About Human Care Association
Staffs:
President: Shoji Nakanishi
Deputy Secretary General: Yoshihiro Mitsuoka
Staffs: 27 (9 staffs with disabilities- physical, visual, hearing, and psychiatric)
Services:
- Consultation
- Peer-counseling
- Independent Living Program
- Independent Living Experience Room
- Personal Assistance Service
- Lift-van Transportation Service
- Advocacy
Current commissioned projects:
- Consultation support (Itaku Sodan Shien Jigyo, formerly known as Shichoson Shogaisha Seikatsu Shien Jigyo)
- Support of independent living of persons with disability (Tokyo-to Sankagata Jigyo)
- Provision of home help service (Kyotaku Kaigo Shitei Jigyo-sho)
- Service provision under Long-term Care Insurance (Kaigo Hoken Shitei Jigyo)
History:
In 1986, members of Wakakoma, a self-help group of PWDs in Hachioji, and ex-trainees of Duskin training program established Human Care Association as the first full-scale independent living center in Japan. Human Care Association launched personal assistance service to support PWDs’ living in community while developing peer-counseling and independent living program. It also committed advocacy for realization of need-oriented social life.
Since 1991, as a founding member of Japan Council on Independent Living Centers, Human Care has contributed to dissemination of peer-counseling and independent living program and establishment of personal assistance service system. As independent living center of cross-disability, Human Care Association has various types of PWD staffs, such as, persons with physical, visual, hearing, and psychiatric disabilities. It also started to provide peer-counseling and guide-support services for persons with visual or hearing impairments.
Remarkable activities:
- Policy recommendations to city, prefectural, and national governments while regularly setting negotiation table for policy making.
- Accepting trainees and dispatching resource persons for establishment and support of independent living centers at both national and international levels.
- Preparation of peer-counseling and consultation service specially for every disability, such as psychiatric, visual, or hearing disabilities, to support their living and social participation while providing cross-disability services and programs. e.g., independent living program, support group and youth exchange meeting for persons with psychiatric disability.
- Support of need-based self-help activities for persons with intellectual disability, such as chat meeting, study group, self-advocacy group, and use of IL experience room.
- Capacity building of youth disability leaders.
Achievements:
- Establishment of subsidy frame in Tokyo-to Chiiki Shinko Zaidan for Independent Living Program and personal assistance service.
- Contribution to systemization of the program for support of PWD’s living (Shichoson Shogaisha Seikatsu Shien Jigyo) into national government.
- Prevention of worse rigidification of care management system for PWDs.
- Participation of persons with intellectual disability into the Tokyo government review committee of care management.
- Improvement of accessibility of public transportation, city building and public housing
- Publication of city guide map for PWDs.
- Participation into city planning of Hachioji based upon barrier free law, and submission of proposal to improve accessibility around two train stations in the city.
- Establishment of the preparation committee on Hachioji lift-van transportation council based upon article 80 of road and transportation act.
- Participation into PWD section of the city committee on Hachioji welfare planning for submission of 5 year plan.
- Management of a chat-meeting space for persons with intellectual disability.
- Management of independent living experience room for persons with intellectual disability.
- Establishment of peer support center for persons with psychiatric disability.
- Support of independent living movement in Asia.
Future Activities:
- To prevent the service amount of outing or long-hour assistance from decreasing after enactment of Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act (Jiritsu Shien Ho) through negotiation with city and metropolitan governments.
- To strengthen APNIL (Asia-Pacific Network for Independent Living Centers), which was established in 2007 to enhance support for PWDs in Asia-Pacific region, under collaboration of its members.
- To eliminate discrimination for PWDs practically, along with the enactment of the city ordinance to prohibit discrimination to PWDs.