Comment from Joanne: Be Human asbl launches the Hidden Disability Hub, a programme designed by neurodivergent women for young people with hidden disabilities. With funding from two ministries, it offers free self-advocacy workshops and peer support groups in Luxembourg to foster confidence and community. I don’t know the asbl well, nor the programme. But it sounds promising. I’m looking forward to hearing about the participant’s experiences and who the moderators are.
The following text was written by Be Human asbl.
Funding from two ministries
We are proud to let you know that we have managed to secure funding from the Ministry of Family and the Ministry of Labor to launch a programme called the Hidden Disability Hub.
Programme designed by neurodivergent women
Notably, this programme was designed by neurodivergent women, drawing from their firsthand experiences to craft practical, impactful solutions.
The development of the program started in August 2023 where our team started by connecting and engaging with the hidden disability community in Luxembourg to better understand the needs and concerns that could be addressed in a programme.
Two main components
- Rights-Based Educational workshops designed to equip our participants with the necessary skills and knowledge to advocate for themselves and their needs wherever they wish to be e.g. starting University or a new job
- Support Groups designed to bring the participants together to get to know each other, share common experiences and learn from each other. The groups are moderated by our pool of Volunteer Psychologists.
Two language tracks
- English 🇬🇧
- French 🇫🇷 / Luxembourgish 🇱🇺
Two semesters per cycle
- Semester 1: February – July; for 15 young people over the age of 19
- Semester 2: September – February; for 15 young people under the age of 18
Self-advocacy, confidence and community
This programme was heavily inspired by the small-scale semi-structured interview research we conducted back in 2023 where we found that young people with hidden disabilities feel fear about transitions in their life and how to navigate them, and loneliness because of feelings of being misunderstood.
We want to make sure that our beneficiaries leave our programme feeling ready to advocate for themselves, have increased confidence, and gain a life-long community.
Time commitment and service offered
The time commitment would be around 4 hours a month for the participants and we encourage potential participants to bring their friends or family members! Each participant will have access to:
- 1 rights-based educational workshop per month
- 1 support group session per month
- 1-1 sessions with our in-house advocate and lawyer
Details for first semester
- When: From February until July
- Where: The Office Charlotte (29, BLD G.D. Charlotte L-1331 Luxembourg)
- Cost: Free of charge for all beneficiaries
Conditions to participate
All interested participants are invited to fill out an application form indicating their motivation for joining the programme. The target audience are young neurominorities (with a special focus on those with ADHD and Autism with low to medium support needs). Potential participants are also welcome to send us an email (nadiaalexandria@icloud.com) demonstrating their interest. We will then set up an initial meeting to discuss expectations.
Questions
- What is a cohort? A cohort consists of 15 participants. Half of the cohort will be reserved for English-speakers and the other half for those comfortable in both French and Luxembourgish.
- What is a cycle? The Hidden Disability Hub will last two full years. We consider that each “year” of the programme is one cycle. Each cycle has 2 semesters. Semester 1 is for adults, semester 2 is for minors.
- Who will lead the programme activities? Our workshops are led by experts from the disability community and allies to the disability community. (Comment from Joanne: More details will follow.)
- The deadline to apply to our programme? 19 February 2025. However, the sooner you apply, the better as we have limited places.
Be Human asbl has designed this programme dedicated to young people under the age of 35 who consider themselves to have hidden disabilities. For our pilot phase we focus on young neurominorities*.
*For the purpose of this programme, neurominorities are individuals who process information and interact with the world and others around them differently from a neuromajority as a result of various conditions (e.g. Autism and ADHD)