Many disabled people have only interacted with members of their family their entire lives. They have never made friends or been part of the general community. This isolation keeps them at home and with nothing to do watch life pass them by while sitting by the window.

Without a lifetime of social skills, some of our members can’t simply jump into being a part of the greater community. They would not know how to behave or be prepared for some people’s reactions to their disability.

In essence, the disabled person comes to the centre. There they are grouped with other disabled people they can meet and talk to, and they start building friendships. Then from the centre they are taken on excursions as a group. It can be on a camping trip, a football match, or to the cinema.

So, for their first step they will be meeting other people at our centre! Here they can learn how people interact and gain crucial social skills that will help them for the rest of their lives. Some of the activities that happen in our centres include:

It doesn’t matter what the activity is; what matters is that they do it as a group, which is much less intimidating then going on their own. Being a part of a group of disabled people gives them a sense of community and makes the thought of a life of independence and autonomy a lot less overwhelming.

Our group centre activities are all about having a good time! It also introduces them to people fading similar problems to the ones they face in their daily lives. Suddenly, going out starts to feel like a regular activity. They can have a good time seeing people they have been friendly with. This is the start of the process of becoming part of the local community.

Doing these types of tasks gets them ready for the next step – when they will go out on their own and do the same things, meet non-disabled people, and start making friendships. They will start to feel more independent see their future in a better light.