"I've been two months without leaving home because I couldn't fix the wheelchair"

BarcelonaFor three years now, Íngrid Ruiz has been unsuccessfully logging into the Generalitat's online services website every day to see if she can apply for the aid that would allow her to finance essential items for her daily life, the provision of social care for people with disabilities (PUA). She has both legs amputated, needs a wheelchair, and during this time she has had to bear the cost of all the products that allow her to have a quality of life. These include a motor that helps her on inclines, a motorized handlebar she uses to move on uneven terrain, and an adapted car without which she could not drive. Ruiz estimates that in total it amounts to over 15,000 euros that she has had to pay out of her own pocket because these benefits have been frozen since 2023. Now, the Department of Social Rights has relaunched the call so that people like Íngrid do not have to bear this expense, although it will not be able to reverse the "economic and emotional toll" they have suffered during this time.

"I went two months without leaving home because I couldn't fix the wheelchair motor," recalls Íngrid, explaining that she couldn't go to work, socialize, or go shopping until she could gather the money to replace the damaged motor. Besides all the time she has spent informing herself about aid and being on alert every day to see if the call would open, there is also the suffering of trying to get the money. Without these products, Íngrid cannot live a normal life. Now, for example, her car is broken, and it is impossible for her to get a new one, because neither insurance companies nor workshops have adapted replacement cars, and the only alternative is to buy a new one and adapt it. For this reason, she celebrates that the Government has finally unblocked this aid.

This is the PUA, a benefit intended to finance support and mobility products. The program, which expects to reach around 5,500 people, is endowed with 5 million euros that could be increased to 7 depending on demand, as announced this Monday by the new Minister of Social Rights and Inclusion, Raúl Moreno. Applications can be submitted from Tuesday until October 2nd. Thus, all individuals who between 2024 and 2026 purchased wheelchairs, adapted beds, or hearing aids, for example, will be able to submit invoices to have part of the amount reimbursed. "We are talking about essential elements to improve the daily lives of these people," assured the minister.

Maximum of 9,500 euros

Moreno explained that applicants will be able to submit invoices for all those items or services they have acquired since 2024 and that the amount they will be reimbursed may be a maximum of 9,500 euros per applicant. The catalog of the current call includes more than 130 products and actions. It includes aid for mobility, such as adapting vehicles or transport to attend certain services; for communication support products – from hearing aids and electronic magnifiers to sign language or lip-reading courses – and for personal autonomy, such as wheelchairs, articulated beds, shower stools or hoists, among many others.

The main requirements that people who wish to request them must meet are the recognition of a disability equal to or greater than 33% and an income lower than 33,677.63; that is, 3.5 times the Catalan Sufficiency Income Index for 2026. Although applications can be submitted in person or online, Moreno recommended doing so electronically through the form provided by the department to streamline the process. The minister made the announcement after visiting the Center for Personal Autonomy SÍRIUS in Mataró, designed for people with disabilities, their families, and professionals from different fields so that they have information, guidance, and advice on products to support personal autonomy, environmental accessibility, and alternative communication techniques.