Civil affairs bureau making life easier for disabled people

The city's civil affairs authorities are offering more convenient services for the disabled. 

Disabled people can apply for living and nursing subsidies via a cross-province application and handling mechanism recently implemented, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said today. 

A disabled woman from Heilongjiang Province who has lived in Shanghai for more than 20 years was the first in the nation to have her application accepted, reviewed and completed through the mechanism.

The woman surnamed Zhang had her application processed this week at the Juyuan Subdistrict Community Affairs Service Center in Jiading District. 

Staff at the center transferred her application to the city of Shuangyashan where her residence is registered. 

She considered returning to the northeastern city for the application process when the subsidies were implemented in 2016, but decided against it due to her physical disability. 

The new policy saves disabled people from the inconvenience of extra visits, and relevant procedures will be improved, the bureau said.