Teltow-Fläming has been awarded the contract to participate in the “LIVE – Locally Inclusive United Commitment” project. This makes the district one of 30 municipalities in Germany that want to use this project to create more awareness and attention to the needs of people with disabilities in their respective living environments.
Teltow-Fläming was the only district in Brandenburg to apply to take part. The municipalities of Bernau near Berlin, Panketal, Brandenburg an der Havel, Frankfurt (Oder), Oranienburg and Potsdam are also involved.
Facilitate access for people with intellectual disabilities – promote inclusion
The project “LIVE – Locally Inclusive Club(tes) Commitment” aims to get people enthusiastic about the sport, who previously were often only able to try it out in a very sheltered setting. As far as possible, they should be able to train together, move in a community and try out physical activities, regardless of impairments.
“That is the goal that is still far away, but not unattainable. The LIVE project offers great support at this point.”, said the district’s representative for the disabled and senior citizens, Antje Bauroth. She is very happy that Teltow-Fläming is allowed to take part in this project. “Together with the district sports association and the sports coordination of the district, we want to continue working on promoting inclusion in sports. We expect a lot from the professional support of the LIVE project. The special thing about it is that people with intellectual disabilities are experts in their own field educated and be able to motivate their fellow human beings much better. On the one hand, it’s about the disabled people themselves, but on the other hand, it’s also about winning over members of the association for joint training with mentally disabled people in the long term and beyond the end of the project. In doing so, we do not see ourselves as competing with existing offers or projects, but as a useful addition.”
The Kreissportbund Teltow-Fläming is also very pleased that the LIVE project has been awarded to Teltow-Fläming. Managing Director Timo Klishan: “Inclusion is a task for society as a whole. Especially sport with its numerous clubs and offers in Teltow-Fläming is predestined for this. However, the access threshold to these offers is not the same for everyone. We will accompany the sports clubs on this path, also with regard to further training and sensitization of trainers.”
Young people in sports clubs are the largest group – but hardly any contact with disabled people
The district of Teltow-Fläming offers a wide range of opportunities for sports enthusiasts and people who enjoy exercise. Around 50 sports can be tried out and trained in 190 sports clubs. The desire to exercise, to train together and to share the fun of sport with others is one of the reasons for being a member of one of the numerous sports clubs. The sports clubs already have 20,000 members as members. Due to the arrival of young families, the number of members, especially in the Berlin area, will steadily increase.
In the sports clubs, young people up to the age of 21 are the most strongly represented group – they make up 40 percent of the club members. Antje Bauroth: “Statistically, most of them have little to no contact with people with disabilities. The reverse is no different. This is where we want to start. I’m sure that many mentally handicapped people are interested in sports and joint activities outside of their protected environment.” In the district there are 12 homes or inpatient assisted living forms of integration assistance with around 250 places.
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