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?
The government programme Benefit of Continuing Provision (BPC) is an individual benefit, it is not lifelong and it is non-transferable. Established by the 1988 Federal Constitution, it ensures the transfer of one (1) minimum wage per month for a disabled person of any age, who proves not to have means to support himself or herself or to be sustained by the family.
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. 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). The law determines that the benefit must go through an evaluation every two (2) years.
If you want to apply for the BPC, you should seek the nearest centre for social assistance and, in case you face difficulties, look for 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. To find out which one is closest to you, access here.