Respite centre for children with disabilities opened by Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart
Children with a disability in the ACT will have access to a new respite care centre from next month, with its official opening led by Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.
Stuart, who has a daughter with autism, led the charge for the centre in Chifley, which will be operated by Marymead and offer a retreat for up to six children at a time.
The centre is purpose-built and the first of its kind in Canberra, allowing parents to have time off from caring for their children.
Parent Lynn Nerdal said it would make a huge difference for her daughter and herself.
"I can have a break and not feel guilty, and where she's excited to go there and very happy to be here," she said.
"I couldn't do it constantly do it day after day after day and night after night after night without that support."
Children can begin using the centre in mid-March, with between 40 and 50 families expected to utilise the facility each year - some for a few hours, others a night, and some for weeks.
Stuart said, for him, ensuring the completion of the centre was deeply personal project.
'Until you live with a child with disabilities, you don't understand'
His daughter Emma was diagnosed with autism as a young child and in 2011 he established a charity, the Ricky Stuart Foundation, to raise awareness about the disability and raise funds to support affected families.
"Until you live with a child with disabilities, you don't understand how important respite is," he said.
The centre comprises of six bedrooms, two with wheelchair access and modified bathrooms to deal with severe physical disabilities, a kitchen, dining, and play rooms.
The project was helped along by former disability minister Joy Burch, who was at the official opening.
About 50 companies and organisations also helped free of charge, including builders, appliance stores and project managers.
Marymead's chief executive officer Camilla Rowland said international research had demonstrated just how important respite was the well-being parents, carers and families as a whole.
"What an absolutely perfect facility that families now have available to them for this purpose," she said.
Meanwhile, funding for a second centre in Cook, catering for teenagers, has been secured.
Many of the contributors to the first respite centre are already on board to help establish the second.
