To Donors

Personal assistance service (PA) and decision-making support are prerequisites and tools that enable a person with any form of impairment to independently perform any activity, make choices about everything concerning them, decide on all aspects of their life, have full control over it, and have the right to make mistakes. This right is unrelated to their impairment or the reduction/absence of certain abilities but rather because any human being can make mistakes in these areas. These are the principles of independent living for every person.

The prerequisites for independence of persons with impairments or reduced/absent abilities, in addition to personal assistance and decision-making support, include accessibility (of the physical environment, information, services, and products for general use, as well as aids) and peer support.

The PA service allows the person using it full freedom (of living) and self-determination in all aspects of life.

It is guaranteed under Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a potential right of every person, according to a prior assessment of their level of need, which includes considering all aspects of a person’s life.

In Serbia, the right to its financing is provided only through municipal/city funds or designated transfers to poorer municipalities.

In order to obtain the right to public funding, a person must, according to the minimum national standards, be an adult, socially active, entitled to an increased allowance for care and assistance (indicating 100% disability on one or more grounds), and capable of making independent decisions about themselves.

Most people with impairments or reduced/absent abilities do not meet one of these criteria and therefore are not eligible for public funding of PA service.

The right to PA service funding is defined in Article 45 of the Law on Social Protection adopted in 2011.

Since then, 30 municipalities and cities have mainstreamed this service into their social protection policies, funding it for less than 470 people in total.

The process of introducing PA services into municipal/city social protection policies takes years; in Novi Sad, it took 10 years.

During this time, the Centre performed the City’s role by providing funding to ensure the availability of the service to the necessary extent and continuity, as three people could not function without it.

The minimum national standard for funding is 20–40 hours of service per week.

Most people in Novi Sad who need assistance require 60 to 168 hours of assistance per week, which the City of Novi Sad only began funding in June 2021.

It still does not fully fund the service for persons requiring assistance from two people for each lifting and other physically demanding activities.

Since January 2020, when the City of Novi Sad began co-funding the service with designated municipal funds, it has not funded any other labour right for assistants except net pay per hour worked with corresponding benefits.

From 2017 to 2024, the Centre organized the necessary level of assistance through donations for 6 persons who, according to the minimum national or local self-government standards, do not have the right to public funding of PA service but need it.

Everything that the cities and municipalities did not fund, the Centre covered through donations to ensure people did not have to wait for the realization of their right to a service that is as vital as the right to oxygen. Most people who need it cannot get out of bed or perform any daily activities without it.

Due to the fact that the announced funds were delayed or non-transferred and also because the amount the City approved for subsidies was known in March of the current year, the Centre began facing account blockages in 2014. Part of its accounts has been continuously blocked since February 2017.

Part of the approved allocations for 2023 and the designed city funds for direct PA service costs in 2024 are subject to a current blockage in the amount of EUR 48,834.18

As the City did not respond to any of the requests or proposals (96 sent between April 12 and November 27, 2024) to find funds jointly for unblocking or to appeal to the Serbian Government for the release of designated funds for assistance execution in light of the reasons for the blockage, donations are the only way to resolve this debt. Resolving it would enable the Centre to provide unhindered support to independent living to all who approach it.

After the Treasury Administration’s announcement and confirmation on January 15, 2024, that designated funds for the work of personal assistants would not be transferred to the Centre due to the blockage, sixteen users, for whom the Centre organized PA services from 2020 to 2023, chose one of the two other licensed providers who licenced the service in 2019 and 2024 respectively.

Of the current three users of PA service organised by the Centre, 2 young persons do not have the right for funding nor have alternative sources to organize the service. Due to this and the continued advocacy for changing the state’s minimum standards for providing this service which have not been revised since 2013, it is essential to cover this debt by involving everyone who can donate immediately according to their means. This will ensure the realization of social rights for former and current employees of the Centre and enable the Centre to raise the funds from sources other than crowdfunding. Until the minimum state standards change and the City of Novi Sad starts funding all costs of the service including all the labour right of the assistants, since life cannot wait, the Centre continues to raise funds to make all forms of support for independent living available to the people who approach it.

Since December 6, 2023, when the general donation campaign SUPPORT WORK OF THE CENTRE LIVING UPRIGHT

was launched, until January 6, 2025, EUR 27,700.17 were donated by 830 donors, including EUR 26,889.37 dinars by 827 donors within the campaign.

The accompanying images are part of the product designs in the CLUshop Shop | Redbubble (and Kutak za podršku Centru Živeti uspravno) created on December 2 by Uncut Creations to support covering the costs that cities and municipalities where the Centre organizes support for independent living still do not cover.

By making an urgent donation to the account 340-5350-79, you directly contribute to clearing of the blockage.

By donating to the designated donation account 340-11001286-31, which is not subject to blockage, you contribute to covering the 2024 deficit in the amount of EUR 14,752.22 since the allocated city funds for the work of seven assistants in January and one from February to December by December 31, 2024 could not be transferred to the Centre because they are also the subject of the account blockage. It reduced to EUR 13,700 thanks to the donations in January.

In the event of donation approval, legal entities can download  a blank donation contract blanko govora o donatorstvu

We thank you in advance for your support!