Jul052013
Latvia's progress in the transition from institutional to community-based care
“With so much depressing news about declining growth and rising unemployment I had the very pleasant experience as the new co-chair of the European Expert Group to participate in a very active seminar last week in Riga at which the European Commission, central, local government and NGOs expressed their commitment to a major investment programme announced by the Secretary of State to transfer a thousand persons with intellectual disabilities out of long stay institutions and into community care. Social investment is alive and kicking in Latvia; this is a big issue across Europe but slowly the tide is turning…” John Halloran, ESN Chief Executive
On 28 June the European Social Network’s (ESN) Chief Executive John Halloran participated in a national training seminar on the use of EU funds for deinstitutionalisation in Riga, Latvia. The training seminar was organised by the Ministry for Welfare in cooperation with the European Expert Group on Transition from Institutional to Community Care (EEG) and the European Commission.
The aim of the seminar was to gather national stakeholders (public authorities, EU fund managing authorities and civil society organisations) in order to take stock of the state of play of de-institutionalisation in Latvia and to look at the way forward for the future. Representing local public social services in Europe, ESN’s contribution to the seminar was to bring the local government perspective into the dialogue with the European Commission and national authorities.
