Disabled people want to live independently: ‘The ceiling fell on my head in the house’

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“In retrospect, it was the best decision of my life,” says Peter Buri (35) about moving into his own apartment. He had lived in a house for five years, but never really felt comfortable there. “It was specified when I would have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and when I would get up and go to bed. At one point the ceiling fell on my head.”

Buri took the step into the unknown and set up a shared apartment in Ostermundigen BE with a friend from home. However, he can only cope with daily life in the shared apartment with a lot of support. Buri has a progressive muscle disease and is in a wheelchair. “I depend on help in my entire daily life, from basic care to household chores.” He uses the IV social assistance contribution to pay his informal caregivers, among other things. «The apartment gives me a bit of normality. There are no more strange structures here that force me into a corset.”

The incentives are set incorrectly

For many people with disabilities, owning an apartment remains a dream. There are not only structural obstacles, but also bureaucratic obstacles. The current federal law, which regulates the integration of people with disabilities, focuses on living in residential facilities such as homes: in the cantons, it is not the affected people who are financed, but rather dormitories, workshops and daycare centers.

“The federal law dates from a time when there was no aid model,” says Buri. It is designed for homes.

“The incentives are wrongly set up,” confirms Matthias Kuert Killer, head of policy at Inclusion Handicap. According to Kuert Killer, the social assistance contribution introduced in 2012 is insufficient as a remedy. In some cases it does not cover all necessary services and many people with disabilities do not have access.

The responsible committee of the National Council now wants to change that. A clear majority demands that the cantons’ services are no longer just channeled to homes, but are directly tailored to the needs of those affected. The reform is also intended to guarantee freedom of establishment. Because people like Peter Buri can’t just change cantons these days. The National Council will decide on the proposal on Thursday.

“It was a relief”

Some cantons have already gone further. You pay the healthcare allowance directly to those affected. St. Gallen is currently testing this in a pilot project. Seraina Wiedmer (26) is there. She has been diagnosed with autism and has been living in an apartment with an individual support plan since September.

The pilot project helped her, she says: “I always fell between chairs and benches.” Support from the helplessness allowance would not have been enough for her, but life in a house with strangers was difficult for her with autism to imagine.

That is why she previously lived almost without outside help. But: “I often arrived late for work without a morning companion. Things like doing laundry have fallen by the wayside. My mother had to take care of that.” More is now possible with individual support. “Cleaning up, tidying up, or just talking. It is a relief,” says Wiedmer.

Inclusion initiative

Peter Buri believes independent living is important. “People with disabilities should have the same freedom of choice as Mr and Mrs Schweizer without disabilities,” he believes.

He also wants to take this issue to the polls. He is therefore on the committee of the inclusion initiative, for which signatures are currently being collected. In addition to the freedom to choose where and how to live, the initiative advocates, among other things, more barrier-free apartments. According to the Inclusion Disability, these are rare. According to the law, only buildings with more than eight apartments may be constructed barrier-free. And existing apartments would only be renovated barrier-free if they were already renovated.

This shows that even if Parliament speaks out for a more self-determined life, there are still many obstacles for people with disabilities.

Source:Blick