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Inclusive Communities = Stronger Communities
GLOBAL REPORT ON ARTICLE 19: THE RIGHT TO LIVE AND BE INCLUDED IN THE COMMUNITY
had previously relied on institutions as a residential
option, closing or in the process of closing
institutional facilities, there are other countries that
are in the process of building (new) institutions
and/or refurbishing existing facilities e.g. In Hungary,
“Despite having a 30-year strategy to shut institutions
and move people with disabilities into the
community, the Hungarian government will build
new 50-bed institutions – which it euphemistically
calls “living centres” – instead of integrating and
supporting people into the community.” 7
Even in those countries that have a history of
successful closures (i.e. Canada, the USA, the
UK) we are seeing continued investment in
institutional models of support.
There are also countries, particularly low
income countries in Africa, in which the
traditional concept of institutions does not
exist. In these countries however, institutions
do not exist not because other more
appropriate options are provided, but rather
because families were (and are still being)
left to struggle on their own to raise and
support their family member with little or no
outside support or assistance. Sometimes families
who are desperate for any kind of support will
suggest the creation of institutions because they
cannot imagine any other options.
In Colombia families face a stark choice. They can
give up custody of their son or daughter and in
exchange a bed in a residential institution with three
meals a day and some daytime activities will be
provided. The one residential institution we visited in
Bogota was stark, with little activity and no real
personalization or sense of personal space or privacy.
Should the family not want the institutional option,
there are few services for children and virtually none
for adults unless the family has the financial resources