NSW — Maitland's
Mai-Wel Group has a mighty big job on its hands.
The number of people with a
disability in Australia is expected to soar during the
next few years, and with it grows the need for more money
and services.
And Maitland is no exception.
Since 2000 the Mai-Wel Group has
experienced a considerable growth in people needing
support and assistance and now the organisation has
utilised all of its space.
"The people of Maitland and the
Hunter were wonderful supporters of Mai-Wel in its early
days and we ask that they again assist us as the number
of individuals with disabilities within our area
continues to grow," the Mai-Wel Group chief executive
officer Pennie Kearney said.
"We need to accommodate our growing
numbers and the money raised from this year's debate will
go toward building this new facility.
"Mai-Wel has grown so much in
recent years, and is still growing, so capital works and
expansion is essential to the group and our clients'
future."
Ms Kearney said the Mai-Wel Group
had always been successful in attracting support programs
for people with disabilities but now money and space were
the issues.
"The number of people with
disabilities is growing on a national level so it's no
surprise that we are experiencing a growth here as well,"
she said.
"And there are a wide range of
reasons why people become disabled whether it's through
an acquired brain disorder, various syndromes, an injury
sustained at birth or maybe something that has been
induced in a person's own environment.
"Whatever the situation, there are
more people needing our help and this number is only
going to grow."
Ms Kearney said a growing ageing
population was also an issue for organisations like the
Mai-Wel Group.
"We now have a higher number of
aged carers and many of them are deeply concerned about
where their grown children will live when they die," she
said.
The Mai Wel Group began in 1960
when a group of families met and shared their vision of
an education and opportunities for life for their
children with a disability.
Telarah couple Nola and Gordon
Warby - along with their son Glenn - were just one of
those families.
Glenn, now in his late 40s, had a
brain hemorrhage at birth and doctors told the Warbys to
put their son in an institution.
But Mr and Mrs Warby refused and
now Glenn is a familiar face at the Mai-Wel establishment
in Telarah.
Mai-Wel started in three nissan
huts from the Greta Migrant Camp - there were two
teachers and nine children.
At the time families of children
with disabilities came out of the woodwork.
"There must have been a lot of
parents doing it hard because there was no help available
at the time," Mrs Warby said.
The Mai-Wel Group today includes
Labour Force Solutions, Time Savers, Pace Setters, Hunter
Grounds and Gardens, administration, the residential
lodge and three homes in the community.
"It's unreal," Mrs Warby said.
"Even during the past two years
there has been so much growth and change. We never
envisaged anything like this happening.
"The big difference is that today,
it's what people with disabilities can do. Once the focus
was on what they couldn't do."
The Mai-Wel Group provides services
for people with a disability in supported employment,
supported residential living, employment recruitment and
support, job skills training, respite services, day
programs, accommodation and support programs and post
school options.
It is also the largest disability
service provider in the Lower Hunter and has recently
undergone some major structural growth in order to
accommodate the continued needs of clients and their
families living in the area.
The organisation employs 168
people, made up of 82 supported employees and 86 staff
members - the ethos of the Mai-Wel Group carries
throughout the organisation from management and staff and
onto clients.
The group is focused on developing
opportunities that will enable people with a disability
to realise their individual life goals and allow access,
integration and opportunity for all.
During the past 45 years the vision
of Mai-Wel has been driven by a committed group of
volunteers who have shared their skills and experience to
assist with the ever-increasing regulations and needs of
the sector.
Neither the State nor the Federal
Government fund Mai-Wel for capital works, maintenance of
property or equipment.
