- People with intellectual disabilities and users of the different centers managed by Asapronias in Huelva benefit from this initiative
- The project was a winner in the 2016 Social Value Awards
The Association of Parents and Guardians of People with Intellectual Disability (Asociación de Padres y Protectores de Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual, ASPAPRONIAS) has inaugurated its ‘Leisure and Free Time Center’ in Huelva, with the presence of Teresa Millán, provincial head of Fundación Cepsa, and Emilio Vázquez, sponsor of the project and Cepsa employee.
In the 2016 Social Value Awards, ASPAPRONIAS won an award for this project to create a leisure and free time center, where ASPAPRONIAS users can have a place to meet and carry out activities outside the usual opening hours of the centers where they are registered. The center, where users can take part in many different socio-cultural activities, is right in the middle of the capital, in Calle Puerto.
A group of people with intellectual disabilities (self-managers), made a list of requirements that had to be met by the center for it to be used as a leisure center (furniture, cleaning, organization, etc.), and in fact they themselves will be responsible for managing the leisure/training activities they have selected to carry out in their free time (crafts, theater, music/television and IT). The project, which is now up and running, has offered this group the means, support and resources necessary to help them implement this self-managed leisure space.
In the words of the ASPAPRONIAS director, Salomé Ruiz “in this project, we listen to and implement the requests of people with intellectual disabilities, providing a space for leisure and free time, thus improving their quality of life and that of their families. All the decisions and professional actions of ASPAPRONIAS are aimed at enhancing the visibility of this group, and to enable them to fully integrate in their communities through the use of local resources, providing them with the necessary support so that they can access them on an equal footing.
A particularly innovative feature of this project is that the Full Inclusion model is used, as the beneficiaries themselves designed the proposal. They will play a crucial role, carrying out relevant tasks which are part of the center's daily maintenance, playing an active role in the whole process. Users will be responsible for keeping the center clean, for opening and closing it and compliance with basic social norms.
Teresa Millán, head of Fundación Cepsa in Huelva, says that “it is essential to shift the model for caring for people with intellectual disabilities, toward an all-inclusive model. This is a priority for all public and private institutions, so we will continue to support projects with this different methodology”.
Emilio Vázquez, the project sponsor, said that “usually associations are limited to organizing outings or excursions. This project, which is now up and running, has a different approach, because it includes leisure self-management per se, enabling the person to play an active role in the community, giving him a space where he can share experiences with other people with intellectual disabilities from other environments, which helps them to broaden their circle of relationships”.