Home for respite care set to close
ARESPITE home that provides vital support to people with learning disabilities in Stockport is sadly due to close.
Beech Avenue Guest House in Gatley is run by the charity Independent Options, which provides help and support to children and adults suffering from a range of disabilities and their families.
It forms part of the charity’s short breaks service, which provides respite breaks to adults with learning disabilities, giving them the chance to make new friends while giving their families and carers a break.
However, due to funding cuts, the charity has been forced to close the home, which will take effect from the end of October.
Steve Hyde, CEO at Independent Options, said: “It is with deep regret that we announce the closure of Beech Avenue Guest House. Cuts to funding from the local authority have meant we simply don’t have enough money to meet all of the expenditure and we are losing money every day we remain open.”
Finance director Phil Kirby added: “In terms of funding we receive for providing our short breaks service, we are receiving less in cash terms than we were eight years ago and around 25 per cent less in real terms.
“In the same period, the minimum wage was increased by over 30 per cent.”
Some of the people who use the short breaks service have spoken out about how the closure will affect them.
Service user Jason, 22, said: “I am very upset that Beech Avenue is due to close and I am disappointed that I won’t be able to see my friends or the staff like I used to.
“I will also miss the chance to choose when and where I go for my respite. Beech Avenue meets my needs the best and I’ll be very sorry when it closes.”
Karen Jackson’s two children Jack, 30 and Ruth, 28, both use the service and she says she is ‘absolutely devastated’ about the closure.
“It’ll have a huge impact on out family as both my children use the service for respite and have got a lot out of going,” she said.
“Jack and Ruth have made lots of friends there, just as other young adults their age are doing. They like having company that isn’t just each other or their parents.
“Respite works both ways. It is a break for the children and parents get a rest too, but the closure will make that much harder for us to achieve.
“Thanks to Beech Avenue they have had lots of experiences that they otherwise wouldn’t have done, but now they won’t be able to do those things and it’ll be much harder for them to cope.”
Independent Options’ second guesthouse, Hallfield, will remain open and there will be no staff redundancies as a result of the closure of Beech Avenue.