Connect - Transition into independent living for persons

Background People with ID represent one of the most disadvantaged social groups in European countries. The nature of ID creates levels of support often throughout every aspect of the persons’ life. This was even more highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, where certain obstacles came into light, especially when related to disadvantaged groups. The UNCRPD are pushing towards a different form of assistance - one that relies on empowerment and facilitation, rather than traditional care. The Social Model of Disability takes the stand - whereas the person with ID should not adjust to fit into society, but the community should provide just services for the person to feel a sense of belonging and can fully participate. This calls for more individualised and integrated services that aim to support the full inclusion and holistic empowerment of people with ID (Mansell & Ericsson, 1996). And this is where quality youth work, working hand in hand with policymakers come into the picture. ‘Connect’ arose from this context. Traditional training taking place are often generalised and carried out by carers/support workers. The consortium came together to bring something different and address a common need. The project ‘Connect’ arose from the different needs of various target groups and entities working in the field of disability. The main need however was from the young people with ID. Prisms has been working in the grassroots of disability for the past twelve years. Through literature, and focus groups, it was found that the Quality of Life of persons with ID in Malta was not high. With only 35% of them being employed, and lack of spaces for leisure, most of them felt left out. Even though, there was a lot being done with regards to inclusion of persons with different types of disabilities especially at a young age; there is a lacuna when the youngsters reach 16 years. This includes lack of social activities, feeling lost with regards to continuous education and/or employment and basic skills for independent living. Adolescence already proves as a tumultuous time for the neurotypical, let alone for persons with ID which through personal experiences, they recounted how they feel left out of the community. It was beautiful to witness how these young people flourish when provided with the right support and space to grow, explore who they are and be there for one another. During Covid-19, they felt even more left out as are considered vulnerable persons. This project will address the needs of the target group - young people with ID, by supporting their strengths and areas that are priorities to work upon; to have an individualised independent living programme and mentoring programme, to enhance their inter/intrapersonal skills towards better access in the community, increase the probability of employment and feeling part of EU. Objectives Concrete objectives of the Project The main objective of the project is to provide a holistic and personalised approach to transition into independence for young people; especially for young people with an intellectual disabilities. Youth workers will be provided with a set of skills and guidelines to best support the youth. This will be mainly done through: - Bringing together different stakeholders for research on independent living; a holistic approach - Creation of an online interactive assessment to highlight which are the main priorities to work on with regards to independent living; together with which steps to work on - Creation of a one-year programme using the assessment targeting different skills and providing mentoring sessions - Implementing a training course for the youth workers in the field - Coming up with a policy recommendation based on the project results The content of this page is published for information purposes only. The project was funded by the European Union. However, the communication about the project that is published through this page expresses the views of the project beneficiaries only and it does not represent the views of the European Union or the European Commission. It shall not be deemed to constitute legal or official notice on behalf of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for this content nor the use thereof made by any third parties. Page 2 of 5 2021-2-MT01-KA220-YOU-000050111 Generated on: Jan 7, 2026 Activities The project results address the transition to an independent living of young people, especially for people with intellectual disabilities. The project targets the youth with intellectual disabilities and youth workers in the field. The following are the project results: PR1: Research. A research will be conducting involving different stakeholders from the field of disability and youth work to analyse what are the main areas for independent living; what are the main challenges, which methodologies are the best for persons with ID and what support services are available in the different countries when it comes to disability: namely Malta, Spain and Greece. An Independent Living Programme. PR2: Creation of a needs analysis assessment tool for young people. This online tool will be visual, interactive and easy to read to make it more accessible for people with ID. This tool will be the first one to be designed in Europe. Its aim is to access the skills and strengths of the persons with ID, as well as highlight the three main priorities for growth with regards to independent living. The main themes are the ones below, which might change after the PR1. These were generated by research, specifically Independent Lifestyles Inc., ILICIL, Minnesota, America and from real-life experiences. They will be given priorities about how much time and skills will be covered in each theme according to the results from the Assessment Tool. The main themes include: A) Independent Living Skills - Relating to the Self 1) Personal hygiene 2) Cooking and nutrition 3) Health care 4) Physical exercise 5) Education/Employment B) Independent Living Skills - Relating to creating a home and relating to the community 6) Dressing and clothing care 7) Home management and home safety 8) Managing money 9) Transportation 10) Community Access. Each priority will be tied to goals will be accompanied with a list of where the person has reached and what would be the possible next steps. LTT: Independent living - a Youth Work approach The aim of this training is to equip youth workers working with young people with ID with more knowledge on disabilities and how to use the results from this project for their benefit. During this training, a total of eight youth workers from each country will be invited. This will amount to 24 youth workers. The youth workers involved in the one-year programme from Prisms, Alba and DSA Greece will have to attend the LTT. PR3: One-year programme. During this one year programme a group of three youth workers from each country will come together to create a programme for independent living skills based on the goals of the assessment of the target group. Two, four-hour workshops per month will be held with the group of 20 young people to address independent living skills; and a two hours monthly one to one mentoring sessions will be held with the youth worker to address social skills. PR4: Policy Recommendation 'The Transition into an Independent Life for young people with ID'. This will be led by CRPD Malta, together with discussions from all the full and associated