By Kate Heaney
MINISTER for people with disabilities Anne Rabbitte TD will be in Donegal this morning confirming funding for the No Barriers Foundation’s DS Champions Health and Wellbeing Programme.
It is one of two Donegal groups, working with people with disabilities which will receive a share of €3 million funding announced this week to help 20 initiatives country-wide.
The second group is the Donegal Centre for Independent Living, Access Officer and Leader Mentor Programme.
The funding is awarded under Rethink Ireland.
Minister Rabbitte will visit a number of locations in the county over the course of the day.
Her first engagement is to launch the No Barriers ‘Down Syndrome Champions Programme’.
Minister Rabbitte said she is a big fan of the work being done by Johnny Loughrey and his team in No Barriers and is looking forward to be visiting the service again.
This will be followed by a visit to a Community Inclusion Hub in Letterkenny, before then meeting a number of parents from representative groups regarding the impact staffing is having on Children’s Disability Network Teams.
Another location she will visit in the afternoon is Ard Gréine in Stranorlar where she will meet staff and service users.
Plans were announced in April of this year to ‘decongregate’ the facility where those residents with disabilities would move to live in their local communities.
This process was expected to take a number of years according to the HSE.
The Rethink Ireland funding announced this week is aimed at enabling participation of people with Down Syndrome in their communities; supporting social enterprise driven employment for people with disabilities; increasing access to arts and culture and fostering participation in sports and outdoor recreation as well as the promotion of accessible shared spaces.
Speaking on what this funding means for DS Champions Health, Johnny Loughrey who is CEO of the No Barriers Foundation, said: “This funding will make a huge difference to the lives of those taking part and their families.
“This person-centred, rights based approach will create social inclusion and give individuals with Down Syndrome the freedom to take control of their health journey.”
CEO of the DCIL Rosaleen Doherty told the Donegal News yesterday that the funding received from Rethink Ireland will have a significant impact on the services and supports provided by the Donegal Centre for Independent Living.
“It will also enable employment opportunities for people with disabilities who can often be overlooked when seeking employment. We as an organisation are committed to empowering our people to participate in all aspects of life and encourage people with disabilities to support each other in their journey towards independent living,” she said
DCIL is an organisation who provide services and support to over 150 people with disabilities and employ 120 staff through their independent living services.
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