Photo: Jessica Linder Jansson
Since 2006, 14 year old Giovanni has been in receipt of 70 hours of personal assistance per week and has chosen to have his personal assistance through the JAG cooperative. Just before Christmas the National Swedish Social Assurance Agency decided that he no longer qualifies for personal assistance.
Giovanni depends on continuity because of his disability and he needs personal assistance to be able to manage his daily life. With personal assistance, his daily life improved significantly, especially since Giovanni’s personal assistants were educated in how to respond to his behaviour to minimize his self-harming when he is not feeling good.
Now, his life is in complete chaos. Without his personal assistants, his problems are starting again. Giovanni’s outward behaviour is escalating and he is starting to hurt himself again. Giovanni’s mother appealed to court to review the decision but does not know how long this process will take. Meanwhile Giovanni is living his life without personal assistance.
Previously Giovanni’s mother was employed as one of her son’s personal assistants. Now she’s unemployed but she can’t take another job because then Giovanni would be left alone. Another issue with this is that now Giovanni can’t choose who he would like to assist him.
One of the greatest experts on Independent Living, John Evans, uses every opportunity to warn people with disabilities, policymakers and other stakeholders about the effects of the cuts in public spending that are going on. In many European countries governments take inhuman, irrational and contra productive decisions to cut budgets that are necessary to make Independent Living possible for people with disabilities.
