No one wants to be left out!
For people with intellectual disabilities and their families, social exclusion is often the harsh reality. Financial burdens, for example due to the cost of care, a lack of employment opportunities and discrimination are just some of the factors that come into play.
This is true for all EU member states, as well as accession countries, as shown by Inclusion Europe’s and Inclusion International’s joint study on Poverty and Intellectual Disability in Europe. There is also our position paper on poverty from 2009.
The EU2020 Strategy and all activities against poverty and social exclusion on European level must therefore take the needs of disabled people and their families into account. The European Pillar of Social Rights and the Work-Life balance directive are promising initiatives in this area that have the potential to make a real difference.
More and better inclusive employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities can be part of the solution. Our Position Paper on inclusive employment outlines the core demands in this area. One aim of the Topside project was to help create such types of employment.
Full participation in political and public life, as well as access to information technologies, are other aspects of the work against social exclusion and poverty. Inclusion Europe has led or taken part in several projects on these topics, such as our project on Accessible elections and the Able to Include and Pathways & Pathways 2 projects.
Social protection and employment
Briefing contributing to the discussion on minimum income and on social benefits from the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities and their families:
- Social protection and employment (.docx).
Inclusive employment
Reports and toolkits about inclusive employment for people with intellectual disabilities created during our MTFD project:
- Research on inclusive employment (.pdf)
- Law and policies for inclusive employment (.pdf)
- Guidelines for employers (.docx)
Videos supporting inclusive employment
All videos about inclusive employment.
Covid pandemic impact on employment of people with intellectual disabilities
Employment and Covid-19 report (.pdf)
Read also about employment or poverty.
Housing
Briefing on lack of data and housing 2020
Poverty
Briefing Poverty of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families 2020
