Anna Przybysławska is a woman with an intellectual disability, living in a L’Arche community in Wroclaw, Poland. In this article, Anna shares what the community is like and what life with an intellectual disability is like in Poland, being a self-advocate and the importance of social solidarity and building bridges.

“We want to be active and engaged, we want to give something to the world, and we can do this with support. But that support must not limit our independence and dignity.”

In Poland, people with disabilities are often excluded from society and are just expected to stay at home, but this is not the case in Wroclaw’s L’Arche community. The community is made up of people who have intellectual disabilities and non-disabled supporters. We all share daily life together.

There are three homes in our community. I live with two other women in an apartment. We all take care of our apartment and have household duties like cleaning and cooking. We are learning to be more independent with the support of assistants for more complicated issues.

All of us in the Wroclaw community do activities outside of the houses. Many members of my community attend a day care centre outside of the community where they learn practical and social skills, and other members go to a workshop in the community where they make beautiful handcrafts. Some of us have paid jobs, some of us are volunteers.

I used to volunteer in a public library, and right now, I am looking for other opportunities in my city. Having a job or a meaningful activity as a person with a disability is important because it helps you feel more confident and independent.

Few employers want to employ people with disabilities because there are so many negative stereotypes against us. It’s a stereotype that people with disabilities are passive and have nothing to give but it’s not true. We want to be active and engaged, we want to give something to the world, and we can do this with support. But that support must not limit our independence or dignity.

“It’s important they get the chance to meet us and see us and see that we are more than just our disabilities; we are people too”

We are all human beings, and we want and deserve to be respected. I want people to remember that adults with intellectual disabilities need to be treated in a serious way – we are men and women who need to be taken seriously and deserve respect.

The problem often is that people without disabilities have little knowledge about disability. Our community works to change this by working with children, students and adults to educate them about living with an intellectual disability. Stopping prejudice, and changing how society treats people with disabilities is an important task.

It is important to share our experiences with people who have little knowledge about disability. I am often invited to conferences, assemblies and meetings where I act as a representative for people with disabilities. Once I spoke on the radio about the importance of being good to each other. I also talk to our surrounding communities in schools and churches to talk about life in the L’Arche community.

During the year, there are specific days that celebrate people with disabilities; European Independent Living Day (5th of May), UN International Day of Persons with Disability (3rd of December), World Down Syndrome Day (21st of March). We can use these days as an opportunity to have open events where people can come, meet new people and learn more and learn not to have prejudices against people with disabilities.

It’s important that non-disabled people get the chance to meet us and see us and see that we are more than just our disabilities; we are people too. Making connections will bring us closer together.

“I believe that we all need each other and have a lot to learn from each other. If we all work together, we can do good and make a change.”

I remember how life in Poland for people with disabilities was 30-35 years ago and I can see the progress we’ve made. So many good things have been accomplished thanks to the efforts of people with disabilities and their allies but at the same time, there is still so much work to do to improve the situation for everyone.

In many cases, people with disabilities and their families are abandoned and left without support. Because of a lack of support, people with disabilities are often excluded from society, like I mentioned earlier. We need more money for more services like daily care centres, and more government support for people with intellectual disabilities.

Societies have a moral duty to care for their members. We need the support and goodwill of politicians, councils, and the government to help people with disabilities. I’m asking for social solidarity to achieve this.

To improve the situation for people with disabilities in Poland, we need to make public space and information more accessible, change mindsets and create good government policies.

As I said earlier, we need support and goodwill from everybody.

We need more people who are willing to build bridges between people who have disabilities and non-disabled people. I believe that we all need each other and have a lot to learn from each other. If we all work together, we can do good and make a change.