The Tuscany Region confirms and renews its commitment to supporting independent living projects for people with disabilities. Three-year programming, an overall budget that rises to 46 million euros for the next three years, the reduction of waiting lists and an increase in the number of recipients, are the cornerstones of the new program, approved in its guidelines in the last meeting of the council regional on the proposal of the regional councilor for social policies Serena Spinelli.
“Independent living” means the right – also recognized internationally by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – for an adult person with a serious disability, to self-determine and be able to live in society on an equal basis and according to their own aspirations, avoiding isolation and discrimination and instead favoring integration and participation.
The interventions that are financed in this area concern personal care, personal assistance in domestic activities, at work, for study, and actions to promote accessibility, mobility, and also sports practice.
The first major innovation introduced by the Independent Living program concerns its inclusion within the regional program of the European Social Fund ESF+ 2021-2027: this determines the possibility of moving from annual to three-year programming. The innovation also brings with it an increase in resources: the program, for the three-year period 2025-2027, provides for an allocation of 46 million euros equal to 15.3 million euros per year (the previous annual allocation was 12.8 million).
The increase in resources has made it possible to review the contribution: until now the maximum intervention ceiling for each recipient was 1,800 euros per month, now it can reach 2,000 euros.
The budget increase will also allow to reduce the waiting lists that have been generated over time. Today there are over 1129 people taken in charge and about 200 people on the waiting list: with the activation of the new program it is expected that about 1300 people will be taken in charge.
“With this program – underlines the President of the Region Eugenio Giani – we are further strengthening our investment in independent living. A commitment that Tuscany has been carrying out for many years and that it has always confirmed and increased: just think that it is the largest allocation of resources among the Italian regions. It is a commitment that allows us to significantly improve the quality of life of the recipients, promoting their independence and self-determination”.
“In this phase – highlights councilor Spinelli – there is also ongoing discussion with the associations for independent living, with the aim of working in a shared manner towards the operation of the new programme, which will begin in January 2025, for identify together objective criteria that allow us to achieve the objective of increasing the number of beneficiaries, at the same time reducing waiting lists and without penalizing those who already have an ongoing independent living project”.
Source: Tuscany Region – Press Office
