Assisted living
Is living alone in one's own four walls, as the result of a disability no longer possible? In this case a form of out care could be the ideal alternative.
It is no longer in question that people with disabilities have the right to their own homes. Even when they are incapable or only partially capable of looking after themselves, they must have the choice to retreat to their private sphere as well as the availability to the openness to the outer world. Things like accommodation and meals are just as important as topics such as the company of friends or security. For these reasons there is a necessity for various different living arrangements with support for those concerned.
As much support as necessary; as much responsibility as possible
Out care support at home, ensures the concerned person as much privacy as is possible under the given circumstances. The main objective of this form of living arrangement is to leave those concerned with as much responsibility as possible. People with a disability should be encouraged to live their lives as independently as possible.
What best resembles the reality is the situation where the disabled person lives alone. This form of out care is suited for disabled people who live with a high degree of independence and only require minimal assistance in getting through daily life. This type of assistance is possible in the home of the person concerned or where the provider of this type of out care has many single apartments that could be grouped together as a sort of "out care" complex.
Supervised residential complex
Another option would be apartment sharing, in a supervised therapeutic residential complex or group apartments, whereby the difference here being whether round the clock support is provided or if support for only certain areas of daily life is necessary. Here it is important that the residents are capable of living in a group, that they have a sufficient level of self-responsibility and can still live independently to a certain degree. In general we can assume that people with disabilities in therapeutic residential complexes need at least support in practical things like personal hygiene, cleaning, shopping etc. The deciding factor here is always the individual requirement.
Author: Patrick Gunti, Sep. 2007
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