This is one of the decisions made by Governor Andrei Chibis at a meeting in Monchegorsk.
“The total amount of grants allocated at the regional level to public organizations involved in supporting people with disabilities will be increased 2.5 times – up to 10 million rubles,” it was announced at a meeting of the Council for Disabled People.
In total, a little more than 30 thousand people with disabilities live in the Arctic Circle – they make up 4.2 percent of the total population of the region. For comparison, in the country this indicator is 8.1, and in the Northwestern Federal District – 10.4. Over 800 million rubles have been allocated from the regional budget to improve the quality of social protection measures for disabled people over the past three years, including 237 million rubles this year.
In addition, there are 28 service and support institutions operating in the Arctic, 6.5 thousand people with disabilities undergo rehabilitation annually. Last year, the share of employed people with disabilities who applied to the employment service in the region reached 50 percent, with an average of about 20 in Russia.
“To a large extent, this was achieved thanks to grants that the region provides employers to equip workplaces for people with disabilities,” said Deputy Governor Elena Diaghileva.
During the event, a number of problematic issues were also identified. In particular, in the cities and towns of the region, elements of the accessible environment have not yet been sufficiently introduced. This is especially true for housing and transport.
To test various technologies and methods for creating an accessible environment, the Accessible North project was launched in the region in 2021. Monchegorsk was chosen as the pilot municipality. The relevant experience gained in the city of metallurgists will be extended to the entire region from 2022, the Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk region said.
The number of unemployed is decreasing in the Murmansk region
Photos from open sources.