European Network on Independent Living

YHD Društvo

Wednesday, 13 August 2008 Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 August 2008 )

Association for the theory and culture of handicap

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Introduction

The members of the association are disabled persons who believe in and act by the principles of the independent living. We are united in our diversity, in order to achieve our goals easier. We do not fall for the “healthy life” rhetoric and custody and care logic. We avoid patronizing practices of charity and pity, and most of all, we don’t allow for somebody to assume the right or feel entitled to speak on our behalf, instead of us and in our name.

We understand handicap as a social status, assigned to anyone, who in a certain moment or in a certain society falls out of existing definitions and accepted norms. A handicapped person can find him or herself in social relations, which push him or her into and keep him or her in a deprivileged position. Therefore, one must surpass such relations.

Two of the biggest projects:

• Independent living of the disabled people is a program intended for people who wish to live outside the institutionalised forms of care, manage their own life and be responsible for their actions. Consequently, personal assistance, which makes possible for us to perform certain activities that we are unable to perform on our own because of our handicap, is of vital importance. Personal assistance includes personal care, menial tasks, and escort up to 24 hours a day. One has the liberty of choosing one’s personal assistant and the type of assistance on one’s own.
• SOT 24,5 is a club for promotion and stimulation of culture of handicap, where we organize round tables, courses of training, lectures, and where we present films, which are by their nature and content related to handicap. All of our activities and arrangements are open for public. The club is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 8.00 p.m. and 11.00 p.m. in the Mesto Metelkova, Lovci building.

Purpose of YHD:

• Promotion of independent living and development and expansion of our network on the national and international level
• Education of personal assistants, society members, experts, parents and other interested parties on the subject of independent living
• Consultation, information on the options of independent living
• Collecting and forwarding of the literature, audio and video production on the subject of handicap, publishing activities
• Organization of acts of support or protest
• Execution of programmes in the area of social care and all other activities, which contribute to equality of rights
• Striving for equal rights of the handicapped persons, struggle against discrimination, prejudices and stereotypes in all spheres of social life
• Information and raising public awareness, participation in the designing of measures at the local, national and international level

YHD strives for:

• Equal rights and responsibilities for the disabled people in all spheres of social life
• Treatment of rights of the disabled as human rights, not merely social.
• Change of legislation and politics in this sphere
• Development of the theory of handicap
• Emancipation and self-determination