The environment of disabled persons is very diversified – it includes both dependent persons and those who handle their daily activities well, although they sometimes have to face various barriers, e.g., concerning mobility. Thus, comprehensive support is necessary.

One of such support programmes is ‘Disabled Person’s Personal Assistant’. The 2019–2020 edition of the programme is already available to local commune and county governments. Now the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is launching a programme (2020 edition) dedicated to non-governmental organisations.

The aim of the programme is to disseminate the assistant’s service in the performance of daily activities and the functioning of disabled persons in social life.

The programme is financed from the Solidarity Fund, and its budget amounts to PLN 80 million.

What kind of help can a personal assistant offer?

He can help a disabled person to go out, return and arrive in selected places, such as home, work, educational and training institutions, health care centres, shops, offices, but also parents, family or cultural, entertainment and sports events.

‘The aim is to enable persons with various types of disability to participate more broadly in social life, not only to get to the doctor or arrive for rehabilitation. They are the same people as us – they want to meet others and to go to the cinema or theatre. I am happy that we can support them in these actions and daily activities with such programmes as “Disabled Person’s Personal Assistant”,’ says the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy Marlena Maląg.

For whom is the programme intended?

A disabled person's personal assistant is a real support of daily activities that will be provided to children up to 16 years of age having a diagnosed disability with a considerably limited ability to live independently and disabled persons having a diagnosed severe or moderate level of disability.

Minimum 70 per cent of participants of the programme should be persons requiring a high level of support, including persons with multiple disabilities and difficulties in mobility and communication.

Who will implement the programme? What are the limits?

The programme will be implemented by non-governmental organisations whose statute contains a provision about conducting actions for disabled persons and that actually conduct actions for these persons (for a period of at least 3 years before the bid submission date).

Assistant services may be provided for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The number of hours of assistant services per one participant of the programme is maximum 60 hours per month.

Note: the implementer of the program may receive financial support amounting to 100% of costs of performance of assistant services.

‘I do encourage non-governmental organisations to participate in the programme “Disabled Person's Personal Assistant – 2020 Edition”. This is how we want to disseminate even further the service of a disabled person’s assistant. We know that such organisations employ people full of passion and commitment and with unconventional ideas. And the needs of disabled persons are big,’ says Minister Marlena Maląg.

Even bigger support for disabled persons

In 2019, the government earmarked PLN 22 billion in favour of disabled children, which is the biggest amount in  history. As compared to the year 2015, expenses for actions addressed to disabled persons rose by around PLN 6.6 billion (at that time, they amounted to PLN 15.4 billion). This year the amount of PLN 27.4 billion will be earmarked for this purpose.