Highland families say they feel ‘overlooked, ignored and robbed’ by the council following a four-year battle to restore lifeline respite services.
Thor House in Thurso, a children’s disability respite centre, closed its doors during the Covid pandemic.
Despite numerous calls from furious campaigners for it to be reinstated, Thor House has lain dormant.
The facility on Provost Cormack Drive is the only one of its kind north of Inverness, providing support to families with children and young people living with complex needs.
In September last year, Highland Council officials announced plans to reinstate the property into a short break house for children with disabilities.
It’s expected to open in the coming months.
Now, campaigners from Caithness and Sutherland Respite Campaign say they are ‘sceptical’ over whether the facility will open at all as families struggle to cope.
‘It’s a disgrace’
Elizabeth Jones from Thurso, chairwoman of the local campaign group, says families have been “robbed” of a quality of life.
Speaking to the Press and Journal, she said the lack of resources has had a ‘terrible’ effect on families.
“That’s been four years now, and none of us can get those four years back,” she said.
“I feel that they’ve robbed us of some quality of life.
“I would say that they are responsible ultimately for failing, categorically failing to provide a service.
“The service always used to be there and I know people that used it and couldn’t sing its praises highly enough. It was such a help and a lifeline.
“What services are they providing for us now?
“They’ve let down the most vulnerable in society, not just the children, but their families.”
Families torn apart due to lack of support from Thor House
Elizabeth is no stranger to the struggle facing families across the North.
Her son Ollie, 8, is autistic while his three-year-old sister Phoebe has begun exhibiting autistic behaviour.
With no resources available, Elizabeth – an unpaid carer to her children- admits there was a time when she struggled to cope, turning to Ollie’s dad for support.
However, she said it had huge ramifications, leading him to give up his job to become an unpaid carer.
Other families, she says, haven’t been as lucky, with some being ripped apart amidst the strain.
She explained: “I have a friend in Wick with children on the spectrum and she couldn’t cope.
“Unfortunately, she went down the wrong route of turning to drugs. She was struggling with them all and they were all taken off her.
“The children were taken away because she didn’t have respite, and no family support, and she was just swamped. She couldn’t keep her head above the water.
“We’re all affected and we’re all overlooked.
“Your own local authority should be looking out for you. They’re the decision-makers in these things.
I feel very, very ignored. I feel like I’m a nuisance to them, that they wish I would go away, but the thing is my son’s and my daughter’s autism is not going away.”
‘It has been very, very hard on families’
Fellow campaigner Leslie Sharp from Rogart, Sutherland is calling for answers concerning why the facility has remained closed for almost five years.
His son started to have access to Thor House around 2015 for overnight respite.
However, like many other families, his options have become limited.
He said: “It has been very, very hard on families and I still can’t get my head around why they didn’t reopen it after Covid restrictions lifted.
“There have been no breaks for carers of parents of children with disabilities, there have been no social clubs for children with disabilities since Covid and the available services are all education-orientated, so there is nothing for the holidays.”
Sceptical of the plans to restore Thor House
The campaigners say they are ‘sceptical’ about the future of Thor House.
However, Highland Council officials have insisted Thor House will reopen by late Spring or early summer.
Elizabeth added: “I would be surprised if they reopened anything. I half think it’s just stalling for time, saying, “Oh yes, we’re going to bring it back. Let us just sort out the new premises and let us do this, let us do that.”
“There are no fixed dates, there’s no timeline and there’s nothing set in stone.
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “We are working towards re-establishing a short break (respite) service in Caithness for children who have a disability.
“Work is progressing well.”
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