Equal Partners Foundation (EPF) is synonymous with innovation. This can be seen in every corner of EPF’s work with every person following a programme designed according to their particular individual needs and that of their families. The central goal of Equal Partners is to give people with disability/learning difficulties an autonomous, participative and meaningful life in an inclusive society.
Following the social model of disability, all our support programs are individualized and are delivered in the community; in the natural environment where he/she requires support, including in homes, schools, places of work and recreation and the community at large.
It is in these places that our partners receive support. Equal Partners seeks to support people with disabilities and learning difficulties toward a more independent and meaningful life within an inclusive society.
At the end of the year 1998, 12 families, each having a child with disability, started to meet in each others’ homes in order to share their experiences, including thoughts, therapies, knowledge about disability and plans for the future. During these meetings they were joined by a number of professionals who at the time were providing services to these families’ children. Everyone welcomed this collaboration between parents and professionals, especially since the children were benefiting from it. Therefore, an agreement was reached to officially establish a foundation promoting this collaboration and interaction. The Foundation was officially founded in January of 1999 and since then has grown to nearly 300 members