Providing Social Services – Opportunity To Increase Quality Of Life For People With Disabilities In Small Settlements

The social services are aimed to increase the quality of life of vulnerable society groups, in compliance with the principle of independent life and human dignity, preferably in family environment. Providing those services to disabled people who cannot take care of themselves and who live in small settlements where social services are lacking, is an alternative to overcome their social isolation and render better quality of care. The objective is to maintain their health, social inclusion and to create opportunities for participation in public life. This care should be of household nature, considering their individual necessities, desires and conditions of life, commitment of relatives and friends, besides the social workers. They are subjected to territory dependency – the more distance is to municipal cities, the less in number they are. According to national surveys in urban areas, a significant reduction of poverty level has been recorded, compared to rural areas, because poverty in cities is smaller. The necessity of adequate services in rural areas is significantly greater. In 2002 there commenced de-institutionalization in Bulgaria, as major priority of the social policy. That is the foundation for already started district strategies with objectives as: reducing the number of people accommodated in institutions and elaborating of social services that facilitate providing of homecare, directly targeted to most vulnerable groups of the society. In recent years, with ageing of population and migration of young people to big cities and abroad, the small settlements remain populated by elderly, solitary and disabled people to whom the policy of providing social services should be directed to.