A number of activities have been undertaken during the past 5 months according to the Project timetable. There were some general preparatory activities and activities related directly to the implementation of the Project, which are list below:
 

March

• Finalization and signing of the contract with IPF.
• Participation in the 1st IPF policy seminar in Budapest, 22-26 March
• Meeting with the group mentors and discussion of the Project proposal and follow up collaboration
• Designing and development of the website. Since April 2004 all relevant data has been published and continuously being updated on the website and.
• Meeting with important stakeholders: Representatives from the Ministry of Social Security and Labor; Committee for Social affairs and labor at the Parliament of Lithuanian Republic.
• Participation in Latvian Human rights and ethnical studies center and Ministry of Health of Latvian Republic organized seminar „On Latvian Mental Health draft law “, March 19, 2004.

April-May

• Project proposal revised regarding consultations and recommendations of the group mentors
• Selection of individual mentor started, Ar?nas Germanavi?ius was chosen and agreed to become an individual mentor, and was approved by IPF.
• Meeting with the individual mentor and project proposal discussed.
• Analysis of current Lithuanian social care system. A study of all the support and assistance structures available at present for people with mental disability was started to perform.
• Due to this study few big institutions (4 psychiatric hospitals and 2 social care homes for people with mental disability in Lithuania and 3 psychiatric hospitals and 3 social care homes in Estonia) were visited and data collated and documented.
• As the research will consider few examples of best practices from other countries (see Project proposal), the short overview of the US community based supported living programs within mental health system, providing housing services and other support services in the community for people with mental disabilities was performed and the results presented in the article under publication „USA social security system providing financial support for persons with disabilities”, Lithuanian Law University printing.
• Special efforts and emphasis was put on identifying useful on-line                                             resources on social care and community based services, housing issues within mental health system and their legal regulation both in the domestic and international legal acts.
• Meeting with important stakeholders: Ombudsmen of the Council for equal opportunities, representatives from the Council for the affairs of disabled to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
• Was included and participated in the task force at the Ministry of Social Security and Labor for preparing of standards of social services provided for children.
 

June

• Analysis of national Lithuanian legislation and government policy on mental health and social welfare, to overview the current situation with regard to deinstitutionalization and providing housing for people with both intellectual and mental disabilities in the community (supportive housing) was started, compiling materials for writing the research project.
• Collection and analysis of relevant international norms and standards (United Nations’ declarations and resolutions, European documents) was started.
• With the assistance of international mentors various scientific literature and other publications on the issue was collated.
• Participation in the Academy of European Law „ERA“ organized seminar „Fight against discrimination in the daily practice “, review of European Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78, Trier, Germany, June 4-5, 2004. My main focus was on discrimination on the grounds of disability issues.
• Analysis and review of all relevant information, literature and legal acts continued;
 

July

• Preparing for and inviting various stakeholders to the roundtable, organizing and leading the roundtable, with the main focus on equal rights of persons with intellectual disability to access education and employment, social services within the community.
• Based on the information and literature search and analyzed, preparing of the first draft of the review of the national legislature (part of the research paper), regulating mental health system and provision of social services for people with mental disability.

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