Real job opportunities for people with disabilities and increased funding for life-after-care programs: these are UILDM's demands on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated on December 3 worldwide. This year's theme centers on the participation of people with disabilities as a path to ensuring inclusion and equality, part of the 2030 Agenda, which includes health and well-being for all, reduction of inequality, and decent work among its 17 sustainable development goals. "True independence and autonomy cannot be achieved without adequate financial support," says Marco Rasconi, national president of the Italian Muscular Dystrophy Association. "We must invest for the long term and increase economic support to guarantee fundamental rights for all, against every form of discrimination."
The life-after-care fund has faced serious obstacles. It suffered a cut of five million euros for each of the years 2018 and 2019 in last year's budget bill, and the government's pledge to restore those funds has not yet been honored. Implementation has fallen badly behind schedule. Only four regions so far—Lombardy, Marche, Molise, and Tuscany—have launched individual projects for autonomous living, far short of ensuring that disabled people can live independently across the country or have equal access to services everywhere. UILDM's local chapters are advancing independent-living projects and offering consultancy through partnerships with regional partners. UILDM's Lazio, Milan, Pisa, and Cicciano chapters run such programs in their territories, while the chapters in Legnano and Genoa manage housing to support personal choice and foster greater autonomy for disabled people.
The right to work is also being neglected. According to the National Observatory on Health in Italian Regions, only 20.4 percent of disabled women aged 15–44 are employed (compared to 46.3 percent of women in the same age group overall); disabled men in that age bracket have an employment rate of 24.8 percent (against 62.7 percent for men in the general population). These figures demand serious commitment and resources. Through its PLUS project, funded by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy under the new call from the Third Sector reform, UILDM promotes job placement, social integration, and territorial inclusion, offering 80 disabled people aged 18–40 across 16 Italian regions a program of career guidance, training, and job coaching. "We hope to build constructive partnerships with various institutions and local organizations, and we're ready to share the expertise we've developed over years of running projects and working alongside disabled people and their families," Rasconi continues. "We stand ready to engage with institutions, associations, and the professional community at large."
Source: Vita