Self-DeterminPhotosed Life

You are handicapped and need permanent care from the time you get up in the morning till the time you go to bed. Yet you do want to live within your own four walls with a partner, possibly with children. You want to do your work, indulge in your hobbies and possibly even travel. You want to live a fulfilled life as a mature citizen – and you want to do that with and in spite of your handicap.

The traditional social structures for the disabled, such as homes, institutions or similar centres ensure daily care. There are also services available that take care of the most basic needs but do not allow an individual way of life which every human being needs in order to be able to develop.

The employer model designed and put into practice by disabled people provides possibilities for the handicapped to employ help in the way they need it.

The ‘employer model’ provides the possibility for the disabled to live their life the way they want to. They will not be told by so-called "experts" in institutions or homes when and by whom they will receive assistance and care . The disabled people themselves are the employers and decide what sort of assistance they want and need by their helpers. They choose the people whom they want to be their carers and whom they want to employ in their households. They interview the people applying for the job and they train them for the work they want them to do. The carers will work according to the employers’ instructions. They will be paid according to their contracts by the disabled employer who in turn will settle the cost with the respective social services . How the work is organized is entirely the responsibility of the disabled persons, which means they need to be competent and knowledgeable. According to experience, the disabled people are normally very capable and if need be they will receive advise by the VbA (Self-Determined Living or Independent Living) about what they need to know.