GATEWAY CLUB for those with learning disabilities
I was able to assist Downpatrick Presbyterian Church in rescuing the Gateway Club at short notice by offering their hall in Fountain Street. The Gateway Club provides a social outlet for adults learning disabilities between 23 and 50 years of age. The South Eastern Trust had closed their facilities without notice.
CAPAA (Children And Parents and Autism)
Similarly CAPAA are now being removed from ward 24 at the Downshire. The Trust has not offered any alternative venue for their extensive educational and training work with children and adults, which offers a few crucial respite hours for carers.
I took Moira Denvir of CAPAA and Mary McCargo of GATEWAY to meet the financial decision makers at the Trust, and it was clear that the Trust itself was not clear on how a situation like this could have arisen. This has triggered an internal investigation that is continuing.
Meanwhile, do you know of an underused or dilapidated building in Downpatrick and District with an outside area that could be restored as a garden for fruit and vegetables that could be used by CAPAA? Contact Joanne 07885519469 or Moira at 07999525323,
