What do we do?
ENUSP is an umbrella organisation – that is, most of its members are organisations rather than individuals.
Although ENUSP has been limited by a lack of funding, other resources from its member organisations – energy, knowledge, ideas, and a lot of volunteer time –have enabled ENUSP to become an influential organisation.
ENUSP supports users/survivorsby challenging human rights abuses and discrimination, encouraging the development of user/survivor initiatives at grassroots level, and lobbying law and policymakers – for example, during the drafting of the United Nations Convention of Rights for People with Disabilities (UN CRPD).
We also provide an information network connecting user/survivor organisations all over Europe through our events and publications.
There are two types of memberships!
1. For organisations-organisations of (ex-) users/survivors, or mixed organisations which have a considerable number of (ex-)users and survivors in addition to other members.
At our General Assembly held every two or three years, member organisations can nominate one representative (this person must be a user or survivor) to vote for them. Before the General Assembly, the ENUSP members from each country should decide together on 3 delegates from each country who may vote.
2. For individual users, ex-users, or survivors in countries where there are no organisations which belong to ENUSP. In other exceptional cases, individuals may explain their reasons for wanting individual membership in their application form.
You can use the link here: per-country to find out whether there are any ENUSP member organisations in your country.
You may even find that you are already a member through your local or national organisation! Or you may, through ENUSP, find others in your country with whom you can form your own organisation.
What does membership give to my organisation?
- Networking opportunities What could your organisation achieve through drawing on knowledge and experience from other user/survivor organisations in Europe?
- What could they learn from you?
Information - You will receive our bulletins and Advocacy Update in electronic form for distribution to your members. These publications feature the latest user/survivor events and human rights developments across Europe.
Visibility.
We list our member organisations on the website. If you wish, you can also describe your activities and services on the website, and contribute to our bulletins and Advocacy Update newsletter.
Being part of something bigger.
Isolation, exclusion, and discrimination are common experiences for users and survivors across the globe.
Being part of a European user/survivor organisation can increase motivation, improve an organisation’s local or national standing, and increase its influence on law and policymakers both nationally and internationally.
ENUSP is working towards a Europe where:
All people are free to be themselves, are valued equally and treated with dignity,
All people have the power to make their own life choices and to speak for themselves,
All people have access to a range of supports which respect their autonomy and dignity,
All people are protected from poverty and have an equal chance to live their lives to their full potential,
Human crisis is seen in its social context; it is not medically labelled or feared, but is embraced as an opportunity for individual and community growth,
The knowledge of people who have experienced extreme crisis is valued, cultivated and informs systems of support,
The above conditions are equally true everywhere in Europe!