Edward Niemczuk lives on Gałczyńskiego Street. Forty-four years ago, he was injured in an accident at his workplace. He has difficulty walking. He used to go shopping on crutches and ask neighbors for help. Now, thanks to the stairlift installed in his apartment building, which is very easy to operate, things will be much easier for him—especially since he lives alone.
“Of course, I’m very happy,” said a moved Mr. Edward, who had been seeking the stairlift for more than two years. “You have helped me a great deal; my health is getting worse and worse. Climbing the stairs caused me many problems. Now I will be independent.”
The stairlift was presented to Mr. Edward by Deputy Starost Mirosław Horzempa, member of the Bolesławiec County Board Stanisław Chwojnicki, and Justyna Ziółkowska, director of the County Family Support Center. (The PCPR director received flowers from the resident of Gałczyńskiego Street.)
The investment was carried out as part of the “Family Support Center in Bolesławiec County” project, implemented by the County Family Support Center in Bolesławiec and co-financed by the European Union through the European Social Fund under RPOWD for 2014–2020. The total value of the investment was PLN 30,000.
“We hope that this stairlift will serve Mr. Edward well,” said J. Ziółkowska. “And that thanks to it he will become more socially active and his quality of life will improve.”
The EU-funded “Family Support Center in Bolesławiec County” project will last three years, from 2017 through the end of 2019; its total value is PLN 2,085,624.58.
As part of the project, PCPR planned to install two stairlifts in the residential buildings of people with disabilities.
The second stairlift—or, in this case, a vertical lift outside the residential building of a person with a disability—will be installed at the beginning of 2019.
The project aims to expand the statutory activities of PCPR in Bolesławiec and increase the number of people receiving social services. The project is comprehensive: its beneficiaries include people with disabilities, for whom a CARE AND ASSISTIVE EQUIPMENT LENDING CENTER has been established (Tysiąclecia Avenue). It provides assistance to people with disabilities from Bolesławiec County. The lending center is intended for people with disability certificates who need to use equipment at home.
The lending center offers:
- oxygen concentrators
- pneumatic anti-bedsore mattresses (tubular)
- rehabilitation and orthopedic beds controlled by remote control, with mattresses
- commode chairs
- bathtub lifts (transport and bathing lifts)
- wheelchairs for adults
- wheelchairs for children
- walking frames
- crutches for people with disabilities.
In addition, the FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER offers specialist counseling services, including four assistants for people with disabilities, as well as:
- four psychologists
- a lawyer
- a psychiatrist
- an addiction therapist
- a rehabilitation specialist
- social workers.