As Ricky Stuart's dream of a respite centre for Canberra children and their families begins to take shape the Canberra Raiders coach and his foundation have announced plans for a second facility just for teens.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Ricky Stuart Foundation will build a second state-of-the-art centre somewhere in the capital thanks to a $1.4 million grant set aside in the ACT budget.
The announcement comes just two weeks before construction of Ricky Stuart House, a facility purpose-built for children with a disability, gets underway in Chifley.
Stuart knows just how important a break is for a young person with a disability and their family.
The father of three has almost survived the teenage years with 17-year-old daughter, Emma, who has autism.
"When their other siblings are a little older as well – with their school sport, their school activity – [respite] means you can then be a part of their life as well. That's the thing you want to offer from the respite view; people don't miss out on other parts of their family responsibilities."
The foundation will meet with Minister for Disability Joy Burch in the coming weeks to get initial plans for the new centre under way.
The first centre will act like a template for the progression of the teen hang-out, which is expected to be completed by about mid-2016.
Foundation director John Mackay said the Chifley centre for children would be finished before Christmas and featured a planned sensory room, which will be open to any child with a disability and their families.
Stuart expected the teenage centre to spring to life more quickly the second time around and hoped to include a feature, like the sensory room, that would set it apart.
"It's like building your first home, it's a lot easier building the second one, and you learn from your mistakes and learn what direction you need to go through for a quicker process," he said.
"The sensory room is quite a unique resource for the first centre; now we'll go out and find something that will make a unique experience and a home away from home for the kids going into the teenage home."
Stuart said the foundation was overwhelmed by the support of the government, businesses and individuals.
While Stuart was focused on getting the first two centres off the ground, the foundation would look towards a third facility for adults, down the track, with the community's backing.
