NORTHERN Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has congratulated Inverell Disability Service provider Brighter Access on the official opening of its new and expanded Campbell Street home yesterday.
Mr Marshall was on hand to perform the opening honours, cutting the ribbon on the new building together with Brighter Access management committee and staff, clients, Inverell Shire Council and BEST Employment representatives.
He said BEST Employment had been generous in making the building available for Brighter Access to renovate and occupy to expand the services it offer the Inverell and district.
“Brighter Access has a strong commitment to true inclusion of people with disability and promotes people’s rights to be a part of the community, being welcomed and embraced as a member who belongs,” Mr Marshall said.
“This is demonstrated by the ‘I Can Project’ which focuses on actively educating the community on the rights of people with disability.”
Mr Marshall said that this year Brighter Access will receive more than $1.2 million from the state government to provide a wide range services in the areas of:
- Community Participation;
- Life Choices and Active Ageing Day programs;
- Leisure programs;
- Flexible Respite options;
- Early Childhood Intervention Programs; and
- After School Hours Care and Vacation Care for people with disability.
Established in 1979 by a group of interested parents, who saw the need for mutual support and the necessity of having regular breaks from caring for a family member with disability, Mr Marshall said Brighter Access had grown into one of the leading disability service partners for the state government in the region.
“Brighter Access is a wonderful example of what can be achieved through strong collaboration between service providers in the non-government sector to ensure service provision to people with disability,” he said.
“I congratulate Tanya and her team of dedicated staff who do some amazing work with their clients and in the community, promoting and practicing inclusion.
“The new building is timely with the people with a disability in our region gaining access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) from July next year.
“Organisations like Brighter Access will play a very important role in assisting and supporting people with disability, to ensure they are prepared for the scheme and this new and expanded building will be a huge asset for the community.”