Conversation with Elisabeth Lammers, board member of UNAPEI.
Listen to the podcast here.
[1:35:8] Who’s Elisabeth Lamers and how she started her work
Elisabeth Lamers is a mother to a son with intellectual disabilities named Michel. She started her journey by joining a local association in the suburb of Paris and becoming their vice president, until she was then elected on a national level. She is now a board member and in charge of European and international matters.
[4:17:2] What comes after a child with disabilities finishes school?
Elisabeth talks about the job possibility that a person with intellectual disability could have after school finishes. In his son’s case, they tried to go to the open labor market after school, but they weren’t prepared at all for disability and intellectual disabilities, so it was a disaster. So they reached out to social services to make sure that these children had a solution to build up their career.
[6:24:7] When Elisabeth joined UNAPEI
That was the moment when Elisabeth joined the UNAPEI association, also known as the parents organization. It is made up of parents who defend the rights of their children. They grew up, and now they have 310 parent led associations. Usually, parents join the association to find solutions for their children’s education and then they stay, getting into other activities.
[10:09:0] How UNAPI works
UNAPI is a network of associations, each one with its own government, all over France. UNAPEI manages 3300 services and 80000 people working in it. They support 200000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities, including those with complex needs. They also offer educational access, and that’s the difference from the mainstream schools.
[12:49:9] Self-advocacy in UNAPEI
UNAPEI also advocates for different rights of persons with disabilities and their families. We can find the access to right for all, access for social protect, empowerment, caring in the sense of making sure that the person with disabilities had an overall well-being. But UNAPEI also supports the self-advocacy movement in France: the first French organization was created on self-advocacy. Working with Inclusion Europe made the self-advocacy movement smoother, making it easier to reach the goal of making the voices of persons with disabilities heard.
[18:02:2] The survey
UNAPEI recently worked on a paper regarding the situation of parents in France. It did a survey called The voice of Parents and about 4000 people were asked about their life and about the situation they’re in. The parents were asked about the impact of disability situation of their loved ones and their life path. It showed the 57% of parents feel isolated facing what they’re experiencing, 90% of parents prioritize securing support for the child, 95% of parents have concerns about their child’s future after they’re gone, 41% pf parents work part time to take care of their children. The survey showed that the 80% of the care for people with disabilities is provided by the parents.
Regarding the secure support to children, it is about making sure that the life of a child with intellectual disabilities goes smooth. To do it, UNAPEI works with a triple expertise made of: the person with disabilities, the parents and the professionals.
[31:41:3] UNAPEI’s purposes
The aims of the survey UNAPEI made are multiple: first of all, the one of ensure that the fundamental rights of the persons with disabilities, then self-determination and the adoption of mainstream services. The problem is that even if they want these changes, the government doesn’t have enough financial resources.
One other thing UNAPEI advocates for is the raise of salaries for people with disabilities, and an evolution in their career with a secure working condition.
Then, finally, a concrete support to parents of children with disabilities, especially to mothers, for them not to be isolated or forced to quit their jobs to take care of their children.
[40:09:7] The achievements of UNAPEI
Since this year marks the 35th birthday of Inclusion Europe, the changes UNAPEI faced compared to some decades ago are some. One thing they’re proud of is the achievement of the self-representation of people with disabilities, plus their participation in public life. One example is this 17 years old boy who has autism and is now working with the services of his town. This represents how the voices of people with disabilities are now heard in every sphere of society. One other example is Florence Jablonski, board member of Nous Aussi and first woman with intellectual disabilities who spoke at the European Parliament. In 2019, something important happened: UNAPEI contributed to win the right to vote for all people with intellectual disabilities in France, where election accessibility is now guaranteed.