New Service Providing Breaks For Families With DisAbled Children

From an article by charity worker and father of a DisAbled child, Kevin Williams, in the Guardian:

Kids, our charity that works with disabled people and their families, has launched a new service for disabled children, called Short Break, which allows parents to book a short break over the internet. Although this may sound impersonal, for many families just finding the time to make a telephone call during normal office hours can be a challenge. Going online after your child has finally fallen asleep at 1am is much more feasible. The service has been backed by the prime minister and leader of the opposition, who both have personal experience of parenting a disabled child. Gordon Brown has said: “The new Kids Direct Short Breaks will make a massive difference to children and their families”. David Cameron, for his part, has said: “Kids Direct Short Breaks is a great idea. For many years, Kids has been making a real difference to the lives of thousands of children and young people, together with their families, through the practical support it provides. This new pioneering service will take its work another step forward.”

About seven in 100 families have a disabled member. In the past, many of these families did not receive much support, becoming isolated and invisible. This long-overdue support for families with disabled children has the potential to change the lives of the families under stress, so they can make a full contribution to society, as well as to make disabled people a more visible and included part of that society. As the prime minister put it when speaking of Kids: “By changing lives, you are changing the world.”

Kids are inviting disabled children, their families and local authorities to attend the parliamentary launch and demonstration of the online service in Westminster next Tuesday, 9 June. For more information, visit http://www.directshortbreaks.org.uk

I think this is a great idea, and am pleased to see it being backed by David Cameron and Gordon Brown. I hope the many parents who read this blog will find this information useful.