RASAID (Ryde Area Supported Accommodation for Intellectually Disabled) spokesperson, Estelle Shields, says, “The RASAID families welcome Minister Andrew Constance’s announcement that our project will be funded by the State government, fulfilling a promise he made to us more than eighteen months ago. We acknowledge his courage and integrity in making our ‘dare to dream’ development become a reality. We are elated.”
RASAID has been chosen to pilot a new model of supported accommodation in which a cohesive group of intellectually disabled people live together in a cluster setting within the local community they know.Their parents will oversee their adult child’s gradual and humane transition out of the family home and into the new environment.
RASAID believes that its model, favored by thousands of families of intellectually disabled people, will be a template for many similar developments. A key feature of the RASAID model is that the families are philosophically united and committed to finding local, appropriate and responsive accommodation that will meet the needs of their adult children, while allowing a high level of family governance and community involvement.
The group believes that the success of its years of advocacy will bring hope and encouragement to families on waiting lists for supported accommodation. If the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme becomes a reality later in the year, it is expected that many families will follow the RASAID lead and form groups to pool funding, in order to secure the best outcomes for their disabled members.
There has been no announcement yet as to the location of the accommodation in Ryde.
To find out more about the members of RASAID and their stories: www.rasaid.org.au
The NSW Government's media release (2/6/2011) on the RASAID funding:
Pilot Program for Individualised Funding
The NSW Government has announced $3 million for RASAID, the Ryde Area Supported Accommodation for Intellectually Disabled group, to assist them in a pilot program for supported accommodation.
The Minister for Disability Services, Andrew Constance, said that this would enable each of the 19 individuals to determine their own future, using funds provided by the Government.
"The families from RASAID were given false hope by a succession of Labor Disability Services Ministers, who had this proposal on their desks for years, but did nothing," Mr Constance said.
"The O'Farrell Government has done more for RASAID in 10 weeks, than Labor did in 10 years."
RASAID will be allowed to choose the care packages that best suit their children's needs.
"Instead of families waiting for their child's placement in a group, RASAID will be able to determine the model of care their children want and shape it themselves," Mr Constance said.
"We want to give people with a disability and their families more control over their lives into the future."
Ryde MP Victor Dominello has thanked Minister Constance for his leadership and RASAID for their strong advocacy.
"For several years, the families from RASAID have been calling out for supported accommodation for their adult children," Mr Dominello said.
The NSW Government's media release (2/6/2011) on the RASAID funding:
Pilot Program for Individualised Funding
The NSW Government has announced $3 million for RASAID, the Ryde Area Supported Accommodation for Intellectually Disabled group, to assist them in a pilot program for supported accommodation.
The Minister for Disability Services, Andrew Constance, said that this would enable each of the 19 individuals to determine their own future, using funds provided by the Government.
"The families from RASAID were given false hope by a succession of Labor Disability Services Ministers, who had this proposal on their desks for years, but did nothing," Mr Constance said.
"The O'Farrell Government has done more for RASAID in 10 weeks, than Labor did in 10 years."
RASAID will be allowed to choose the care packages that best suit their children's needs.
"Instead of families waiting for their child's placement in a group, RASAID will be able to determine the model of care their children want and shape it themselves," Mr Constance said.
"We want to give people with a disability and their families more control over their lives into the future."
Ryde MP Victor Dominello has thanked Minister Constance for his leadership and RASAID for their strong advocacy.
"For several years, the families from RASAID have been calling out for supported accommodation for their adult children," Mr Dominello said.
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