Cuts misery for families of learning disabled

Rodney Edwards • Published 29 Jul 2010 16:00 0 Comments

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THE families affected by the pending closure of Positive Futures are fighting for it to remain open.

The service, based in Lisnaskea, has assisted disabled children and their families for six years.

But it will end for good in September because they Western Trust say that can't fund it any more.

And once the axe falls, a staggering 44 families will lose a vital part of their everyday lives.

This week, many of those families spoke to The Impartial Reporter about the anger, frustration and fear they now feel.

They are demanding that the Western Trust reconsiders their decision before it's "too late".

John and Therese Lynam from Derrylin have two children, Hannah (11) and Sarah (8).

Therese says it is "absolutely terrible" that the service is being taken away: "Hannah attends the body group every Friday evening. She goes off with some peers to the cinema or bowling. Each child gets to decide themselves want they want to do. Positive Futures gives them that choice. I applied to Mencap for help this summer and didn't get it. I was told, oh, but you have Positive Futures. Well, now it's closing, so I don't. And because Hannah lives in Derrylin she can't avail of a service in Enniskillen, so she's going to lose out hugely," she said.

John said Fermanagh is the "forgotten" county: "It seems we live in a two-tier society in that some counties get to keep a service like this and we just get pushed aside. If there's any money at all, Fermanagh gets forgotten about. Where do we go now? These children deserve good lives. We will continue to lobby for this decision to be overturned because we owe it to our children. They need us to fight for them," he said.

Spokesperson for the lobbying group, Mary Cassidy, has been working with other parents and public representatives. She believes the service can be saved by the Western Trust.

"If the Trust would adapt it so it could come under mainstream funding then yes, this could be avoided. Positive Futures has been supporting us and so we are supporting them. We want the Western Trust to reconsider this drastic move. We have been supplied with an exit strategy by the Trust regarding the phasing out of the service but it doesn't get rid of our problems. We still have to get on with it. Their suggestion is to make carers so strong and so equipped to deal with our modern day lives that we won't need Positive Futures but we do. I really wish members of the Trust could see the impact that their decision will have on our families," she said.

When we contacted the Western Trust yesterday for an updated response, a spokesperson said: "We have no update. Our statement hasn't changed from February."

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 29 Jul 10

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