Included In Society (2003-2004)

Funded by

European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal opportunities

Duration

12 months, from 2003 to 2004

Summary

This project's aim was to make the most invisible group of disable people visible and to highlight the human right abuses that occur inside institutions. It also aimed to set out recommendations on how sustainable community-based services can be developed, according to the needs of the disabled people.

Objectives

• To collect quantitative information about as many large residential institutions in Europe as possible;
• To establish links between service characteristics and quality of life of residents;
• To highlight the human rights abuses and infringements of personal freedoms that occur inside institutions;
• To develop political recommendations at European, national and local level.

Activities and outcomes

The research had to collect quantitative and qualitative information about the living conditions in large residential institutions. Also the legal basis and the current funding structure of these institutions had to be analysed. In order to capture different situations and care philosophies, the project concentrated on researching institutional conditions and community based alternatives in France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the UK.

Publications and documents

Final Report

Guidance on Principles of Deinstitutionalisation

Lead organisation

Inclusion Europe

Partners

Autism Europe, Belgium

Inclusion Europe, Belgium

Mental Disability Advocacy Programme, Hungary

Mental Health Europe, Belgium

European Disability Forum (EDF), Belgium

European Association of Service Providers for Persons with a Disability (EASPD), Belgium

Association for Research and Training on Integration in Europe (Association de Recherche et de Formation sur l'Insertion en Europe - ARFIE), Belgium

Tizard Centre, UK

The Open Society Institute, Hungary

The Centre for Policy Studies at the Central European University, Hungary

Website