Indicator 4(B): Are there pilot projects on community living? Are they effective and inclusive enough?

Conclusion:
Yes, there are a number of pilot projects working to realise the vision of independent living in the community for people with mental disabilities. The learning from them should be scaled up.

Explanation:

There are a number of regional initiatives aiming to deinstitutionalise social care institutions. In Liberec, the regional authority is closing down two large residential institutions funded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.^[78] The process involves 150 women with intellectual disabilities who were gradually moved out to sheltered homes. However, the financial sustainability of the alternative housing arrangements is uncertain,^[79] and the project is not based on giving the women real alternatives about where and with whom they wish to live.

In the Karlovy Vary Region, two 24-month projects have taken place recently, between 2009 and 2013 run by the Karlovarsky district.^[80] In the course of the projects almost 50 people left 6 institutions in total. The aim of the projects was, besides deinstitutionalisation, the provision of social services in the community. The majority of residents moved out to flats provided by the municipalities. The expressed will of the residents was taken into account during the process. Sheltered housing, support for independent living, personal assistance, and day care services are offered to people involved in the project. Instand, a national NGO with the aim of promoting the quality provision of user-focused social and other public services, also participated in the project as an intermediary organisation, providing personal assistants to people during the transition.^[81] 85% of the budget was funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), with the remaining 15% coming from the state budget.

In the Moravian-Silesian Region, the transformation process of residential social services aims to deinstitutionalise every institution in the region.^[82] The aim of the project is to move people with disabilities to flats and family homes situated in the local community and to simultaneously develop services located in the community. The region took over the maintenance of eleven social care institutions with the capacity of 1,232 places in 2003. Since then, 27 projects have been completed moving out 499 people from institutions to the community. Currently, there are 15 projects running involving a further 291 people. The total budget of the past and present projects to date has been 815 million CZK (approximately 30 million EUR).^[83]

Another example is represented by Náměšť nad Oslavou, Domov bez zámku (‘Home with no lock’). Home with no lock offers a range of services to people with disabilities primarily in community settings. It offers residential services in Homes (22 places), in protective housing (48 places), a ‘daily stationary’ service (30 places), and a respite service (2 places). The project covers eleven locations with services being provided in common family houses and in one flat in Náměšť nad Oslavou and the surrounding cities.^[84] They also offer basic, non-residential health services, and offer support to people with disabilities to access the job market.