The people involved in the research Disability and poverty in Italian families perceive and live in a condition of isolation: one in six does not receive any support from institutions and one in four cannot count on an informal network made up of friends, non-cohabiting relatives or volunteers. The investigation was presented in Rome, at the Historical Archives of the Presidency of the Republic, in the meeting entitled The Pedagogy of the Constitution. The art. 3. Policies, social research, listening.
The research was conducted by Cbm Italia – humanitarian organization committed to the prevention and treatment of blindness and disability and the inclusion of people with disabilities in the South of the world and in Italy – together with Emanuela Zancan Foundation Center for Social Studies and Research. Among the aid requested by families, nine out of 10 are not economic contributions but “humanized” servicesboth for the person with disabilities and for family members, who are able to put the person at the center, for global care. The study investigates for the first time in our country the link between the condition of disability and economic and cultural impoverishment.
VITA has extensively illustrated the study in this article:
«In this study we put ourselves in a listening position. I always say that it is not statistical research, it is not a study. It is also this, but we have listened to people and families with disabilities. A listening experience that had never been done, it didn’t exist in Italy. There was a void in terms of research and we wanted to do it with great obstinacy, a great desire to understand if there is a link between disability and poverty, which we have been finding in the countries of the South of the world since 1908″, he told VITA the director of Cbm Italia Massimo May.
A qualitative and quantitative research
«This is a social research, qualitative and quantitative at the same time, precisely to listen to people. Families with people with disabilities are families with disabilities, in fact,” continued Maggio. «The research has identified lines to be able to intervene, as far as possible, with a centrality: the person with disabilities. If I had to summarize the study, I would say that it places the person with disabilities at the centre.”
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The voices of families
«For years we have been talking about how much the protagonism of people with disabilities must be supported and nurtured. The result of our research still goes in this direction: the voices of the families we listened to confirm that the social and cultural hardship is more oppressive than the economic one. The humanized services that are requested must enter into people’s life plans, which is why we must think of them starting from recognizing resources and highlighting the value of families, to reduce stigma and create opportunities for inclusion”, continued Maggio. «To face and encourage the “during and after us” so that it becomes “with us”. We wish to make this research available to all those who deal with disabilities, as a useful tool to promote the culture of inclusion».
The research was presented in Rome at the Historical Archives of the Presidency of the Republic
«Today’s meeting is an opportunity to explore central issues for the government. I think that politics has the task of knowing how to listen. The listening position is crucial for building alliances,” he said Maria Teresa Bellucci, deputy minister of Labor and Social Policies, spoke at the meeting. «Creating prerequisites in sustainable social and cohesion policies means building a puzzle in which the pieces can communicate with each other».
Opening photo by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. Photo of the meeting from the Cbm Italia press office.