People with disabilities are offered rehabilitation services at a rehab center in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]
Welfare protection for people with disabilities is of the utmost importance in Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In addition to proactively encouraging companies to hire such individuals, authorities have built 22 Disabled People's Homes that have provided jobs and day care services to about 300 people. These homes have raised their annual incomes by 4,000 yuan ($601.54) on average.
The employment rate for the disabled in Zhangjiagang currently stands at 59.8 percent, higher than Jiangsu province's average.
The city has also built 13 rehabilitation facilities to offer services to the vulnerable group. One of them, the Zhangjiagang Rehabilitation Technical Guidance Center for People with Physical Disabilities, has received over 3,000 patients since it was established in 2012, and 80 percent of them have been able to care for themselves after treatment. Some patients have even returned to work.
The Zhangjiagang Disabled Persons' Federation has also made efforts to construct accessible facilities such as toilets, elevators and parking spots in the city. In addition, 230 public places including parks, stations and museums, have been equipped with free assistive devices.
Furthermore, the federation has spent about 10 million yuan to refurnish the homes of 220 low-income disabled people.
Students with disabilities in Zhangjiagang are entitled to 15 years of free education.
In 2021, Zhangjiagang provided subsidies worth over 60 million yuan to more than 5,000 disabled people.