Info Center of the organization for giving support to women with disabilities …IZ KRUGA – VOJVODINA received 56 calls from 50 users in the period from 1st January to 30th June 2021.
The rise in the number of calls, compared to the same period last year, is noticeable. Better promotion of the Info Center and the organization in the media and social networks can be the cause. Executing numerous activities in Vojvodina and other towns in Serbia also helped.
Info center provides accurate and well-timed information to persons with disabilities, members of their families and other interested parties about rights, services, and accommodations referring to disability.
In the first six months of the current year, 36 women addressed the organization for information. 22 of them had some disability. Most of them physical (17), followed by sensory disability, mental or chronic illness. …IZ KRUGA – VOJVODINA is a women’s organization, hence recognized and trusted among women with disabilities, but calls from both men and women without disabilities are not unusual. They ask for data about legal rights for their parents, children, or other family members with disabilities.
Based on the calls, men and women with disabilities face similar challenges concerning data accessibility and fulfilling their rights. The most common reason for calling is getting information about social welfare (how to get Social Security disability benefits, personal assistance and grants), pension and disability insurance (being entitled to disability pension, personal assistance, reimbursement for physical disability and hiring for people with disabilities) and health care (vaccination info and appointments with a gynecologist).
Service users most commonly contact the Center by phone (49) and less often message via Facebook, Viber, Instagram, e-mail. Phone communication is still the most efficient way to get fast and trustworthy information, especially for the elderly that do not use the Internet and modern technologies.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the Center provided additional info to elderly and disabled persons that were not informed about the vaccination places or their availability. They also needed assistance for online applying for the government’s grants.
Info Center is often just the first link in the chain of support. It provides the beneficiaries the information about different services and institutions, explains the way they function (psychological back, legal aid, center for a professional rehabilitation and hiring people with disabilities, gerontological center, Pension Fund, Social welfare centers, health centers, province’s ombudsman, and other relevant organizations and institutions).
All 46 calls came from cities. This fact confirms that people with disabilities from rural areas not only lack available information but are denied support as such. Next to a large number of calls from Vojvodina (Novi Sad, Indjija, Temerin, Vrbas, Kac, Ratkovo, Cortanovci, Zarkovac) calls from different parts of Serbia are recorded too (Beograd, Smederevo, Uzice, Vranje, Leskovac).
Service of the Info Center of the organization …IZ KRUGA – VOJVODINA is available every workday from 9 to 16 hours, 066/447040 (call, message, Viber) or via e-mail office@izkrugavojvodina.org
Work of the Info Center of the organization …IZ KRUGA – VOJVODINA in the first half of 2021. is supported by the Dutch foundation Mama Cash and Reconstruction Women’s Fund.
