Independent Living Institute

Brasov, Romania

Margareta Reman is one of thousands of foster parents in Romania. Called maternal assistants, they are usually women, often middle-aged, who receive a modest salary from the state to give short-term shelter and care to children abandoned by their families. In practice, most kids end up staying with their foster parents for many years.

Since the summer hundreds of foster parents have given up the profession as the state’s harsh budget cuts begin to bite.

For 50-year-old Reman, a widow who takes care of two girls in her home in Brasov, central Romania, the cut means losing 100 euros monthly, a 25 percent drop.

Spain has had a law declaring personal assistance to be a right since 2006, but the law is not applied in practice. Instead there are various pilot projects. Catalonia has two such projects, one at the regional level and one operated by the Independent Living movement in the city of Barcelona.

The experience of two people using a direct payment to employ a Personal Assistant. ‘Direct Payments’ is a generic term used to describe the provision of funds by the State, directly to people with disabilities, for the purpose of purchasing a range of supports and services. These services typically include personal assistance, therapies, and aids and equipment. Direct payments enable people with disabilities to employ individuals, directly or indirectly, to assist them with their everyday tasks.

Arthur Klimchenko lives with his parents in the Russian city of Kaliningrad, he would like to leave home, but says that it is not possible because of his finances and his disability. When personal assistance is described for him, he sees the benefits, but he is also afraid that the assistants would decide over him, because of how persons with disabilities are viewed in Russia. He is also afraid that many disabled would stop doing what they are capable of doing and just exist, eating and sleeping.

In Kaliningrad there are no home help services, people who need practical help but cannot get help from relatives or friends live in institutions. Sergey Kiselev, Chairman of the Apparel would like to see personal assistance introduced in Russia.

M. Miles, West Midlands, UK.