News Details

The Independent Life Support Center of Viana do Castelo (CAVI) is part of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Viana do Castelo (APCVC), an institution that has always excelled by innovation in its responses, by the dynamics of continuous improvement, by proximity to its customers, having these a fundamental role and always being an integral part in the changes of their life, in the changes of the community and in the paradigm change that drags on with a continuous dependence on people with disabilities and disability.

In order to continue all this work, and looking at Viana do Castelo as a district “planted by the sea” but with very strong rural features, with very deep prejudices, and marked by municipalities very far from the district headquarters, APCVC applied for the constitution of CAVI, and saw approved its application for the pilot project of personal assistance, for the implementation of the Support Model for Independent Living (MAVI), at the end of January 2019. This application aimed to implement the model of support for independent living, adjusted to the needs of people with disabilities or disabilities present in the district, in order to contribute to the realization of their right to live independently, but also with the aim of changing mentalities, breaking taboos and barriers, creating small foci of change in the community.

We can say at this moment, and 6 months from the end of this extension of our project, that all our work is really making a difference. This difference is felt to leagues in the lives of people receiving personal assistance, with greater independence, autonomy, with a huge gain in terms of self-determination and empowerment, we are and we want to continue to allow to give voice and make heard all people who effectively felt not part of the community, felt they did not have the power to decide on their life without interference from others (be they family members, professionals, institutions...). But the difference is also felt in the personal assistants and in the growth they have had with the project, changing their way of working, of intervening, of thinking, of relating, and changing the way they act in the community, even when they are not providing the personal assistance service. The difference is also felt in us, the technical team, and in the change of intervention, in the change of thought, in the change of vision of the active role that people with disabilities and disabilities have, should have and have the right to have in their life: decide, get right, make mistakes, live, learn, continue, be part... The difference is felt in the community, when services, technicians and people in general respect the decisions of people with disabilities and disabilities, when they do not discriminate against them, when they make physical changes in buildings without having been referenced, when they recognize the work of the personal assistant, when they give a simple greeting in the street, when they really see these people, and when they give them an active voice.

At the moment, CAVI's technical team consists of two technicians: a Social Assistant, who assumes coordination functions, and an Occupational Therapist, and has 12 personal assistants who provide the personal assistance service at district level, to 19 people with disabilities or disabilities who, due to the limitations arising from their interaction with the conditions of the environment, do not have full autonomy to perform the most varied activities. In our CAVI, domestic assistance, cultural, leisure and sports activities, health maintenance, personal care/hygiene, travel, work-based support and communication mediation are highlighted as the most requested. Characterizing the current recipients of personal assistance, 13 are male and 6 female and the ages are between 20 and 67 years old. As for the degree of disability, it ranges between 60% and 99%. Regarding disability/disability, 42% have neuromotor alteration, 37% change in vision function and 21% change in motor function.

Since the beginning of its activity, CAVI has carried out and continues to carry out various actions/meetings to disseminate the project, throughout the district, to the Municipal Councils (Balcão da Inclusion e Rede Social/CLAS), similar institutions to support the population with disabilities, the Alto Minho Local Health Unit, schools, among others, with the aim of disseminating this project and simultaneously requesting the referral and referral of potential beneficiaries.

We have also carried out, so far, 4 initial training actions for personal assistants, training a total of 38 people – 12 with an employment contract and 24 on a recruitment grant, their presence on the grant not being a factor of total availability to work on the project.

It should be noted that in 2021 we held the First Seminar of our CAVI – “MAVI – Shared Responsibilities”, in which we can discuss the evolution of Independent Living in Portugal, the role of personal assistants and beneficiaries throughout the process, the continuity of the project in Portugal and the implementation of Personal Assistance in Galicia. It was a day rich in sharing, which left many reflections in the air. You can also access this day on our website. Facebook (https://fb.watch/alrewSO6g9/; https://fb.watch/alrgM0m_GN/; https://fb.watch/alrhYaKlkK/).

Independent living is synonymous with freedom, self-determination, participation and decision-making. And with the purpose of making known the depth of this pilot project and sensitizing the community in general to its importance in the lives of its recipients, the CAVI of APCVC, on the occasion of our I Seminar, wanted to live up to the daily commitment of these professionals and present the results and improvements felt by our recipients, with the realization of a video in which some of our (https://fb.watch/alrzzKfoIZ/).

As a Technical Team, we will maintain the same commitment and dedication in the implementation of this project and in the defense of the rights of people with disabilities and/or disabilities.

This is the CAVI of APCVC: If you have any questions, you can contact us through our emails and telephone contacts, and you can continue to follow our work through our facebook page:

coordenacao@cavi-viana.pt; tocupacional@cavi-viana.pt

Tel: 932214116 / 934132593