People with special needs have a need for and a right to a recreational facilities and a social life, writes Will Sullivan
People with special needs in Ireland have long been a silent minority. But for more than 30 years, Arch, a voluntary organisation that provides recreational and social activities for people with special needs, has helped give them a voice.
That voice is becoming louder. In response to the growing need to increase awareness of the special needs population in Ireland, the network of Arch clubs around the State has moved beyond traditional grassroots tactics to create the position of National Development Officer and to launch a promotional video in a bid to further the group's goals.
Arch currently has 2,500 members and more than 750 volunteers and together they offer junior and senior clubs the opportunity to meet on a weekly basis to participate in weekend outings, sporting events and classes on arts, crafts as well as independent livings skills.
"Arch is basically about social inclusion as opposed to exclusion," says Nora Roban, Chairwoman for the National Federation of Arch, because, "people with special needs are entitled to a social life."
Despite the opportunities provided by Arch, Roban says people with special needs in Ireland continue to suffer from a lack of awareness regarding their plight.
"We knew we needed a more professional approach," says the newly-appointed National Development Officer, Maurice O'Connor.
Stimulating a normal social life has been a driving force of the organisation, but facilitating these goals has been difficult due to a lack of volunteers, a problem O'Connor's new position and the promotional video will try to abate.
The focus of the video is to spread the message that people with special needs have not only a need for but also a right to leisure facilities, recreational outlets and a social life.
"Ultimately we are trying to give people an opportunity to integrate and not to be marginalized," O'Connor says, adding that in the past this has been prevented by the lack of resources.
The video will target a wide variety of outlets, including women's groups, secondary school students in their transition year, and members of the general public who may be interested in funding opportunities.
"People can't help," Roban says, "if they don't know about people with special needs."
The experience of volunteers has been very positive, according to Arch, with people tending to focus their attention on the extraordinary abilities of people with special needs rather than the disability with which they are identified.
"We find our volunteers end up getting far more out of the club than they put in," O'Connor says
In the two weeks since the video's launch, Arch has already noticed a positive response to it with a group in Cork preparing to set up an information session drawing on the video in January.
O'Connor, who is also the father of a special needs girl, says the creation of the dedicated national development officer position is another huge step for Arch. Beyond creating awareness, Arch groups throughout Ireland have struggled to access information and advice on outlets for people with special needs and that is where he can now play an important role. He will also help members of the public set up Arch groups and provide the necessary support for them to keep going.
"We have a responsibility to take our message of good news and hope to special needs families," O'Connor says.
"We wanted to develop a tool and a position that would help to do that."