Classic care facilities as some people might remember no longer really exist, explained Mireille Weber, head of management at the APEMH parents’ association, in conversation with RTL. These facilities can take on various forms depending on people’s needs, some are designed for individuals who need constant care while others are meant to be used by those who only need occasional assistance.
Our colleagues from RTL recently paid a visit to three autonomous shared flats. The offer of such homes has increased in recent years and has also become more diverse. Groups have meanwhile become smaller and a greater focus is awarded to autonomous living.
Laura Righetto, who is in charge of such a flat in Niederkorn, noted that it used to be the case that people with disabilities would stay with their parents for as long as possible before moving into a care facility.
She elaborated on the subsequent stigmatisation of these facilities, but stated that a change in attitude is slowly taking place: “The younger generation wants to move out so that people can live their own life.”
The most recent project led by the APEMH is a shared flat in which people with and without disabilities live together. While the former pay regular rent, the latter only have to cover running costs but have to sign a volunteering contract that regulates the amount of time they have to spend with their flatmates to ten hours per week.
According to Weber, they expected that many people, students in particular, would jump on the offer, but this was not the case. She therefore acknowledged that the pilot project might be too ambitious: “We often talk of inclusion, but we would already appreciate integration, which is a rare thing.”
Nevertheless, Weber underlined the importance of creating such projects and setting an example to improve matters in the future.
Further reading: Work and employment support for people with disabilities
