Everyday choices depend on support
“Personal assistance makes people visible,” Christoph Dirnbacher said, according to BIZEPS’s account of the discussion. Hanna Kamrat explained that without assistance she would have to live in a residential home. Werner Rosenberger said assistance enabled both his employment and his voluntary work. Their experiences connected the funding debate with decisions about where to live and how to spend the day.
A system divided between work and private life
The organiser’s statement highlighted the split between federal and provincial responsibilities. Participants wanted easier transitions between assistance at work and support in private life, so that funding arrangements would accommodate people’s routines. They also called for stronger recognition of the assistant’s occupation and training for people directing their own assistance. [1]
Access for people currently excluded
Selma Sprajcer called for adequate funding, fair pay and assistance for people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. Marlies Neumüller argued that disabled people should choose where and how they live. The discussion brought assistance users, providers and policymakers together around changes still being sought. [2]