Disability and living in Flanders

Living & taking care and concerns about living

For people with serious disabilities, questions about living and care run analogously. It is not that simple to find an accessible home or a type of dwelling with adapted care.

According to the policy document ‘Perspectief 2020 voor mensen met een handicap’ (Vandeurzen, 2010), the Flemish assisted-living solutions will be divided into the so-called ‘concentric circles’.

• The person with the disability (1)
• The family of this person (2)
• Family, friends and informal contacts (3)
• General, non-disability-specific support and services (4)
• Disability-specific support and services (5)

An additional challenge for people who need care will be the financing for the VAPH supply. Besides the right to a base support budget, the amount of care a handicapped person needs will decide how many extra means will be available to realize this kind of care.

More and more caring families are taking the initiative to combine living and caring. At the same time, the regular and specialized services will renew their supply.

People with a disability and their family do not always make their way in the possibilities of the current and future assisted-living supply. They do not always know their rights and the pros and cons of a specific assisted-living solution.
 
Map the inclusive assisted-living possibilities

In this project, we will make a conceptual mapping of inclusive assisted-living possibilities for the Flemish Government. We will check for every cluster the strengths, weaknesses, chances and challenges of possible assisted-living combinations. This will be formulated in a practical, accessible language for users as well as for their environment. We will map the preconditions in an explorative way by interviewing some practice and experience experts.

Researchers:

• Joris Van Puyenbroeck and Dirk Luyten
• As part of their project work, the second year Family Studies students participated in this research project too.

At the EFC Disability Thematic Network – European Foundation Forum for Inclusion, on the 22th of June in Brussels, Joris Van Puyenbroeck presented this research named ‘Inclusive Housing Options in Belgium’ 

Research conducted during the academic year 2015-2016 with the support of the Koning Boudewijnstichting.