Dreaming of travelling – dreaming of freedom

Ronnie applied to the VOICES project to be supported to reach out to his family and express his desire to travel with his fiancé Denise. He also wanted to raise awareness about the obstacles he faces to living independently. We decided to presentRonnie’s story in a series of letters summarising our Skype correspondence over the span of a year. Additionally, Ronnie wanted to add three more letters and use them to communicate aspects of his story that were particularly important to him: one letter addressed to his fiancé Denise, another letter to society in general and – last but not least – a letter to his brother Damian. Ronnie’s legal capacity has not been restricted formally and technically, he can travel as he chooses. Yet, his family denies him support and will only let him travel in the scope of group holidays organised by a disability service provider. The response therefore focuses on the informal barriers Ronnie and many people with disabilities to this day face in regard to living independently. It addresses the role of stigma and highlights the lack of support based on the will and preferences of a person.

You can watch Ronnie and Jana present here.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

My name is Ronnie Harris

I am from Ireland

I speak English

My name is Jana Offergeld.

I am from Germany. 

I speak German and English. 

My 7 word autobiography is: Passionate disability rights researcher who loves dancing.