Dear friends,
The process of creating preconditions for independent living in Novi Sad is mostly behind us. Considering current, rather restrictive legal regulations in relation to who can use the personal assistance service, the only thing the City of Novi Sad should do is to change the part of its rulebook referring to the financing of the service which provides the maximum percentage of additional hours and to provide the service according to the real needs of the user.
The criteria defined by the Law on Social Protection should be revised and harmonized with the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from General Comment no. 5 on the implementation of Art. 19 of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
We all will be facing an intense year with unpredictable circumstances and the need to deal with the consequences of the pandemic and other natural phenomena that have changed everyone’s living conditions.
Mutual, interpersonal support has always been necessary, now more than ever, conscious actions at any time and for the good of us all. Regarding all of the above, let 2021 bring us peace and joy, the deepest sense of gratitude for everything we have had the opportunity to experience and learn, to reduce the impact of the virus together and to see everything else that happens in nature as inevitability and opportunity for our further path.
All the best!