Supporting Decision Making Rights of Persons with Cognitive Impairment

It is a human right to make decisions about our lives. However, in Bermuda recent advances in decision-making rights were made without the inclusion of persons with cognitive impairment in the process. In addition, there is no entity raising awareness on these specific rights to ensure they are understood, upheld, and advanced. Community engagement can build understanding, support, and advancement for decision-making rights through meaningful participation and action identification by those most impacted.

The goal of this pilot is to support the inclusion of PwCI in decision-making, from personal to policy-level decisions. A resource of PwCI for consultation will be established and used for government policy development. Workshops will support participant understanding of decision-making rights and practice development while establishing a process and materials for further community engagement on this topic. A report on the engagement process, including participant-identified actions and priorities, will assist government and community organizations to understand, engage and develop decision-making rights of PwCI. This pilot centers the voices of PwCI and engages stakeholders in decision-making rights through a strengths-based approach. This is a first and fundamental step to building more inclusive and dignified perceptions, policy, and practice change in Bermuda for PwCI.