As one of the pioneers who played a pivotal role in the early stages of The Disability Trust, Joanne Babb beams with pride when she reflects on the organisation’s achievements over the past five decades.
Her son Nigel was born a year prior to the start of the organisation and Jo said there was very little around back then in terms of assistance for parents of children with disability with Greenacres providing schooling but there was not much else.
“I had Nigel in 1973 and it was clear he would require lifetime assistance and I immediately took an interest in anything to do with disability services,” she recalled.
“By 1974 the Greenacres School was in dire financial trouble and of course I was very worried for the future. But the community reaction was overwhelming and the community came together to save the school through a massive payroll deduction scheme through the steelworks and other industry.
“But of course, it wasn’t possible to direct the funds straight to the school, which by the way was totally independent of the Education Department, and so was born Illawarra Handicapped Persons Trust with funds directed to the school.
“Having a disabled child, I took a great interest in all that was occurring. Greenacres School survived and flourished and when Nigel was four he started school. Greenacres eventually received government funding freeing up the funds from payroll deductions scheme. There was plenty of scope to have the Illawarra Handicapped Person’s Trust do some good in the community.
“The Trust became an information and referral centre and the terrible lack of disability services was starting to get a little bit more recognition. It seems strange now, but children like Nigel weren’t even entitled to or ensured of an education. Schools for significantly disabled kids were independent and run by families and communities. And that’s why Greenacres, which was an independent school, had to exist. I’ve been forever grateful to the community who ensured that the school survived and to the school for the care he received.
“Back then, there were no disability services, just zero, none. If you were the parent of a child with a disability, you went scratching and looking and hoping you could get a bit of a hospital service or a medical service or something like that and so of course I was interested in anything to do with getting more things on the ground.
“When Handicapped Persons Trust came into being and offered an information and referral service, it was quite groundbreaking in the sense that there was a place where people could approach and talk about what they needed. And it was the first real recognition that people with a disability had a need for services. And I wanted to be a part of that.”
Jo said the International Year of People with a Disability in 1981 helped the Trust gain further recognition in the community.
“In the early years, the Trust got little bits of money from the state government and ran services like attendant care, recreation programs and some respite, which was state government funded, and all the time there was a greater and greater push to recognise people with disability and their need for services,” Jo said.
“And the Trust was always at the forefront of that push.”
As the years rolled on and the Trust was able to expand its operations, Jo said long-serving CEO Margaret Bowen was the driving force behind making the organisation not only able to support itself but be able to increase revenue to provide more and more services.
“A lot of credit goes to Margaret because she could see opportunities for services and funding and was like a terrier with a bone, never letting up. Life was all about funding submissions and if you got the funding, then that service went ahead,” Jo said.
“People would get a good idea, work tirelessly to put together a submission. If you were lucky, you would get the funding. Margaret and others at the Disability Trust were so good at it that they eventually came to the notice of the NSW Government, and they were very successful in getting lots of very significant grants.
“Later, Margaret was able to see that there could be a bit of a business arm to The Disability Trust which added to the success of the Trust well before NDIS was ever likely to come to fruition.”
Jo believes people with disability are now better placed than ever to succeed in all walks of life.
“It’s remarkable the difference. People with disability back in the 1970s were just not considered. The difference is amazing in that people are now recognised as important human beings.
“Inclusion is a word we now just use, it rolls off the tip of our tongue. Up until the end of the 1990s, it was all about exclusion and separation and segregation and providing special services. Now we fully accept that a person with disability is accepted into any mainstream service and should be.
“The Trust was always way ahead in terms of pushing and being an advocate for people with disability and that was its very, very first role and something that it can be hugely proud of now.
“I think the future for the Trust is remarkably bright. It’s an incredibly stable organisation. It just kept on fighting and staying in there. It’s dealt with all the difficulties of NDIS and as a not-for-profit organisation, it just keeps on growing and growing.
“My greatest hope is that it stays being a fabulous not-for-profit organisation because that’s where the future of disability services lies.
“I hate it that provision of disability services has been seen as just a profitable industry for some with no real care for the people it serves and I really hope that the Trust just can go from strength to strength while remaining a not-for-profit, being driven by people who care about the Trust and the target group and care about the provision of disability services for that reason, not to turn a buck.”
Learn about other key people in the story of The Disability Trust
