Bill 10,000 kroner per week. Alexander Peterson is overjoyed.
– The transfer year opened many doors for me. At the same time, it demanded to be achieved and I could not bear to do it again. I am afraid I did not get help from the municipality or the NAV, says Alexander Peterson.
These days, Peterson has submitted his postgraduate dissertation on English Linguistics. The next step is a career – or further study.
Wheelchair user Alexander Peterson was among those who spoke out when the committee on health and social affairs organized an inquiry into the BPA project in the municipality of Bergen on Monday.
BPA refers to the personal assistant controlled by the user and is the legal right of persons in need of comprehensive assistance.
Deloitte’s performance audit discriminated against BPA applicants. In addition, applicants have to wait up to five months for a reply.
After receiving the audit report of the committee, the majority decided to arrange for consultation.
– A help
The difference between living an independent life with enough education and work with enough personal helpers and living as a disabled person in a company.
Kuri Anne Nestle Eck, regional president of the Norwegian Association for the Disabled, pointed out during the hearing:
– I would have lived in a company without a BPA, I would not have had children and would not have gone to work.
This was also emphasized by Gary Tunkeswick, chairwoman of the Municipal Council for the Disabled.
Tungszwick recalled that BPA is a wheelchair-assisted aid.
– It’s not something people want, but something they need, she said.
– Despite the fact that the BPA is a legal entity, our members face difficulties in accessing the service, said Line Skåtøy, Consultant FFO.
The FFO has asked members about their experiences. The feedback is that this practice is characterized by a lack of information, ignorance and large differences in practice between districts.
Do not dare to stand up
Arild Birkenes, head of the regional office of the Norwegian Association for the Disabled, spoke of members who dared not speak at the hearing for fear of coming to terms with the municipality.
One of them wants a PPA, but is rejected because he or she needs health. The latter prevents BPA.
– The person in question is locked in his own home because home nurses cannot participate in leisure activities, Birkens said.
Another member did not dare to go to work meetings in Oslo for fear of violating the rule of not more than five weeks a year from the Bergen municipality.
– It’s a picture of strength and powerlessness, said Birkens.
Alexander Peterson was concerned about the condition of the students. Formally, students can be provided with functional assistants through Nav.
– I’m been a student for many years, but no one has told me about it. He told politicians that it was not the municipality, not Lenokasen, not Nav.
Peterson instead received help from fellow students and used his BPA assistant at the university.
I paid myself
Peterson faced a real hurdle when he was about to finish his bachelor’s degree in Wales in 2013. The municipality said it should not bring in aides abroad.
He then enlisted the help of family and friends. In addition, he applied for scholarships and scholarships, he says in an interview with BT.
– I scraped together enough to buy my home services personally in Wales. It cost about 10,000 kroner a week and had three visits daily. Since the help I received was at home, there was a lot of blockage.
After that, Peterson studied English linguistics, but says he could not stay in the new exchange by himself.
– Aren’t there assistants to exchange more accommodation than one would expect from the public sector?
– No, if the transferees are to be full-time students, they too must have access to the transfer. Bergen calls itself a human rights city. Participating equally with others is indeed a human right, he replied.
Politicians have not yet completed the BPA program. Hild Onerheim reckons the city council will have the last word in the fall.
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