The mum of a client of Northcott hopes to make arrangements for him that will keep the organisation’s “talented staff” in his life.
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Jennifer Cannon-Galvin says son Rhys Berry, 33, loved going to Northcott and she credits its workers with his happiness there.
She has been forced to look for new disability services after the organisation’s announcement last month that it would close on March 15.
The Health Services Union reported the move would leave 22 workers out of a job.
Rhys, a client of Northcott for 15 years, used its services five days a week and it had been a “home away from home” for him, his mother said.
“He loved going there, which I think is a reflection on the current staff,” Ms Cannon-Galvin said.
The past four weeks have involved meeting with Rhys’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) coordinator and looking at other services.
Ms Cannon-Galvin wants to maintain the care he had been receiving to this point.
“I want the same staff, because they’re valuable, and they’re valuable to this community and certainly to my son and to us as a family,” she said.
“And I want them to continue in his life because they’re already contributing and already have great initiatives in place.”
Ms Cannon-Galvin understands Northcott workers are finding new employers.
“They’re being taken up very quickly and that tells a story about the quality of staff in Dubbo,” she said.
“That they’re here on the ground, that they have accessed places like TAFE and Charles Sturt University and I’m pretty impressed with some of the qualifications they have and certainly the enormous experience they have and their willingness and enthusiasm about taking part in further education.”
Northcott CEO Kerry Stubbs has said the organisation stood by its commitment to keep appropriate services in place to support its customers beyond the planned closing date of March 15 as they transitioned to a new provider.
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