The Baráthegyi Farm, operated by the Symbiosis Foundation is an outstanding example of the new type of distributed housing and housing benefit for the disabled, Minister of State for Social and Family Affairs Miklós Soltész said on Wednesday after a visit to the institution located in the northeast Hungarian town of Miskolc.

We can only praise this outstanding work which has an impact on the region and the country, while its importance is also international – Mr Soltész said. He added that tucking away disabled people to locations far away from major settlements was one of the saddest East-Central European phenomena in the past decades.

He stated that the distribution strategy – splitting one big institution into several smaller ones – was devised exactly for the reason to remedy this situation. Within this program former inhabitants of six large institutions will be given vastly improved living conditions at a cost of six billion forints (EUR 19.7 million), Mr Soltész added.

Referring to the upcoming EP elections, Mr Soltész reminded that Ádám Kósa, the first and only deaf MEP has been the advocate of this solution for a long time. He also said that while three years ago Hungary has been the subject of attacks because of this solution, former opponents have since realized that this is a better solution which is also worth following. He said – in support of Mr Kósa – that this is exactly the reason why voters must send the appropriate candidate to the European Parliament.

He said that in the next EU budgetary period the initiative will extend beyond the current six institutions, with priority given to those which have the worst housing conditions.

(Ministry of Human Resources)