The impending closure of the Hub Disability Day Program in Holt reveals a deeply troubling gap in support for some of Canberra's most vulnerable people.
Once it shuts down on October 1, families will face insurmountable challenges and ongoing uncertainty.
For participants such as 43-year-old Shani Madelly, who her mother Sally said has a mental age of about 12, the service was excellent and allowed Shani to connect socially.
She was able to participate in crafts, cook meals, enjoy community outings to the zoo and to form real friendships.
The Hub provided an active environment where she is treated as an equal, a sharp contrast to previous experiences at facilities that offered nothing more engaging than colouring books. Sally said the other benefit was that the program provided her with respite from the relentless physical and emotional demands of full-time care.
When an organisation decides to cut a lifeline for disabled individuals, the community expects a detailed explanation.
Instead, those affected have encountered an information vacuum.
Carers ACT, the highly regarded organisation responsible for the Holt facility, posted a short statement on its website blaming the closure on rising operating costs, funding pressures, and sector-wide changes. The group says it can no longer afford to subsidise the service.
This decision based on the financials comes at a human cost to people such as Sally and Shani.
If, as some have hinted but nobody has said, the closure stems from the federal government's restructuring of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, authorities must manage the transition with far greater care.
The federal government plans to reduce NDIS budgets for community participation by more than $13 billion over the next four years. There are currently 12,597 ACT residents relying on the NDIS. Politicians have repeatedly assured the public that these reforms would leave no one behind, promising alternative services for those who transition off the scheme.
The reality facing families at the Hub Disability Day Program suggests otherwise. Vulnerable people are already falling through the cracks.
Carers ACT says it is the primary voice for carers in the territory, promising to advocate for their needs and connect them to essential support. It does important work and is rightly held in great esteem by the community.
Sadly its approach to the closure of the hub falls short of its mission. An announcement on a website and refusal to respond to questions of legitimate public interest won't cut it. Canberrans have a right to know why its clients will be left in the lurch.
This lack of transparency compounds apparent internal issues at Carers ACT, which is currently advertising for a new chief executive following the abrupt resignation of Cain Beckett in May.
Mr Beckett departed little more than a year into his tenure, despite initially expressing ambitions to raise the organisation's public profile. Both Beckett and the Carers ACT board remain silent on the reasons for his exit.
Internal turmoil cannot be an excuse for ending a service people depend on without proper communication and a clear transition plan for its clients.
While Carers ACT states it is supporting clients to transition, families report deep distress and a severe lack of viable alternatives. The abrupt closure of the Hub Disability Day Program highlights a failure of both policy and communication.
