Persons with disabilities, especially from impoverished communities, need to cope with everyday struggles related to a lack of equity and equal rights. The inequalities of modern day society as experienced by persons with disabilities around the globe, are now even more evident as a result of COVID-19, severely impacting on the dignity and livelihood of persons with disabilities.
The challenge of addressing poverty and inequality through social work services lies beyond the level of the provision of handouts of basic assistance. Breede Valley APD has to find creative ways in which to render developmental social services that are relevant to the personal needs experienced by persons with disabilities. In 2019, the Breede Valley APD Developmental Social Service Model was designed to address these challenges in a creative but realistic way on community level to ensure positive change and results.
By focusing on person centered assessments and development – a way of helping people who want to make changes in their lives – and engaging and cooperating with our beneficiaries, communities, stakeholders and partners, we render a range of services to adults-, children- and families experiencing physical, intellectual and mental disabilities, blindness and deafness.
Developmental Social Services includes:
FAMILY PRESERVATION
Through the Family Preservation Program, Breede Valley APD is mobilizing and empowering volunteers associated with the organization to provide managed support and services to persons and families with disabilities within their families and communities on a long- and/or short term bases, enabling persons and families with disabilities to reach an independent and optimal lifestyle.
GROWING TOGETHER
As partners in service delivery to the vulnerable, we realised that food parcels are not sustainable and it creates dependence and a culture of entitlement in our communities. On the other hand, home gardens provide long term sustainable food security and also contributes to empowering families.
ADOPT A FAMILY
Many people in our communities want to reach out and help, but they don’t know how. By “adopting” one of the 20 vulnerable families, they can share knowledge, resources and time in any manner that they feel comfortable with – in the process positively impacting and enriching the lives of persons with disabilities and their families.
CVA SUPPORT GROUP
The SVO Support Group at Breede Valley APD started as a project of the final year physiotherapy students studying at the UKWANDA Rural Health Centre as part of their clinical rotation block. Whilst working in the field, the students noticed that there was a large population of people that were presenting with acute strokes that occurred during the national lockdown.
ROLLING INSPIRARTIONS
The decline in accessible services to persons with disabilities is not part of the COVID-19 effect. It is a result of the ignorance and reluctance of modern day society to acknowledge and understand the difficulties persons with disabilities face on a daily basis due to exclusion.
Read more about our Developmental Services: https://bvapd.org.za/development-social-services/