Another positive news this summer.
A few months ago, the non-governmental organization Public Movement "Social Unity" took part in a competition announced by the Fund for Social Protection of the Disabled. Several projects were presented, on which the team has been working fruitfully for a long time and which are based on the practical experience of the non-governmental organization. These are unique developments that have no analogues in Ukraine, their implementation will help build a barrier-free environment in our country. Anton Hulidin, Secretary of the non-governmental organization Public Movement "Social Unity", presented the projects. Our projects have been noticed and properly appreciated. We won a well-deserved victory and had the opportunity to implement four large-scale projects.
We are also pleased to announce that since August we have been working on the implementation of project plans: we have formed teams, agreed on a step-by-step action plan, and started work, as always, aimed at a concrete result. For more than 5 years we have been caring for people with hearing impairments and doing everything in our power to change the lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ukrainians for the better. The team of the Public Movement "Social Unity" has a constant and clear goal: to ensure that people with various forms of disabilities are free from barriers and live a comfortable life, have the same rights and opportunities as other citizens of the state.
There will be a lot of information about the intermediate results of each of the projects in the near future. They are all different, have their own characteristics and stages. Here is a short summary of each area of our work that the team will implement by the end of 2021:
1. "Barrier free Ukraine for the Deaf: Сountering Violence against Women with Hearing Impairments" – a project aimed at providing legal and psychological assistance to Deaf and Hard of Hearing women and girls who have been victims of domestic violence. Violence is a common phenomenon today. Therefore, if the algorithm of actions is more or less clear for hearing women and girls, for the Deaf, or for those who have hearing loss and communicate in sign language, it is much more difficult to do, because communication and psychological barriers are everywhere.
2. "Barrier free Ukraine for the Deaf: Monitoring the Accessibility of Socially Important Infrastructure" – a program for people with disabilities and low-mobility groups on access to the physical environment, transport, information, and communication systems, technologies, and services. It is aimed at analyzing the accessibility of organizations and institutions for people with hearing impairments, the ability to communicate and address social issues in hospitals, local authorities, administrative service centers, etc. It is important to create an inclusive space for people with various forms of disabilities, meaning the opportunity to lead an independent lifestyle and develop comprehensively. The project will conduct monitoring of more than 100 sites in Ukraine and provide specific recommendations for removing existing barriers.
3. "Barrier-free Ukraine for the Deaf: Creating Conditions for Social Adaptation of People with Hearing Impairments" is a program about ensuring equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities in education, work, culture, physical culture, and sports, about providing social services, and involving people with disabilities to social activities. Providing people with disabilities with the opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of life. People with hearing loss who speak sign language need the support of a sign language interpreter. That is why the project will provide users of the "Translator SL", an application with free minutes for round-the-clock video communication with sign language interpreters of the Center for Social Support of Deaf and Hard of Hearing People.
4. Launch of the inclusive information online platform "VILNO". This program will provide people with disabilities with information that is available in different formats and takes into account the peculiarities of the perceptions of people with different forms of disabilities. All content on the portal is adapted to sign language (a special button is installed next to all text blocks, which opens a video with sign language translation). Shortly, the portal and its capabilities will be promoted, as well as assistance to people with various forms of disabilities in the areas of employment and accessibility of various facilities for their barrier-free access.
For the last five months of 2021, we have focused on the implementation of these four projects to promote a quality social protection system for people with various disabilities, particularly Deaf and Hard of Hearing people Hearing. We are confident that such projects will contribute to the creation of decent living conditions with equal rights and opportunities. The team of the NGO Public Movement "Social Unity" is convinced that only through experience, expertise, and fruitful work it is possible to achieve a positive result. We will make sure to keep you informed of all developments and report on all stages of implementation of each of the four projects.
