MontroseAccess offers therapy, recreation and respite services to over 600 young adults and children having physical disabilities across Queensland. Through their 4 metropolitan offices plus the regional outreach program they are providing holistic and varied services to their clients having varying disability degrees; among the most widespread being juvenile arthritis, neuromuscular conditions, arthrogryposis and acquired brain injury. Clients age from minor toddlers to young adults.
MontroseAccess is a not-for-profit and independent organization devoid of religious or political affiliation. They’re not duplicating services that are offered by other condition specific organizations – but are providing services to those who otherwise would not be able to get them.
The History
In the year 1932, the entire world was in the powerful grasp of a Poliomyelitis epidemic. Survivors of the infection were frequently left with very severe physical disabilities – often needing ongoing care and therapy. The Brisbane Rotary organized a public meeting inside the Brisbane City Hall for discussing the best possible ways of helping to address the needs of kids affected by the severe epidemic. It was from this particular meeting that The Queensland Society for Crippled Children was founded in April of 1933.
In the subsequent months, a philanthropist and businessman, Mr. George Marchant donated his personal home at Taringa, as the first residence. When that premises became insufficient, Mr. Marchant bought as a gift, the present site located at Consort Street, Corinda in 1937. In the year 2001, Montrose altered its name to the current MontroseAccess.
MontroseAccess Principles of Practice
- Family centred
- Community based
- Team approach
The MontroseAccess Mission
To offer support services to all clients having physical disabilities including their families to help these clients to attain their maximum personal potential for full participation in their respective community.
The Vision
Inspiring quality lives.
MontroseAccess Principles
- Family Focus
- Respect and Dignity
- Quality and Innovation
- Equity and Fairness
- Partnerships
Accessing Services
For being practical, MontroseAccess organizes their therapists into teams, mostly composed of a physiotherapist, speech pathologist occupational therapist and a social worker. Although your child might not necessarily get a service from each member of the team they are readily available if required. Each MontroseAccess team is allocated a region where it provides very individualized services to kids living in that region.
Outreach services
MontroseAccess runs 3 outreach teams:
- The Wide Bay Burnett
- The Central Queensland (also known as Statewide team)
- The Western Queensland and Darling Downs team
Jointly, these three teams offer a statewide expert service to the clients. Generally, outreach teams will tend to possess a greater number of children having severe and more complex needs, frequently with various neuromuscular conditions.
This service is an essentially consultative one with MontroseAccess at any time either supporting the local service providers through providing specialist information about a client's condition and latest management practices. On the other hand, the team might supply the only service to a needy child in places where there no local service providers are available.
On average, all the teams will visit every family in their local community two times a year. This is typically a comprehensive visit that normally is inclusive of a school and a home visit. Extra support is offered between the visits via emails and phone calls to parents, the educational staff and any other relevant persons in the kid’s world. The families also are expected to get in touch with MontroseAccess whenever they are intending to visit to Brisbane so that they could consult with the on-site therapist team.
On-Site Service
The On-Site Service offers a service for those kids:
- Whose parents are living near an office and could bring them into the MontroseAccess facility to receive the services
- Having mild disabilities that might need only short term interventions
- Those are on the waiting list so as to enter into a team based kind of service.
The MontroseAccess on Site model is extremely successful in increasing the capacity of supporting clients as well as their families in all Queensland.
The Leisure and Lifestyle Program
This Program aims to empower young adults, between ages 18 and 30 having physical disabilities to recognize and attain their leisure and lifestyle goals as they’re establishing their adult roles within their community.
The program could aid clients in a number of areas:
- To learn new skills for their independent livelihood
- To develop friendships and develop social networks
- To access the bigger community for recreation, education and work
- Strengthening their community connections
Where appropriate, social group activities plus holidays are also provided in assisting to reach the objectives of individuals.
Early Childhood Program
The Early Childhood Program offers an early and receptive service supporting and empowering families of young kids that have got any physical disability. It is for Queensland families having a child between the ages of 0 to 8, and it purposes to:
- Labor jointly with the family towards supporting a child's development
- Offer tailored group and individual intervention within the everyday settings of the child
- Assist families in developing networks and connections within their community
- Providing support and information to family members as well as the other significant people in the life of a child
- Adapting therapy ideas to go with individual conditions, so they could get included in daily ordinary life activities.
Getting Involved
There are several ways of getting involved with MontroseAccess including:
- Volunteering
- Donating
- Sponsoring
Community Support
MontroseAccess is dependent on independent fundraising sources and government grants in order to bring services to about 600 clients per year. They continue providing services even though they are not sufficiently funded. As a matter of fact, they need to supplement the funding by the government by almost $3,200 for every client per year!
Providentially, quite a bit of the necessary supplementary funding is kindly donated through benefactors, bequests, individual giving and appeals for fundraising, though additional funds are always required.
Become an Everyday Hero
MontroseAccess has combined joined forces with the Everyday Hero initiative to let you to generate your own individual fundraising page. This unique online fundraising site permits you to lay down your own special challenge and then get sponsorship from your family, friends, or colleagues at your workplace, with all the proceeds getting donated to MontroseAccess cause.
Workplace or school involvement
Suggested ideas for such challenges would include:
- To enter a sporting event
- Giving up something for a month, e.g. Play Station, alcohol or caffeine
- Developing your own challenge
Becoming a Member
To become a member enables you to attend MontroseAccess General Meetings, and also vote on the recommendations. This is also another way of contributing through membership fees.
