Son inspires mum’s fight

By Tania Martin
VERONICA Letelier has won the battle to open the first after-care program for disabled children in the outer east.
The Yarra Ranges mother was the driving force behind Villa Maria’s new Outer Encounters program.
Villa Maria is an organisation that offers disability and aged services.
Ms Letelier’s son, Benjamin, 13, who has Down syndrome, was her inspiration.
“I was trying to get back to work but I was very limited because there was nowhere I could take my son for after care,” she said.
Ms Letelier needed to find a job between 9am and 3pm, which proved almost impossible.
“I was asking people what is out there and soon discovered it was not just me asking these questions,” she said. “There was just nothing around for kids with special needs.”
Ms Letelier spent hours brainstorming ways to find a solution to her problem. She spoke to local MPs but they questioned whether there was a need so Ms Letelier set out to prove there was a gap in services.
“It was a huge job but I felt something had to be done,” she said.
Ms Letelier put out a questionnaire and the results left little doubt that there was a need. It was then she heard about Federal Government cash that was available to families who had a child with a disability.
Ms Letelier enlisted the help of local parents at Mt Evelyn Special Development School (MESDS) and Villa Maria to set up the after-care program in Mt Evelyn.
She also discovered that the school had tried years ago to set up a similar program and had failed. But with a bit of determination and a $150, 000 grant it finally became a possibility.
Ms Letelier, with the help of Villa Maria, even found the perfect building that was lying dormant.
It had previously been used as housing for the disabled, which meant no work needed to be done to update the building.
“Before this program, Ben just went home to school and back home,” Ms Letelier said. “Now he can upgrade his social skills, have fun and live a normal teenage life.”
The program is open for children with disabilities between the ages of six and 18, from 3pm to 6pm.
Outer Encounters has the capacity to take up to 10 children a day, but now has three to six every night.
Those interested in joining the program should contact Cathy Carroll on 9809 6823.