitation. And if they are to be interpreted as a preference, then such a preference is a socially justifiable necessity in view of the Law on the Integration of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

What options are there for those who for one reason or another cannot use the Independent Living Assistants services?

- There are alternatives for them. The Metropolitan Municipality offers many different social services, such as Centers for Social Rehabilitation and Integration, Day Care Centers, Community Support Centers, Home Social Patronage. As you can see, we offer a wide selection of different social services. All of them are tailored to the specifics of different groups of users. Those wishing to use an assistant service can also refer to the use of a personal and social assistant under the programs of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. But this does not change the fact that "Assistant for Independent Living" services continue to be the most preferred.

What is the amount of funds that the Municipality allocates from its budget for "Assistant for Independent Living" services?

– I would like to remind you that the total budget for the services "Assistant for independent living", which since 2013 are already two separate ones - for children and for adults, is distributed proportionally, according to the number of applications submitted. It is worth noting that, despite the years of financial and economic crisis, the Metropolitan Municipality, along with the measures to save funds, does not reduce the budget for the service.

We are criticized for lack of funds, but the obvious facts cannot be denied. I will focus on two of them: these services are sustainable over time and are

financed by the budget of the Metropolitan Municipality

Thanks to the regulation, these unique services have been provided for the seventh year in our capital. The initial budget with which the regulation was launched in 2008 was BGN 3 million, and now exceeds BGN 6 million for 2014. The Metropolitan Municipality provided BGN 6,106,270. Let's not forget that these funds are from the revenues for local activities, from the taxes of all residents of the capital and a budget of BGN 6 million represents a very serious amount.

Do you think these funds are enough?

- Just for comparison I will mention that the entire 2014 budget.of a municipality with a population of about 10,000 people is a little over BGN 5 million. I think that the comparison is eloquent in itself. The capital municipality annually allocates just for these two social services a budget exceeding the entire annual budget of a city with a population of 10,000 people. I make this comparison especially for those of our critics who claim that the budget for services is insufficient.

I maintain that the amount of the budget is significant and it is an expression of empathy and shared responsibility of both the Municipality and the Municipal Council, as well as every resident of the capital towards our fellow citizens in a disadvantaged position.

In conclusion, I will say that the "Assistant for Independent Living" services are a unique measure financed by the Municipal Budget, which aims to support people with disabilities in their education, qualification and employment, and the Metropolitan Municipality is proud of this.

It would be good to adopt a normative document with a national scope, as long as there is political will and financial resources for this. Based on the experience, the demand for these services, the various proposals from non-governmental organizations, the opinions of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria, the European practice, of course, the opinions of relatives and friends of those in need, we can conclude that it is the time has come for such a service or a service similar in philosophy to be implemented at the national level. We are ready to provide expert assistance in the development of future regulations for the provision of such a service throughout the country.

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