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SHARING &
PARTICIPATING :
a challenge for active inclusion
1. DIGNITY is HUMAN RIGHT and when
this right is not respected
what kind of consequences for
MENTAL HEALTH ?
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The poverty is not
a fatalistic social phenomenon
but the consequence of injustice in the
redistribution of resources.
"To
overcome poverty is not a gesture of charity. It
is first of all an
act of justice. It is the protection of a
fundamental human right, the right to dignity
and a decent life.
(Nelson Mandela)
Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate...... and the right to security in the event of
unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old
age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances
beyond his control.
(Art.25 
Univ.
Decl. Hum. Right
)
Everyone has the right to respect for his or her
physical and mental integrity. (Art
3)
In order to combat
social exclusion and poverty, the Union recognises
and respects the right to social and housing
assistance so as to ensure a decent existence
for all those who lack sufficient.
(Art 31 1....2.... 3)
Everyone has the right of access to preventive
health care and the right to benefit from
medical treatment under the conditions established
by national laws and practices.
(Article
35
Charter Fundamental Right
of European Union )
========================== cf. notes down page
===========================
Les vulnérables.
La démocratie contre les pauvres,
Severe
Poverty as a Human Rights Violation
Inhumanity or Injustice?...
Poverty
as a Form of Oppression...
Extreme
Poverty:
what Justice demands today; Responsibility
& Severe Poverty
Eurobarometer
survey on
Poverty and Exclusion February – March 2007
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Freedom from Poverty
as A Human Right
Everyone
has the RIGHT
to
a standard of living adequate
for
the health
and well-being
of himself, of
his family
|
Eurobarometer
survey
on poverty & social exclusion |
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Référence: MEMO/09/480 Date: 27/10/2009
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2.
POVERTY
and MENTAL ILLNESS -
Social distress
and psychic suffering
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POVERTY &
MENTAL DISEASE,
are often both at the beginning of the process of marginalisation and abandonment, which - while being
reinforced reciprocally - transform in chronic situation one and other
until the exclusion and rupture of social belong of
people.
POVERTY &
MENTAL DISEASE,
become strictly intertwined in a vicious circle of
marginalization leading to a total loss of social links.
Loneliness, sickness, mental illness, drug abuse and/or
alcoholism, may be the cause or the results of this
state of alienation and exclusion from society, which in
some cases may be irreversible and which could
eventually lead to a complete break with society.
Involvement of all civic society :
it's possible to insure a concrete progress in this
fight against poverty and exclusion when all civic
society will be involved shearing and participating.
European challenge: despite national differences,
in both the nature and severity of the problem, the
social exclusion is a structural problem in European
society and for this reason must be placed – as an
absolute priority – at the centre of an urgent call for
awareness and deeper consideration particularly with
respect to the RIGHT and ACCES to the citizen services,
developing an adequate political program at European
level : the building of the European Community
must take place within a framework of citizenship in
respect of right and solidarity.
SMES-Europa from beginning
(1992)
operates at the
interface, intersection of mental health and social
exclusion, on the appalling neglect and abandoned
homeless people living in extremely poor health & social
conditions and suffering from mental health problems, in
order to improve mental, physical & social well-being,
and to promote inclusion, citizenship and solidarity in
European Countries for people living in extreme social
and health precariousness.
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3.
STIGMA
and
exclusion
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Combating Stigma and Social Exclusion
The
eradication of stigma & discrimination,
but also of stereotypes
& indifference
against people and families suffering from
poverty and mental illness,
is still a remote goal for our
European society
and the consequences are : extreme poverty,
marginalisation, abandonment and lost of social belong.
These are
the 5th points of Pact for mental health proposed by
Commission :
1. Prevention of Suicide and Depression
2.
Mental Health in Youth and Education
3. Mental Health in Workplace Settings
4. Mental Health in Older People
5. Combating Stigma and Social Exclusion
Mental health at European level does not
appear to be considered a priority on
Health policy and in Romania,
the situation seems to be critical. (cf. Green Paper on Mental Health of
Commission and many doc. online concerning mental
health in Romania).
Poverty and mental illness are both or as beginning or as
consequences of the same process of segregation,
discrimination: one reinforces and worsens the other until
complete exclusion in society.
Everywhere in Europe and particularly in Romania the reforms
are urgently needed in order to protect and give dignity to
the life of most vulnerable people. The European Union at
the time of accession of Romania to the Union placed at its
disposal meaningful resources to guarantee the right of the
patients to receive treatment as much as possible within the
local community.
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4. WHY
on
BUCHAREST ?
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In reason of European challenge :
In
2000 in
Lisbon, Europe would to make a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty and social
exclusion. BUT until today
2010, the poverty has not been significantly
reduced, and the gap - consequence of unjust
redistribution of resources - between
rich & poor people,
continues
to increase.
In 2010 the Commission and the Parliament decided to make
of 2010
the European Year of fight against poverty and social exclusion,
so having “a radical impact on the eradication of poverty,
proposing
”Active Inclusion’
, based on three
inseparable and complementary pillars:
1. sufficient minimum
income,
2. inclusive labour markets,
3. access to quality services.
4th pilar (?):
PARTICIPATION
: we are thinking that the
participation
is a very fondamental pillar of
personal & active
inclusion. The other 3 are in register of
assistence and answer to the needs !
Participation is in a strict relationship
with empowerment and citizenship.
For this reason the two key words are :
sharing
(ressourcees, aginst poverty)
and
participating
.
Even with the worsening financial
and economic crisis, this situation is rapidly
deteriorating:
EXTREME POVERTY & EXCLUSION :
-
79/80 million people in Europe live in
poverty
and more and more are at risk of social
exclusion. In Romania “absolute” poverty is
widespread and many people are affected by
material deprivation and social
marginalisation which is intolerable . (cf.
Eurobarometer, Ethnobarometer).
The poverty more than question of statistic
and numbers is the question of persons.
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Poverty in Europa : 17% of the
European population are poor.
The rate goes from 11% to
the Netherlands to Bulgaria and
Romania respectively 21 and 23% the poor,
23% in Romania
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Poverty in Romania
23%
: The highest rates are to be raised in
Europe of the east, But several large
countries of Europe, the United Kingdom,
Italy, Spain or Greece hardly make better,
with a rate of poverty of +/- 20%..
MENTAL HEALTH:
Everywhere in Europe and particularly
in Romania the reforms in Mental Health
systhem are urgently in order to protect and dignify the life of
most vulnerable people.
The European Union at the time of the accession of Romania
to EU, placed at the disposal important resources
to improve the mental health services
by guaranteeing the rights of the people to receive a
treatment and care adapted in their state, as much as
possible with the centre of the community in which they
live.
BUT what is
the situation today ?
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5. AIM OF CONFERENCE
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AIM is not to compassionate the poor peoples and making
the charity but on one side to recall the fundamental
Right of all to live the life in dignity and
the other the duty and responsibility of all civic society
of redistribution of resources with
justice and solidarity.
With this conference SMES-Europa continues the finality of:
• Reaffirming personal dignity and human rights
The outrageous scenes of people, abandoned on the street,
frequently with severly mental health problems are urgent
appeals to enforce the respect of basic human rights of this
vulnerable people.
• Preferring innovative and alternative projects
The scale of the problem and the ineffectiveness of mere
public & private "assistance” in the long run
call for medium/long term innovative and alternative
projects. Individuals must be seen as people having rights,
needs and living in a context where the social/health
private and public sectors interact.
• Promoting urgent prevention measures Unless
there is prompt intervention into the causes
from which the process originates, the present crisis in the
welfare system will inevitably deepen, with disastrous
consequences for the young and all those in greatest need.
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6. THEME OF CONFERENCE
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THEME & TOPICS :“ SHARING :
redistribution of resources for dignity & well-being
of all people
PARTICIPATING : active inclusion
against every segregation & discrimination
"Sharing & participating is a challenge for active inclusion, promoting Dignity and Health, increasing access to health & social
services for the most deprived people.”
The participants will focus reflections -
experiences - evaluations and will present
priorities and proposal, in order to humanise
this struggle against poverty & disease, in
these three topics:
1) Deinstitutionalization and mental health
in the city: from cure in an Institution to
care in the
Community . This is first of all is humanistic question,
requiring new creativity in daily practices.
2) Outreach – going out to meet where they are
- aptitude before than method and
practice,
preventing chronicity
3) Empowerment - capacitating and
participation with respect for difference.
NB.: your suggestion are very important in order
to better specify the theme & topics of the
conference
TOPICS
& Workshops : The proposed basic theme "sharing &
participating for active inclusion...", will be
analyse in the course of three pathways
that will prepare the topics of workshops.
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11
October 2010 +
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