The city of Bijeljina is on track to become the third city in the Republika Srpska to offer personal assistance services. The draft budget of Bijeljina for 2025 includes 60,000 KM for this service, marking a significant step toward its implementation. The budget proposal will be presented to the city council at the session scheduled for December 17, 2024.

This achievement results from several months of efforts led by local organizations of persons with disabilities, spearheaded by the Women with Disabilities Association "Impuls", with support of PRAGG. A key milestone in this process was the adoption of the Rules on Providing Personal Assistance Services by the Social Welfare Center Bijeljina, which defines the service's criteria, procedures, and funding.

“Our goal is to make this service a reality and provide personal assistance support to as many people as possible,” said Vesna Savić, Secretary of the Social Welfare Center.

Following this important milestone, a new series of activities will begin to enable the full implementation of personal assistance services in Bijeljina. The first step is for the Social Welfare Center Bijeljina to announce a public call for organizations to apply to provide the service. Once the process is complete and a final selection is made, the service will be able to begin.

“To be honest, it is now a pleasure to enjoy the results of our initiative. When we started, we were optimistic and knew we would reach this outcome. Organizations of persons with disabilities bear some responsibility towards their users to provide them with this service and not deny them this right. We are all open to dialogue and hope that this process will continue,” said the "Impuls" Association representatives.

The introduction of personal assistance services has strong support from persons with disabilities and the organizations representing them, and they eagerly await contributions from all to make this service a reality.