Pentru Voi Foundation won a new project tender on National Agency for Persons with Handicap (ANPH) funds, with the application “Respite centre for adults with intellectual disabilities”. The purpose of the project is to prevent, through the creation of a respite centre, the institutionalization of adults with intellectual disabilities and to support the deinstitutionalization process.

According to the ANPH Statistics Informative Bulletin of September 2006, 96% of the persons with disabilities in Romania and 95% in the Timis County live outside of institutions. Many of these persons live with their parents, who grow old and for whom it is increasingly difficult to cope with their children's special needs. This project, the first respite centre for adults with disabilities in Romania , will allow 30 adults to spend a maximum of 30 days per year in the centre. Their families will be informed of the centre's opening from a special guide . We will also organize a seminar and we will publish a brochure in order to disseminate nationally our experience in respite services.

“Unfortunately, respite services for adults with intellectual disabilities are absent in Romania and this makes the lives of the families involved even more difficult. Having a person with severe handicap in the family, which requires to be taken care of permanently, can exhaust and isolate the family. We wish to provide these families, which are often single-parent families or with senior parents, the opportunity to take a break”, declares Laila Onu , executive director of “Pentru Voi” Foundation.

This project is a reaction to the lack of community services necessary for the families of the adults with intellectual disabilities. The project thus contributes to prevent institutionalization and its supports the deinstitutionalization process, which are priorities of the national strategy 2006 – 2013.