1. Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities in Challenging Environments Dear Participants, Our seminar « Access to services » is based on exchanges, encounters and discussions. In order to identify each other more easily, we ask you to fill in the small document (“introduction form”). Then, all introduction forms will be collected and shared between participants. You can write them in French, English or Arabic, according to your working language. Thank you for returning them to Marion by 30th November 2009. You can choose your pictures; Please keep the same colours suggested in the example. Good organisation and see you soon! © Handicap International

2. Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities in Challenging Environments International Seminar Amman, Jordan 7 – 11 december 2009 © Handicap International Who are we? My name is Tarek Féghali, speech and Language therapist, representing “The National Institution for Social Care and Vocational Training - Beit Atfal Al Sumoud - the Family Guidance Center” Partners of HI Liban. Our center provides mental health services to people in need, living in the Palestinian refugee camps and gatherings, in three major areas in Lebanon. Through this participation, we aim to share and learn the best practices from around the world, concerning the delivery of services to persons with disabilities in challenging environments

3. Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities in Challenging Environments Our experience in this field helped us achieve the following: 1- Providing mental health services to children and adolescents, and their families 2- Increasing outreach activities, through awareness campaigns to social workers, educators and parents

4. Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities in Challenging Environments The major obstacles could be presented as follows: 1- Availability of services (variety of services and coverage of the growing need) 2- Affordability (people unable of paying for some services, or moving to other areas to get the service needed) 3- Acceptability of the people with disabilities in the society, and the stigma families might have for disabled children 4- Inadequate environment and lack of adaptation for people with special needs

5. Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities in Challenging Environments Some suggested ideas to facilitate the access to services in challenging environments: 1- Increasing the number of NGO’s providing services 2- Providing free-of-charge services to people, regardless of their cultural / political / ethnic background 3- Ensuring transportation fees to the services facilities 4- Increasing the awareness of people around mental health and advantage of appropriate care 5- Ensuring proper adapted structures for certain disabilities (in the domains of health, education, employment…)

6. Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities in Challenging Environments The main question we find important in this phase is: The feasibility of home-based-care for people who cannot access services facilities