‘There’s no light at the end of the tunnel...’

KERRY MOTHER SAYS HER DAUGHTER AND MANY OTHERS HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND AS SOCIETY IS RE-OPENED

THE parents of a North Kerry woman with Down Syndrome say that they feel completely left behind by both the HSE and the government as they continue to wait for a resumption date for day services for adults with disabilities.

Ann Kelly and her husband Noel are parents to 34-year-old Laura, who before COVID had 40+ hours of respite a week with ‘Kerry Parent & Friends’ but since lockdown hit in March, Laura’s respite hours have been reduced to just four hours a week.

Ann said that this cut in hours has resulted in Laura losing much of the progress that she had been making and as a mother, she says that it is heartbreaking see her daughter slowly regress.

Speaking to The Kerryman this week, Ann said that she feels like there is “no light at the end of the tunnel” for her family and other families who are in the same situation.

“This story is not only Laura. It’s about every adult out there with a disability that are being left behind,” said Ann.

“Before this, Laura would have been collected at 8:30am and returned at 4:30pm five days a week but since the lockdown in March, this has been cut. We are very lucky still in that we still have one-day a week from 10am to 2pm which is four hours,” she continued.

“She’s gone from 40 hours to four hours and we’re lucky to have those four hours because when you look around the country, a lot of families are getting nothing and its the carers that are being left there again.”

“It’s just atrocious. There’s no mention of carers or their children or siblings anywhere. We’ve just been left here. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

Ann had nothing but praise for the hardworking staff at Kerry Parents & Friends who she says are doing a “brilliant” job despite all the restrictions.

It is the higher ups at the HSE and the government who she feels have left her family – and so many other families like hers – in limbo waiting for services to resume.

“The staff at Kerry Parents & Friends have been brilliant. They are doing Zoom calls, she has two of these a week. One of these is for drama and the other is for bingo,” said Ann.

“There are carers out there who are in desperate positions. They are on their knees. There’s no one saying that we’ ll be back in this many weeks. There’s nothing. We haven’t just been abandoned. We’re invisible. That’s what has happened.”

And despite the higher ups in the HSE and the government responding to Ann and other’s messages, saying that they are trying their best to get things set up as quickly as they can, Ann said that Laura and others cannot afford to be kept waiting much longer.

“Countless people have sent emails and you get the same thing back that they’re trying their best. Their best isn’t good enough for us. We have just been left watching our daughter regressing. It’s becoming very hard to keep her going. It’s awful and heartbreaking to witness.”

There are carers out there who are in desperate positions. They are on their knees. There’s nothing. We haven’t just been abandoned, we’re invisible. That’s what has happened.

Speaking in an interview last week, Disability Minister Anne Rabbitte pledged to resume services at day care and residential care centres by the beginning of September.

“I want to see services resumed by September 1,” Minister Rabbitte added.

“Parents have told me that their children or loved ones, their heads are up after just one day back.

“Our most vulnerable people need their routines back.”

She said that the HSE, which she met on Tuesday after her meetings in Charleville, had a voice, parents had a voice, the Government had a voice, the service providers had a voice but she wanted to be a voice for those who had no voice, the service user.

“I want to be their voice,” she said.

Ann Kelly pictured with her daughter, Laura.