The Tuscany Region confirms and renews its commitment to supporting independent living projects for people with disabilities. Three-year planning, an overall budget that increases to 46 million euros for the next three years, reduction of waiting lists and increase in the number of recipients: these, explains the Region, “are the cornerstones of the new program, approved in its guidelines in the last session of the Regional Council on the proposal of the regional councilor for social policies Serena Spinelli”.
Independent living is the right of an adult with a serious disability – also recognized at international level by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – to self-determine and be able to live in society as equals and according to their aspirations, avoiding isolation and discrimination and instead promoting integration and participation. The interventions that are financed in this area concern personal care, personal assistance in household activities, at work, for study, and actions to promote accessibility, mobility, and even sports practice. The first major innovation introduced by the independent living program concerns its inclusion in the regional program of the European Social Fund ESF + 2021-2027: this determines the possibility of moving from annual to three-year programming.
The novelty 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 also allowed us 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 increase in budget will also allow us to reduce the waiting lists that have been generated over time.
Today, over 1129 people have been taken into care and approximately 200 people are on the waiting list: with the activation of the new program, it is expected that approximately 1300 people will be taken into care.
“With this program – underlines the president of Tuscany 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 the councilor Spinelli – a constant discussion is also underway with the associations for independent living, with the intent of working in a shared manner towards the operation of the new program, which will begin in January 2025, to identify together objective criteria that allow us to reach the goal of increasing the number of beneficiaries, at the same time reducing waiting lists and without penalizing those who already have an independent living project underway”.
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