There is currently no advisory board for people with disabilities in Neukölln. As district mayor Martin Hikel (SPD) said at the last district assembly at the request of the FDP, all potentially eligible sponsors, clubs and organizations had signaled that they had no capacity for the advisory board due to the pandemic.
“Overall, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get affected citizens to work on the advisory board,” said Hikel. According to this, the Neukölln representative for people with disabilities is to start a new attempt in June with a second expression of interest process to recruit possible members.
Hikel said he was cautiously optimistic that the situation had eased and that the advisory board could be appointed in the summer.
The Neukölln coordination center for people with disabilities, which has been planned since an amendment to the law in 2021, has also not yet been used. Discussions are still being held at the state level about where the position should be located and what specific tasks it should perform, Hikel said.
Therefore, no other district has set up a corresponding coordination office. So far, however, he has not seen any disadvantages for people with disabilities, since the representative in the district office has been committed to their concerns for 20 years.
