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As the Australian population grows older, so too do the carers of people with disabilities.
Among them is a pressing concern: what will happen to their loved ones when they are no longer able or available to care for them?
Mount Alexander Shire Accommodation and Respite Group celebrates the opening of its respite house on Friday, after almost 10 years of campaigning.
But their work is far from done.
Respite realised
“Absolute panic” simmers beneath the polite conversation four mothers of adult children with intellectual disabilities are having about a newly-constructed respite house near Castlemaine.
What will their children do when they are no longer able or around to care for them?
“There is absolute urgency and emergency going on in families throughout Australia,” Robyn Spicer said.
She is one of the core members of the Mount Alexander Shire Accommodation and Respite Group, which was formed to address the need to create options for the futures of people with disabilities.
For the past nine years, the group has been working away at a plan to create a respite community house and accommodation.
After being told for years it was a waste of time even thinking about it, the group is now preparing for the official opening of the project’s first stage on October 7.
The Lions McDonald Hill House, at McKenzie Hill, will provide short-term stays and emergency accommodation.
It will also be a community hub, with facilities for conferences and meetings.
When the project was first suggested, MASARG member Heather Morrison said both the state and federal governments were not investing in respite houses or accommodation.
“We just felt it was badly needed in this area,” she said.
Ms Spicer said Castlemaine was, until their project, at the heart of one of the last remaining Victorian shires that didn’t have purpose-built respite or accommodation facilities.
“This shire has some of the highest figures for ageing and disability in Victoria, and yet we had no permanent facilities for people with disabilities,” group secretary Sue Harrison said.
“We still don’t have permanent accommodation.”
Constructing “A home of my own” is the second part of the MASARG project.
Group members have seen what happens to people with disabilities when carers are unable to continue in their role.
Some might have to move to find appropriate care; others might opt to live in aged care in Castlemaine.
Ms Morrison said a girl with disabilities moved to Melbourne after her parents died.
“That was a girl who was well known in the community, who could walk around the street and everyone knew her,” she said.
“People like our kids, who have intellectual disabilities, need consistency… they need to be in the community they belong in.”
Even today, Ms Spicer said a family in crisis seeking permanent care for their loved one would be told a place would be found “somewhere in the Loddon-Mallee area.”
That process is expected to change under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Support needed in our communities
The experiences of Mount Alexander Shire Accommodation and Respite Group members have shaped their projects.
But their goal is to help a population much broader than their loved ones.
Exactly 802 people were identified as needing direct assistance with core activities in the 2011 Census, which equates to about 5 per cent of the shire’s population.
However, in its Interim Disability Action Plan 2015 - 2017, Mount Alexander Shire Council acknowledged the definition did not “capture those with milder forms of impairment”.
The percentage of people with a disability in the shire was therefore considered “much greater”.
Beyond the shire’s borders, in the City of Greater Bendigo, another group is working to achieve a goal similar to that of MASARG.
More than 50 families have banded together to form Quality Living Options Bendigo, which is campaigning to buy a block of land to build a community of care.
The association was founded in February 2012.
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Respite house aims to inspire
The first stage of the Mount Alexander Shire Accommodation and Respite Group’s plan has been built on a foundation of community support.
After years of knockbacks, the respite community house has attracted a long list of supporters who have donated goods, services, time, and even land to the initiative.
“We are so grateful for the support the community has given us,” MASARG president Steve Streeter said.
The $1.2 million house was built on property supplied by the McDonald family, known for their honey.
One of the first rooms visible from the front door is a community room, with ample space and amenities for conferences and meetings.
The hallway leads to four bedrooms for people with disabilities, one of which has its own lounge area and can be isolated for residents in need of privacy.
“There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms with complete access to really state-of-the-art hoists so that people in wheelchairs have access to the building,” assistant secretary Robyn Spicer said.
Respite care will be accessible 24-7 and the building contains a bedroom and office for staff.
A service manager will be appointed in the near future.
MASARG members are hopeful the respite house will promote community inclusion and help people with disabilities gain the skills they need to live more independently.
“So much of the disability accommodation model is one of a crisis,” secretary Sue Harrison said.
“If there’s something happening in the family, the person with the disability has to face huge changes.
“We want it to be planned, confidence-building over weeks, months and years until they are ready to move into supported accommodation.”
Below is list of the project’s supporters, notably the Castlemaine Lions Club, which donated $240,000.
MASARG has invited the community to the respite house official opening, from 11am – 3pm on October 7. Attendees can RSVP by emailing hello@masarg.org.
The group is now raising funds to construct purpose-built, permanent accommodation - the second part of its project.
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Fundraising and partnership support for the Lions McDonald Hill House
A summary of the funding contributed or pledged toward the construction of the respite house, as stated on the MASARG website:
- $478,000 — Victorian State Government incl. Dept Health Human Services
- $300,000 — Federal Government – Community Development Grant
- $240,000 — Castlemaine Lions Club
- $50,000 — Maldon & District Community Bank
- $50,000 — Felix Cappy Estate
- $20,000 — RACV
- $5,000 — Castlemaine Health
- $10,000 — Community Donations
- $20,000 — Cycling Events and Community 80’s Ball, ‘Castlemaniacs’ and ‘Ducks’
- $11,000 — Rotary Club of Castlemaine
- $6,000 — Mount Alexander Shire (MAS) Debutante Ball
- $5,440 — Campbells Creek Murray to Moyne’ Cycling Event
- $7,560 — Cycling Events & Trivia night by MAS staff
- $5,000 — Catholic Parish of Castlemaine
- $6,500 — Car Raffle shared proceeds – Car very generously donated by Castlemaine Mitsubishi
- $2,218 — Miscellaneous
- TOTAL — $1,186,718
Valued in-kind voluntary time commitments and contributions, examples include:
- Generously donated land by the McDonald family, McKenzie Hill: value $240,000
- Mount Alexander Shire,
- Local Businesses and Service Clubs,
- Bendigo Bank and Maldon Community Bank,
- Embroiderer’s Guild, Goldfield Quilters
- Senior Citizens Clubs,
- Campbells Creek Cyclists Collective
- Local Cyclists and partner/supporters egs. “Castlemaniacs” and “Ducks” Staff from Shire and Health Services
- MASARG has had the support of a Solicitor, a Draftsman, a Surveyor, an Architect, a Business Consultant and Media and Communications Advisers.
- Please see also our website for the latest list of donations from our community including: Local print media support, Goldfields Quilters, Country Women’s Associations, Church groups, Senior Citizens clubs, businesses and individuals.
Other assistance provided to MASARG has included:
- Financial grants from FaHCSIA (via Bendigo Health Carer Support) to assist the establishment of MASARG.
- A MASARG Project Advisory Group (PAG) involving key partners has been meeting regularly to advise and support the establishment of the Respite Community House.
- MASARG also has had the support of a Solicitor, a Draftsman, a Surveyor, an Architect, a Business Consultant and Media and Communications Advisers.