Boost for disabled (From Penarth Times)

Boost for disabled

DISABLED people in Penarth are set to benefit from a new technology centre, which opened this week.

The Sully Karten CTEC Centre, based on Hayes Road, Sully, was officially launched by Welsh rugby hero Neil Jenkins and Vale of Glamorgan Council chairman Cllr Maurice Nugent last Thursday.

Up to 66 disabled people from the area, approximately half from the Vale and the rest from Cardiff, are likely to benefit from the centre, which is being run by Scope, the national charity for people with Cerebral Palsy.

The new place has been developed as an additional resource to the existing Scope-run Skills Development Centre.

And it's all thanks to the Ian Karten Charitable Trust, which donated £67,000 to Scope specifically for the centre.

In 1996 the Trust decided to devote a substantial part of its resources to establish centres around the UK for disabled people, and by the end of the year they will have exceeded their target, with a network of 30 computer-aided vocational training, education and communication centres (CTEC) established.

As a result, Sully's own world of technology now has 17 new high performance computers with touch screens, laser pointed keyboards and voice recognition software, which will enable people with speech difficulties to communicate.

And the centre now has the resources to provide up to 80 individual training sessions per week.

Mary Harris, manager of the centre, said: "Mr Karten has given us this money so people with disabilities, communication difficulties or special needs can have access to technology.

"We will also open the centre up to other people - 25 percent of users can be people without disabilities, helping to raise disability awareness and raise perceptions."

She added: "We will be running courses, ranging from those for people who have never operated a computer, to courses up to NVQ level and beyond. All courses will have national accreditation in a nice, supportive atmosphere."

Opening the centre, Cllr Nugent, said: "I went to college when I was 40 as a mature student, and I realised I had quite an ability after all. I was lucky - I could go and do that without great effort, but if I was physically disabled I wouldn't have been able to do this. This centre creates the opportunities."

Ian Karten said: "I feel I don't really need any thanks because nothing could be more rewarding than what I'm doing. I'm delighted to be able to do this."

The Sully Karten CTEC Centre is one of five in Wales, two of which are run by Scope including Sully. The other is in Cwmbran.

For information visit www.scope.org.uk or phone the centre on 01446 733418.