The Casa de la Provincia hosted this Wednesday the European event ‘Rural In Life: from institutionalisation to comprehensive support for the independent living of people with disabilities in rural areas, organised by the Provincial Federation of Associations of People with Physical and Organic Disabilities of Seville (COCEMFE Seville).
The deputy for Social Cohesion and Equality of the Seville Provincial Council, Mª Encarnación Fuentes, has indicated that “many Sevillians need public policies and appropriate services to carry out their life project and freedom of decision in their daily lives”. “In Seville, in particular, 82% of the municipalities are located in rural areas. Specifically, 87 of the province’s 106 villages are located far from the capital”, he pointed out.She also reported that “from the Social Cohesion Area, our provincial plan, which we have been presenting to the different municipalities, has as its main objective that all citizens, regardless of where they live, can enjoy the same social rights, above all, guaranteeing social protection to all our neighbours”. Fuentes also encouraged municipalities to organise this type of conference because “we all learn from the transfer of knowledge of what is being done in the different towns”. He also stressed that “there are certain actions that have to be carried out by the town councils themselves and, from the Provincial Council, we have to provide the tools so that it is the municipalities that carry out the activities”.
For his part, the president of the Federation, Juan José Lara, said that “the alliance between the Provincial Council and COCEMFE Seville serves as support in those places where the most needy people are found, the most vulnerable groups such as severely affected people with disabilities living in rural areas, where public services are scarce, are not of sufficient quality or do not meet the needs of people with disabilities”.
The director of the Centre for the Assessment and Guidance of People with Disabilities of the Regional Ministry of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality, Mª Paz Caballero, stressed that “on 12 May, the Plenary of the Territorial Council of Social Services and the System for Autonomy and Care for Dependency approved an agreement defining the specific conditions for access to personal assistance. In this sense, it is necessary to establish a homogeneous regulation throughout the Spanish territory”.
During the event, the results of the European programme Rural In Life, which aims to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities in rural areas, were presented. It is co-funded by Erasmus Plus of the European Union, and developed by COCEMFE Seville together with Ozara Storitveno In Invalidsko Podjetje Doo (Maribor, Slovenia), Fondazione Istituto dei Sordi di Torino ONLUS (Pianezza, Italy), European Society for Quality and Safety in Family Practice (EQUIP) (Denmark), FAMMA-COCEMFE of Madrid, FEKOOR of Bizkaia and Istanbul Gelisim University (Istanbul, Turkey).
These results show that professionals need to know more information about the resources and services available to promote independent living and inclusion of people with disabilities; as well as to know more about concepts such as diversity, personal assistance, communication and psycho-emotional skills to deal with users, etc. The platform and the training course for professionals for independent living and personal assistance for people with disabilities were also presented, along with the guide for professionals on independent living for people with disabilities, which includes recommendations and steps for the implementation of an Individual Independent Living Plan (PIVI) and a Municipal Plan for the Transition to Independent Living.
The meeting was attended by almost thirty representatives of local administrations, including Los Palacios y Villafranca, Utrera, Las Navas de la Concepción, Castilleja del Campo, Castilleja de la Cuesta, Cañada Rosal, Bollullos de la Mitación, Las Cabezas de San Juan, Lora de Estepa, Pilas, Lebrija, La Puebla de Cazalla, Lora del Río, Aznalcóllar, Guillena and La Rinconada.
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Contact:
M Rocío Arcas Serrano
Head of Communication Department COCEMFE Seville
C/ Aviación 31. Edificio Ramcab Vilaser. 1st floor. Modulo 25
Tel: 954 93 27 93 / 681 217 543
