Unapei calls for new law on services for ageing persons with disabilities in France

The French association for people with disabilities Unapei warns that immediate government action needs to be taken to successfully assist the large number of aging people with disabilities.

Only within its network Unapei has identified up to 35,000 older people with disabilities whose needs are not being appropriately attended to at the moment. The much expected autonomy law, which is supposed to grant people with disabilities a certain level of control over their lives, does not address the serious issue of caring for the old. For this reason Unapei demands urgent action.

Unapei believes the Government should draft new legislation to support all families providing home care for people with disabilities, and ensure the wellbeing of people with disabilities themselves who lose their loved ones and are concerned about their future.

On 24 May, during the 54th Congress of the Unapei, Christel Prado, its president, confronted French State Secretary in charge of disabilities, Ségolène Neuville, and said people with disabilities “thanks to the support and care they received have now aged. People with disabilities age! They are born, they grow, they learn, they work, they love, they create, they go on vacation, they grow old, and they die even after their parents”.

Therefore, in order to better care for aging people with disabilities, Unapei had a number of requests, among which:

• Keeping a person as long as possible in their normal environment. This requires increased funding for medical or paramedical field services within structures such as sheltered or home life.
• Home care and support for people within the family, with support services available for the most autonomous, such as assisted community integration
• Creating specialized sections in nursing homes