Noel Hamilton House saved from closure

THANKS: Aaron Mitchelmore (left) and mother Sonja Crawford, in the Times-Age office.

The threat to close Noel Hamilton House has been shelved after a public outcry forced NZCare Disability to drop the idea of shutting its doors.

Staff were told at a meeting on Monday that the facility would remain open.

Masterton's Sonja Crawford is "rapt" for her son, Aaron Mitchelmore, 17, who will soon become a permanent resident of the home.

Mrs Crawford said if the facility had closed then a retirement home would have been the only live-in alternative for Aaron, who has a rare neurodevelopmental disorder.

NZCare Disability had been looking at closing Noel Hamilton House after a dip in referrals threatened its viability.

Since pushing her public plea on the front page of the Times-Age last week, "lots of people have come out of the woodwork" in support of the facility.

"It has united everybody."

Mrs Crawford said the house already signed up two new residents, her son being one, and has had interest shown from potential respite users.

She said the "biggest kick" for her was knowing the three existing permanent residents did not now need to "pack up and leave".

"They don't have to have an emotional strain on top of their physical challenges."

The future of Noel Hamilton House would be reviewed again in a year, so efforts would need to be taken to make sure the house got more exposure.

"It gives us time to make sure we are never in this position again."

Joanne Jones, whose husband was a long-term resident at Noel Hamilton House, was "delighted it is staying open".

She said her husband, Owen, who died last year, had received "top-notch" care and she was pleased the facility could continue to support other families in need.

"I feel like screaming it from the roof tops," she said after learning the closure plans had been dropped.

"After a public outcry and a review, they have decided to keep it going, and put more focus on that the place exists."

Paul Baker, formerly of Wairarapa but now living in Rotorua, was complimentary of Noel Hamilton House where two of his brothers, both having had Huntington's Disease, lived in the 1990s.

Mr Baker said his brother, Wayne, was a resident at the house in Greytown for "well over five years" and the staff did a "wonderful job".

"There was concern for the patients and obviously the staff were more than experienced."