A survey on the needs of people with disabilities in Warwick should hit the streets later this month.
Warwick and District Disability Support Group president Peter Stacy is hoping residents will take the time to fill out this survey, which will provide the necessary facts for funding applications in an effort to start addressing these needs.
Mr Stacy said there were many unmet needs in the local disability sector, including the need for a learning and lifestyle centre, which will provide educational support for people with disabilities once they leave school.
“All the children with disabilities coming through school, when they turn 18, have nothing. Some of the building blocks that need to be put there aren’t there at the moment,” he said.
Mr Stacy said, unfortunately some people with disabilities end up in an aged care facility because there is nowhere else for them to go.
“This is tragic when you read about it or hear about it but it will be more tragic if we don’t do anything about it,” he said.
“It directly or indirectly affects everyone’s lives in Warwick.”
Another unmet need, which he believed will be identified in the upcoming survey, is the need for more respite beds in Warwick. At the moment, there are only three respite beds in the Rose City.
Mr Stacy wants carers and parents of local people with disabilities to fill out the survey, which does not ask for names and addresses, but focuses on your unmet needs.
He believed the survey results would be announced in December or January.
The questionnaire will be conducted by the University of Queensland.
The disability support group has been granted nearly $30,000 through the Gambling Community Benefit Fund to conduct the needs analysis.
For more details or to participate in the survey, contact Peter Stacy on (07) 4667 1909.
Story: Rebecca Brown
