Educare and the Autism Society of the RMWB have launched an awareness campaign in hopes of improving the lives of children affected by autism.
The campaign is called “More Than Just Bricks” and will reach out to members of the community to determine public support for a stand-alone therapy centre in our region.
Danielle Dureault, a speech pathologist with Educare said the problem is that resources for children with disabilities are scattered as far as Edmonton or Red Deer.
“What the RMWB needs is capacity here at home, and the only way to build that is through the efficiencies created when you bring therapy professionals together under one roof,” added Dureault.
Corinna O’Hanley knows firsthand the lack of resources in the region, her eight-year-old son has autism.
“When the fire happened I had to load my two sons up in my car I grabbed what I could and we drove through the flames. We wound up in Edmonton and I realized that I had forgotten my son’s simple items, his headphones that cancel out the sound and the weighted vest that made his world bearable,” said O’Hanley.
O’Hanley continued by saying that she found out the Maier Centre in Edmonton had opened their doors and they equipped her son with all of the items he needed to take on the world.
“It was in that experience that I realized how lacking our community really, truly is for services and how we could benefit so much from a centre like the Maier centre.”
Dureault said they are asking the community a simple question, ‘do we have what it takes to mount and succeed with a capital campaign to build or buy a space?’
“We won’t commit precious charitable dollars until we’re convinced we can go all the way. So our call to the community is this, go to our website, sign-up and say ‘yes we can’ let us know you are on our side,” said Dureault.
If enough support is proven, the campaign will evolve to a capital campaign to raise funds for the acquisition or construction of a facility.
