By Cameron Weston
A NEW respite care house in Williamstown offers disabled people something that most of us take for granted: the chance to get out and feel part of society.
The new five-bed facility, run by ParaQuad Victoria and called ‘Bayside Villa’, was described as a “holiday respite home”.
Development manager Patricia Young said Bayside Villa would be run “along the lines of a motel suite”, where people can visit for weekends or short stays, with carers on hand to take them out to Williamstown’s many historic sites.
“We’re trying to make it a bit of a holiday for them.”
Ivan Watt, 70, one of the first residents at Bayside Villa, said staying there was “like being in your own home”.
Mr Watt had his life shattered on the day the Sydney Olympics started in 2000, when he was hit by a car. He had just retired and was planning on driving around Australia with his wife.
The accident left Mr Watt “dead from the neck down”, making him a “high level need” patient, exactly the sort of person Bayside Villa was designed to accommodate.
“You couldn’t get better care,” Mr Watt said. “The people are good, everything about the place is really outstanding
“I’m out nearly all the time, I’ve been all around Williamstown. It’s a great place, it’s the Toorak of the West.
“They’ve got everything here, everything is set up. I’ve got no problems whatsoever.”
Mr Watt said his family had also taken great comfort knowing that he was happy and well cared for.
Respite house coordinator Michael Coombe said as well as offering intensive care in a home-like environment, the approach used at Bayside Villa also challenged disabled people to “move on” and overcome their fears about contact with the broader community.
Mr Coombe said able-bodied people usually had no idea about how the little things – like the simple act of going to the toilet at the pub, or even going into a pub – were barriers that some disabled people felt were insurmountable.
He said many disabled people chose to avoid contact with the outside world rather than deal with these potentially embarrassing situations in public.
“The idea is that they can get out and about instead of being stuck in the house.
“It’s a new thing for many people. It’s quite challenging for them to be out of their comfort zone.
“They find it very hard to move on, it’s embarrassing, things like that.”
