“Personal Assistant for Persons with Disabilities” and “Respite Care”. Support for persons with disabilities in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship by the Polish Red Cross.

In addition, the Świętokrzyski District Branch of the Polish Red Cross based in Kielce at ul. Henryka Sienkiewicza 68 carries out tasks as part of its activities "Provision of assistance, care, specialist care services, and health services in 2025" on behalf of the Municipal Family Assistance Center in Kielce. At the same time, the Regional Branches of the Polish Red Cross in Sandomierz and Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski are conducting activities as part of the ministerial program of the Minister of Family and Social Policy "Personal assistant for a person with a disability" for Non-Governmental Organizations - edition 2025. Additionally, the Regional Branch of the Polish Red Cross in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski implements the program "Respite care" for Non-Governmental Organizations - Edition 2025. The supervision of the implementation of the above programs is conducted by the Minister of Family, Labour, and Social Policy, who coordinates its progress and ensures the high quality of support offered to beneficiaries.
The programs provide, among other things, personal assistance and respite care services that serve as a form of publicly available support in performing daily tasks and functioning in social life. Thanks to the help of our caregivers, people with disabilities can participate more actively in the life of the local community, gain greater independence, and overcome barriers arising from health limitations, while their family members can take advantage of free time for their own needs in the case of respite care.
Two main groups of beneficiaries may benefit from the program's services. The first group consists of children from 2 to 16 years of age who have a disability certificate, along with indications regarding the need for constant care, support in daily functioning, and the permanent presence of a caregiver in the treatment, rehabilitation, and education process. The second group includes adults with disabilities who hold a certificate of severe or moderate disability or are treated equally to those with such certificates.
The range of services provided under the programs is broad and tailored to the individual needs of each person. Assistants, as well as our caregivers, help in performing daily activities such as hygiene treatments, morning and evening toilet, preparing and serving meals, shopping, or maintaining order at home. They also support beneficiaries during medical visits, rehabilitation, and therapy, accompany them in handling official matters, and organize free time, thus enabling active participation in social and cultural life.
This year's edition of the assistance services program covers 113 people from the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, supported by over 60 assistants. Over 40,000 hours of assistance services are planned as part of the activities. For the task "Respite care" for Non-Governmental Organizations - Edition 2025, we provide services for 36 people in the Ostrowiec County with a total of 8,640 hours.
The Świętokrzyski District Branch of the Polish Red Cross has been implementing the program "Personal assistant for a person with a disability" since 2020. It is an extremely important initiative whose goal is to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and their families by providing them with comprehensive support and greater independence. Additionally, from 2024, it also implements the program "Respite care."
Thanks to our many years of experience in working for people with disabilities, the support we provide as part of respite care significantly relieves the families of the dependents, providing them a sense of security and professional assistance in daily functioning.