Member Spotlight February 2021

Support Girona in a few lines?

Support-Girona is an independent NGO providing global and individualised support to persons with disabilities, with whom it has a legal link, promoting their social inclusion and Human Rights.

Our mission is to support persons with intellectual disabilities, psychosocial disabilities or elderly persons experiencing some type of disability due to the ageing process to achieve social inclusion and exercise their rights. Support-Girona is aligned with the principles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The organisation works towards offering a personalised and coordinated service, networking with professionals and organisations, to support persons with disabilities exercise their right to make their own decisions. Support-Girona develops supported decision-making mechanisms from a voluntary designation of an individual or appointed directly by a court order.

What are your main activities?

• Provide intense, global and flexible legal and social support for adult individuals with psychosocial disabilities, cognitive impairment and people with intellectual disabilities. Support-Girona provides adequate and effective safeguards to prevent abuses, according with a Human Rights approach, with maximum respect for the will and preferences of the individuals supported.
• Defence, promotion and development of Human Rights. Support-Girona and its professionals assess the context and the situation of every individual on a per-case basis, provide guidance to their family and relatives, promote the improvement of the quality of life of each supported individual and encourage their effective and full participation to be included in the community.
• Raise General Awareness, sensitise society and cooperate and collaborate with authorities and organisations in the public, private or third sector to improve support for people with disabilities.
• Take legal actions in front of the competent courts of any jurisdiction, including the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, the Supreme Court and European and International Courts to defend the Human Rights of the individuals supported by the Foundation.
• Assume the role of support whether it is designated by law or by the individual itself, as well as exercise the rights and powers established by the legal system complying with the duties and safeguards established.
• Develop projects or other related activities in order to accomplish the organisation’s goals.

What are your main priorities?

Support-Girona’s prioritises developing a supported decision-making service to persons with disabilities as well as promoting and implementing deinstitutionalisation of the persons the organisation supports..

To achieve its priorities the organisation aims to:

• Be available to support every individual with a disability who needs it, overcoming the traditional model of care and promoting and respecting their autonomy on the basis of the Human Rights model.
• Generate debate around social policy looking for models, alternatives and resources worldwide that increase quality of life of persons with disabilities and their Human Rights.
• Increase professional knowledge and improve professional practice by creating strategic alliances and increasing networking activities.
• Contribute to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, structuring our actions and projects towards tangible outcomes and measurable impacts at a social and environmental level.

Support-Girona, whilst developing its service, is committed with the following principles:

• The Human Rights model and networking and transversal work
• Supported decision-making and person-centred planning
• Proximity action
• Propositive and proactive approaches
• Persistent focus
• Individualised and person-led planning
• Global and flexible intervention
• Gender perspective
• Community-based service development
• Confidentiality and transparency

Where can we find out more?

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube