♿ What is a Disability? ♿
A disability is a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual or a group. The term is used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic disease.
👩🏼🦯👩🏾🦽 I have a disability of some kind. What kind of assistance can the government, UNHCR, and its partners give me?👩🏼🦯👩🏾🦽
Established by the 1988 Federal Constitution, the government programme Benefit of Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC) ensures the transfer of one (1) minimum wage per month for a disabled person of any age, who proves not to have the means to support himself or herself and/or to be sustained by the family. This programme is individual, not lifelong nor transferable.
To be entitled to the benefit, the applicant must prove that the family’s monthly income per capita is less than one-fourth (¼) of the minimum wage. The law determines that the benefit must go through an evaluation every two (2) years. Persons with disabilities must also go through a social and medical evaluation, which will be held by professionals of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS).
According to a court decision issued on May 26th by the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region, documents from refugees and migrants must be accepted by the National Social Security Institute(INSS) for applications for the Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC). Although this is a preliminary injunction, the decision has immediate effect nationwide and overcomes the recent obstacle of requiring submission of Brazilian documents.
Refugees and migrants who wish to apply for the BPC and/or continue to face difficulties when applying for the BPC should inform UNHCR and/or directly seek legal assistance with the Public Defender’s Office (DPU).
Support contacts:
- Human Rights Violations Hotline: 100
* In addition to the number 100, you can file a complaint through the site by filling out an online form. - MOPS – open access portal that gathers and organizes information on the availability of services, public facilities and social programs identified in municipalities, microregions and states in the country.
- Federal Public Defender’s Office. Find out which one is closest to you.