Better World Night Shelter for Women with disabilities

Hi everyone, this is Lingesh.
I am Research and Documentation officer of Better World Shelter for Women with disabilities.
This organization is derived from Dorcas Research Centre for Art, Education and Culture in 1992.
The founder of the organization is Doc Aiswarya Rajyalaxmi.
In 2015 many many people in Chennai were being affected by floods, and many people from northern part of the India came Ch..Chennai for uh as immigrant labors.
To regulate this, Greater Chennai Corporation has initiated a program called Shelter for Urban Homeless, but they excluded the people of, women with disabilities.
With regard to it, to include it, our Director Dr Aiswarya ma’am approached the Commissioner of, State Commissioner of disabilities
and proposed to give us uh women for homeless disabilities… disabilities home for women.
2016 April the Better World Shelter started to commence
till now 300 beneficiaries have been be…benefitted from this shelter home.
Through various reintegration, rehabilitation, marriages, employments and there are several
We have a… Great Chennai Corporation is giving us 22 Rupees for the night food
but our organization raising funds and giving them nutritional foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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What are the common types of disabilities among the women who seek shelter here?
This shelter home is exclusive for the woman with physical disabilities.
Locomotor, visually impaired, burns and speech and hearing, any woman with vulnerable
uh who faced domin… domestic violences and acid attacks by their husband and their spouse
they are almost welcomed here
We can also provide them legal support and other welfare measures also
We are welcoming the women with 18 to uh 45 or 50
But the thing is they need to take care of themselves
We won’t provide bed returns and all.
She’s been here with us for past one and a half years
Why is the challenge for you to reintegrate?
(Speaks in the local language)
Okay.
As she is facing uhm facing accessibility issue with when it comes to her her workplace when
when she go out and work means she’s facing active accessibility issues
There is no accessible work force in any of parts of the Chennai
What work you do here?
(Speaks in the local language)
I am working here as a tailor.
I used to stitch bags and I alter dresses and I…I am learning to stitch how to stitch a proper dress.
A project is in collaboration with Greater Chennai Corporation
The accommodation for the women with the disability is free of cost
We will be providing free food, free accommodation for everyone
Even the medical charges also we will be providing
Even whatever, whatever medical issues uh health issues they face
We can uh help them with regard to operations, surgeries and all those things yeah
We have two halls and we have a accessible restrooms
And we have a accessible premises with the ramp and rails etc
This two halls will be shared by all the residents
This is not only a place for shelter
We we are empowering women through livelihood and sports exclusively
We are providing uh we are providing sports training uh in collaboration with uh Nehru Stadium.
They, many of them are going to wheelchair races and uh basketball
and tennis and all those things
We have we have a Threaducation team here.
They used to stitch daily. We have uh started a foundation called Story Foundation, it’s called Stories by Differently Abled.
We have uh six women with disabilities who used to sit at their tailoring units daily and they used to stitch some bags uh from the from the income we will be giving them stipends, some allowances for them, for their development.
As per the guidelines any candidate must be here till 6 month
supposed to be here till 6 month
But it’s quite challenging for reintegrate rehabilitate with comes to women with disabilities
Even though they receive some pension 1000 Rupees
it’s difficult for us to reintegrate them
to make them uh separate home
to provide them beneficiaries and all
uh because of this some of them
um some two to three of them are staying here for more than one and a half years
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What challenges do women with disabilities face when seeking employment?
(Speaks in the local language)
She tried a lot uh but uh the only recruiting company is from tele-calling
she is not uh she’s not fit into it
because she has some hearing issues
and head suddenly used to ache
because of continuously speaking in phones
yeah that’s the reason
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I am Aishwarya from Madurai.
I have completed my BA in Tamil at Lady Doak College, Madurai
At present I am looking for job
So I came here to uh find a job
uh because I am a person with visual impairment
So… wher…wherever I go um I am facing so much of rejection uh for giving job uh for visual impaired
And uh before uh uh 4 years before I joined in Vindhya Infomedia Private Limited, Bangalore
And I have 4 years of uh customer support uh uh 4 years experience in customer support
Uh um… however still uh I am not getting proper uh salary in that company, some issue
so… I am looking for job um from various companies
Uh so that I’m I’m staying here to find a new job
So and uh I need to uh when I get a job I need to help to others
uh and that is the another reason.