Coach Rick Beeby and Riding for the Disabled Officer president Mark McIntosh with Gerry on the flood-damaged arena which is still unusable after it was washed away in February. 69213
By Lilly O’Gorman
BURGLARIES, ageing facilities, a flood-damaged premises and a volunteer shortage have made it a tough six months for the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) in Officer.
And it’s set to get tougher, with the organisation, which provides physical therapy to disabled children, being told to ship out of its South Officer Road location in 12 months’ time.
Despite lacking the facilities, demand for the vital organisation is ever-increasing.
Now that the flood waters have subsided, volunteers for the Officer RDA are wondering how much longer they can stay afloat.
Not-for-profit RDA still can’t return to its premises in Officer, which was extensively damaged in the February floods.
Floodwaters washed away the riding arenas, inundated the carers’ residence, left the roads and paddocks unusable and ruined 900 bales of hay.
Officer RDA President Mark McIntosh said about $30,000 worth of damage was caused to the property, forcing the organisation to relocate to Tooradin, where it is still based.
“It has just been a nightmare for us,” Mr McIntosh said.
“We did get a flood relief grant, but in the meantime VicUrban gave us our marching orders on Monday, and we’re going to need land in 12 months.
“We were set up beautifully (at Officer), it was devastating. Now we’re looking for a new home and trying to get ourselves up and running again.”
Aside from the damage and impending homelessness, the Officer RDA was recently robbed of its ride-on mower, is using ageing horses and is facing a volunteer shortage.
The organisation is feeling the pressure in the face of a two-year waiting list for its services.
“We had a session we had to cancel recently because there was only a coach and one volunteer, so 20 kids missed out,” Mr McIntosh said.
“We can’t operate unless we are safe. We are currently operating two days a week, but our long-term plan if we can establish a home somewhere is to try and operate five days a week. All this relies on people willing to volunteer.”
Mr McIntosh said anyone could complete a training program and volunteer at the Officer RDA to assist in leading disabled children around an arena on a horse.
Officer RDA is integrated into the programs of special schools throughout the municipality, and was also likely to form an association with the new special school opening in Officer.
RDA operates internationally and has been operating in Victoria for 40 years, with 45 centres state-wide providing the opportunity for children living with a disability to ride.
“For a lot of those children it is the only time they will feel the sensation and movement of walking,” Mr McIntosh said. “Blind people, deaf people, people recovering from injury; people with every disability you can think of all benefit from this therapy. The RDA is benefiting a lot of people in the community.”
For more information about volunteering with Riding for the Disabled, call Mark McIntosh on 0417 561 446.
