For people with disabilities living in Bijeljina, the year 2025 has brought certain changes. Specifically, at the end of last year, the Bijeljina City Assembly adopted a draft budget that allocated 60,000 BAM for personal assistance services. This news was met with a very positive response from members of organizations for people with disabilities in Bijeljina, who had initiated the proposal for the introduction of personal assistance. However, in the past two months, the Bijeljina City Budget has still not been adopted, and it is the foundation needed for the right to personal assistance to be granted.
Previously, the Bijeljina Center for Social Work drafted a Regulation that outlines who is eligible for a personal assistant, who can provide personal assistance services, the conditions under which they will operate, and how they will be financed. The Regulation has been adopted, and the next step is for the Center for Social Work Bijeljina to issue a Public Call. However, in order for the Public Call to be issued, the city budget must first be approved. According to the Center for Social Work, the Public Call is in preparation and is expected to be completed and published very soon, provided that the Bijeljina City Budget is adopted by then.
The rules for who can apply for the Public Call to provide personal assistance services are clearly defined. The conditions set by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Srpska are quite strict and require that civil society organizations have adequate facilities, as well as employed specialists such as a defectologist, psychologist, lawyer, and/or social worker on a full-time basis. These requirements make it more difficult for organizations to apply for the Public Call and reduce the chances for users to obtain the right to personal assistance. This also presents an opportunity for all organizations for people with disabilities to collaborate and tackle this challenge, which could offer many benefits to those who would greatly benefit from having a personal assistant. At this moment, personal assistance services are within reach, but additional support from the local community and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Srpska is needed to successfully implement this sensitive issue.
To put it visually, if a person is unable to get out of bed or move independently, the role of the personal assistant is to expertly transfer the person from the bed to a wheelchair, assist with dressing, personal hygiene, and feeding. In addition, the assistant would help the user with leaving the apartment, going to social gatherings, shopping, attending university, work, and similar activities. Beyond physical assistance, there are also cases where a user may receive an assistant for communication or socialization. The main idea is for each user, regardless of their physical limitations, to be able to feel and function like any other person.
It is envisioned that the Center for Social Work, which maintains a registry of individuals who require personal assistance, will assess the condition of each user and determine how many hours per day each user needs an assistant for their daily needs and what specific tasks are involved. Each assistant would work with a user for a set number of hours, depending on the user's condition. The maximum number of hours a user can receive on a monthly basis is 100. The financing and payment for personal assistants will be handled by the Center for Social Work, which, after the work is completed, will transfer the funds allocated from the budget to the organization responsible for hiring the personal assistants.
For now, the greatest burden falls on family members. However, despite the love and empathy that family members have for the person in need of help, in many cases, they are not trained for the tasks that a professional personal assistant would typically handle. Additionally, many individuals who require assistance are often left alone in their homes because family members have to go to work. As a result, people who cannot move independently are "confined" to their four walls, waiting for a family member who is caring for them to return from work.
The initiative for the introduction of personal assistance in Bijeljina has been led for months by local organizations for people with disabilities, with the Association of Women with Disabilities "Impuls" at the forefront. Once personal assistance is implemented, Bijeljina will become the third city in the Republic of Srpska, after Banja Luka and Prijedor, to offer personal assistance services to individuals for whom it significantly eases their lives and improves their quality of life.
Do not destroy dreams of people with disabilities and their families! Personal assistance is a necessary service. Now or never!
