Disability
Helplife is partnering with businesses, academic institutions and professional bodies to research on disability and maximize the value created through collaboration towards the Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We are committed to expand our partnerships and strengthen our base to contribute effectively to selected SDGs, but more specifically to Poverty,
Health, Quality Education, Gender, and Reduced Inequality. Our partners support us to strengthen the means of implementation and contribute to building national capacity through the provision of quality interventions, data, monitoring and accountability – setting up systems that are coordinating well with the policies of the state and at the national level.
Some of our partners organizations contributing to innovations and research in the area of disability are listed below:
Bajaj
Working in the program entitled, “Empowering the differently abled to achieve their complete potential, to integrate into the fabric of the community”. Helplife is continuing to work for differently abled girls/women to make them independent and has striven to integrate them into the fabric of society for over 15 years now. In the duration of this journey, it was noted that there is a need for comprehensive information on disability under one roof. Many families of the dis abled and the general community are unaware of the different facilities available for various kinds of disabilities. In this project, the focus is to ensure holistic development of differently- abled, create awareness in the community at large regarding needs of the persons living with disability and reducing stigma and discrimination, providing support and appropriate referrals by setting up a resource centre, where Helplife will be established for providing information support for the same.
TATA
Based on the findings of the TATA research – Helplife developed the In- House program that is now popularly called EquipHelplife.
In July 2009, Helplife received a grant from Ratan Tata Trust for a period of one year. The goal was processing and development of innovative rehabilitative technology for maximization, full inclusion and integration into society. Research on employment, independent living, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities. Interns got jobs as web designers, tailors in a boutique, working for a BPO, secretarial work, etc.
Key Recommendations from the research
- There is an urgent need to build awareness regarding disability in the community
- The stigma and discrimination towards disability have been documented and needs to be addressed on a wider scale
- Disabled adolescent girls have a number of psychological issues about self-esteem and lack of confidence and this has to be worked on with them
- There is an urgent need to address and make available to the community knowledge of different schemes available for the disabled in the community.
- Addressing their development and making them independent earning members of society means addressing health care needs, life skills, education, career prospects, nutrition and essentially building up confidence through regular counselling and support.
ICMR
In 2010-2012, the Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR) approved a project entitled, “Understanding the needs of Differently Abled Adolescents and Young Adults with a focus on addressing stigma and discrimination in Rural and Urban areas in Maharashtra, India”.
This exploratory study, undertaken in four districts in Maharashtra, looked at exploring the needs of disabled youth and their parents and the coping mechanism for stigma experienced in a sample of 400 youth and parents each.
The data collected was both qualitative and quantitative and the findings in this study indicated several lacunae seen in disability needs:
- Advocacy from youth and parents for disability-friendly transport facilities
- Setting up disability networks for access
- Increase awareness about available programs for disability, increase awareness about structures for disability, advocacy for better means of access.
In addition, it was observed that there was no advocacy for the females with disability and their rights, mainly because there is a lack of registration and the stigmas of disability with a marked gender divide.
The data indicated that disabled youth have significant amount of psychological issues and their parents expressed the same concern, therefore there is a need to consideration greater amount of psychological support to those with a disability, and mental health counselling should be seen as an important intervention. The study showed that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding disability causation in parents and youth, which is another area of intervention in the communities.
The qualitative data showed that there are various limitations for disabled people, such as mobility, travelling, employment and they face problems in blending in with society because of stigma. There are problems in getting married, getting proper education and employment. There was a need for vocational training or need-based education, loan facility and rights expressed by respondents during the qualitative interviews. There were also suggestions for home-based work for the disabled.
The gender component is addressed in all programs at Helplife and is seen as a cross-cutting feature of research and programs. The gap is mostly addressed by creating an environment where both genders get to work together and with the empowerment of men to advocate for better jobs for women.
Changing Perceptions