Overall there is a drive to close day centres for people with disabilities, or at least to reduce the hours they are open. This is taking place at the same time as the drive to reduce the number of residential places for adults with disabilities. I am not expert, but it seems to me that if the policy is to encourage people to become as independent as possible, we should be encouraging them to leave their houses, develop social skills in the company of others who understand and learn a few other skills, like cooking, IT, balancing their personal budget and so on. Surely a more useful approach is to make better use of the day centre, offering space to all kinds of users, with weekend and evening opening for different groups. Very difficult to find anywhere to hold meetings for the community these days. I am sure we could come up with some good ideas for multi pupose use of the building so that those who could do with a bit of extra help could still have a place to go.
Maire Lowe ● 4301d