Does state policy in Bulgaria bring independent living to people with disabilities?

More and more people are concerned about the conditions for people with disabilities in Bulgaria and around the world. This is good news, because the problems in this direction are many and serious.

In general, people, especially in Bulgaria, have a slightly strange attitude towards their fellow citizens with disabilities, which is also reflected in state policy. I will not comment in detail here on the cultural reasons for this attitude, but I will point out some of the main defects of state intervention in this area.

Creating conditions for independent living for people with disabilities is accepted as a social measure and is often part of social policy. Like any such policy, the policy for the integration of people with disabilities requires significant costs and, respectively, significant resources.

In economically advanced countries, this is not such a problem. However, centralized measures there also often lead to a drain on funds. But here we will not talk about whether there are holes in their budgets and how wide they are, but we will only mention that people with disabilities in these countries enjoy much better conditions for an active social life – accessible public transport, accessible buildings, effective assistance services.

So the person with a disability there leads a relatively independent life – travels, goes on dates, goes to work, without any particular problems. This is great and it is normal for many people to welcome it, focusing on the benefits, not the costs. It has a result, after all!

However, to conduct such a massive social policy, at least two things are needed – resources and cultural maturity. In developed countries, they have been accumulated for many years and purposefully.

And how is it in Bulgaria?

Bulgaria lacks both resources and cultural maturity. The two deficiencies, combined with the defects of state social policy, of course, complement each other and create a widening hole.

The attitude of many Bulgarians towards people with disabilities is pitiful and condescending. People with disabilities in Bulgaria are perceived as a homogeneous mass of suffering and helpless beings. Society as a whole excludes the possibility for a person with a disability to have friends, go on dates, study, work, or have fun.

This attitude spills over into state policy. Politicians assume that the main component of this policy should be care, which is carried out centrally and equally for all who have SOME physical problems. So in reality it turns out that in the State Strategy a young person with a disability is equated with an adult and is the subject of social policy, NOT INCLUSION in the economy. In addition, the degree and nature of the disability, as well as the individual lifestyle, are almost not taken into account. Everyone is in the same bucket.

Therefore, any action in this direction is practically just a social program. It is significant that on most of the issues concerning people with disabilities, the social assistance agency or the specially created state body NSIHU takes a position.

The results

The results of such a centralized approach to people with disabilities are few and always negative.

First, the State programs themselves do not provide much help, because the resources are not enough for everyone. Logical, considering that people with disabilities are different, have different needs, and state resources are limited.

Secondly, many people with disabilities remain in practice without adequate support for them and without adequate conditions for an active life. The undifferentiated approach simply makes State services useless for them - that is, a large part of the funds are directed incorrectly and sink. For an active and independent person with a disability, social programs have no meaning, they do not improve his life in any way. They only become an addition to the personal budget - not a particularly significant addition.

Third, there is a lack of resources for the real inclusion of people with disabilities in society and the economy is deprived of a valuable human resource and a valuable added product. On the other hand, people in government are reassured that they are doing something they call a Policy on the Integration of People with Disabilities. But when a person has to make incredible efforts just to get to school, university or a workplace, this reduces their ability to direct their resources elsewhere.

When you have to constantly use taxis, you limit your activity. And the vicious circle closes. And in many cases there is total discouragement and remaining completely in the hands of state care. The lack of opportunities leads to a loss of activity and productivity, which in turn limits opportunities even more. Many people with disabilities are excluded from the economy, given that they could be active participants in it. The wheel turns and in the end politicians shrug their shoulders, justifying that there is no money for change.

But the root of the problem is not the lack of money, but the mistaken, defective centralized approach!

Examples

Educational institutions

State educational institutions are generally inaccessible to people with disabilities. An example here is the comparison between Sofia University and the New Bulgarian University. The same applies to schools. They are inaccessible, despite the government's integration programs.

This has a negative impact on the psyche, especially of adolescents with disabilities. Imagine what a child experiences when they have to study at home or in a specialized institution that looks more like a hospital than a school. Unfortunately, there is often no choice and parents exclaim: It's good that at least there is this!

Infrastructure and public transport

Sit in a wheelchair sometime and do an experiment. Will you be able to move around comfortably outside and use public transport? This will be a pretty extreme experience. The sidewalks in many places are not sloped and are covered with parked cars, the first step of the buses is quite high, and there is no option for them to tilt if necessary. Maybe it would be a good idea for the next social program of the State to include building jumps at the stops. So, as soon as the bus stops, a person simply pushes the wheelchair, jumps off at the end of the sidewalk and lands inside

Assistance services

Assistance services are also centrally managed and take the form of social programs that are more aimed at finding jobs for retirees than at creating real benefits. In addition, the medical approach to problems is still applied in our country. This means that medical considerations are mainly taken into account in decision-making and that the activity, efficiency, education and commitments of the individual person with a disability are ignored. The person with a disability is simply a medical record in the hands of the bureaucracy.

The result is that many people with disabilities engage their relatives to assist them, because that is the only way they receive adequate support. And that way the money will come into the family. On the other hand, it demotivates and limits the ability of some parents to find work in their specialty and earn more income. There is no adequate assistant service and parents have to work as assistants, instead of what they studied for and what they will be more productive in.

Of course, there are people with disabilities who need medical care, but these are far from all people with convictions and a more intelligent and differentiated approach can be taken.

Because of this total lack of thought, because of generalization, because of regrettable social policies, politicians act blindly, there is no particular effect, and resources are increasingly depleted.

So, the next time you hear about some humane state policy in service of people with disabilities, think about whether it is not just another waste and misuse of funds - to report on activity and demonstrate altruism.

Altruism doesn't work! Reason does!

And the answer to the question posed in the title of this text is NO, state policy in Bulgaria does not bring independent life for people with disabilities. Maybe the market and business will bring... Maybe business organizations and non-profit organizations on a voluntary basis will produce real beneficial effects by engaging in specific causes.

*The author writes his own blog, you can find it HERE

Did you like it? Take a minute to support the EKIP on Patreon!