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You’re not alone! Trust and help each other.
Support Center Fukushima News “UNITE (Tsunagari)” No.6, December 7, 2011

Issued by JDF Support Center Fukushima for Persons with Disabilities in Devastated Areas
Address: B-101 Fukaya Bldg. 5-17, 1-chome, Kuwano, Koriyama-shi, Fukushima-ken, 963-8025, Japan
Phone: +81-24-925-2428, Fax: +81-24-925-2429


November 1, 2011
Affected Area Exchange Salon ‘SHINSEI’ has opened!

The following activities will be expected there.

  • As a place for the communication and information exchange by persons with disabilities in affected areas, welcome parties, exhibitions and sales of products of sheltered workplaces, meal services for temporary houses will be organized.
  • For promoting exchange and good relationship with local communities, local people can use the place for study group meeting, lecture meeting and other events.
  • For information provision and reconstruction of Fukushima, it will participate in ‘Tsunagari ∞ Fukushima’.
  • It can be used as a temporary shelter for persons with disabilities and their families in the time of disaster.

Exchange Salon SHINSEI
Photo: Exchange Salon ‘SHINSEI’

Opening hours: From 10 am to 5 pm ※Please consult with us for request for the use during outside of opening hours.
Address: 25-2, 1-chome, Nishinouchi, Koriyama-shi, Fukushima-ken 963-8022
Phone: 024-983-8138

We are giving out brochures.

Volunteers from outside Fukushima Prefecture and other people are giving out our brochures to temporary houses in Koriyama-shi, Nihonmatsu-shi and other places in the Prefecture, confirming the whereabouts of persons with disabilities and encouraging their use of consultation support services.

the volunteers, who were giving out brochures to temporary houses
Photo (left): the volunteers, who were giving out brochures to temporary houses (right): the brochure

Consultation Services

For affected persons with disabilities in Fukushima Prefecture, necessary information and consultation services are provided. (The services are provided by NPO ‘AIERU-NO-KAI’, commissioned by Fukushima Prefecture Consultation Support Strengthening Program)

Consultation hours :From 8:30 am to 5:30 pm (including Saturday, Sunday and holidays) ※Closed during the year-end and New Year holidays from December 29 to January 3.)
Consultation methods: Telephone, e-mail, visit to the support center. Outreach services to individual houses are available.
Consultation issues:
Life in relocated places
future life
welfare services
health
education and medical services
employment, etc.
Direct phone: 024-983-7646, Fax: 024-925-2429

From ‘Activities to connect and protect lives’ to ‘Activities to regain life and job’

Support from far places ~Support by a person through can badge selling

I am an office worker from Shizuoka Prefecture, and had a chance to volunteer in the support center in the affected area, mainly for the temporary housing survey. One of my purposes to visit Fukushima was to find out what I can do for the recovery of affected areas from far places. On the first day, I noticed can badges of Minami-Soma Factory exhibited in the center. During my stay when I had a chance to go to Minami-Soma-Shi, I visited welfare centers ‘Endo-mame’, ‘Hibari’ and ‘Peanuts’ there. Especially encouraging to me was ‘Endo-mame’, where people were working very actively and positively. I bought their can badges and brought them back to my place, and I thought what I can do with the badges. In order to make connections between Shizuoka and Fukushima, I consulted ‘Mutsummi-Sagyosho’ in Gotenba-Shi in Shizuoka Prefecture. They wanted to cooperate, and kindly sold the badges at an event of Michi-no-Eki (a roadside service station). I would like to cherish this connection to expand gradually. I support from Shizuoka!

Can badges
Photo: Can badges, on their surfaces, the phrases in Japanese that mean “Supporters for Minami-Soma”, “Supporters for Fukushima” are written

Can badges
Photo : Selling can badges at a service area in Shizuoka

What is ‘Tsunagari ∞ Fukushima’?

It is a project to support colleagues with disabilities in affected areas who wish ‘to work together’. Current activities include to plant field mustard and sunflowers to absorb radioactive ingredients in farms in Fukushima Prefecture as well as to sell can badges produced by Minami-Soma Factory!! Your support will be very much appreciated for this Tsunagari (relationship) to expand infinitely (∞).


Satellite Independent Living Center ~for persons with disabilities to evacuate

Due to the nuclear power plant disaster just after the East Japan Great Earthquake, a large amount of radioactive ingredients were scattered over Fukushima Prefecture. People are still living there partly because these ingredients are invisible. However, it is said that the impact will appear after 5-6 years from now. The most vulnerable are children, followed by elderly persons and persons with disabilities because of their weakened immune system. We, in cooperation with Fukushima Independent Living Center Association, support young persons with disabilities and other disabled persons to evacuate outside Fukushima Prefecture. Last October, we leased a former care-living house ‘Sharomu’ in Sagamihara-shi in Kanagawa Prefecture as an evacuation base. We set up ‘Satellite independent living center project’ in Fukushima Prefecture, and get supports from local organizations in Sagamihara-shi where our evacuation base is located.
We will organize management meetings of Satellite independent living center by groups, and support smooth evacuation of young persons with disabilities and other disabled persons in Fukushima Prefecture who wish to move to other prefectures.

Evacuation base ‘Sharomu’ in Kanagawa Prefecture
Photo: Evacuation base ‘Sharomu’ in Kanagawa Prefecture

Please consult with our center if you are thinking about voluntary evacuation! More than 50 thousand people have already moved outside of Fukushima Prefecture. Most of them did so because of the fear of damages which may be caused by radiation. If you are not sure whether you, as a person with disabilities, can evacuate or not, please contact us. We will provide consultation services by making use of our network with organizations in many areas.

Phone: 024-925-2428, FAX: 024-925-2429
※Support center will be closed during the year-end (December 29-31) and New Year holidays (January 1-3).


Translated by Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
Volunteer translator: Mr. Shintaro Nakamura