Aging parent carer Jack Barry

Jack Barry is 88 years old and has five children, but dedicates a lot of time to his son Tony, who is 52 and has an intellectual disability.

Tony has been accessing Endeavour Foundation services since 1975. Currently he attends Endeavour’s non-vocational Rosedale Street Day Centre four days per week, and receives Endeavour In-Home Support services seven hours per week.

“It has been difficult. Yes, I’ve had to
make sacrifices,” said Jack.

Furthermore, Jack realises that as he is
getting on in years he won’t always be
able to personally support Tony in the
future, so he has spent a lot of time
ensuring Tony will continue to be well
looked after.

“Although Tony is fortunate in receiving
Endeavour In-Home Support services, this
will not be adequate when I’m no longer
around,” said Jack.

“But I know that Tony is lucky – he has a
supportive family, a financial plan, and
receives support from the Endeavour
Foundation.”

“But I know many other parent carers
who are asking, what is going to happen
to their son or daughter when they die?”

Unlike previous generations when people
with lifelong disability were unlikely to
outlive their parents and often lived in
institutions, the majority of people with
a disability now receive their care from a
parent or loved one.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that there are an estimated 6,400 parent carers aged over 65 years caring for a son or daughter with a disability, and there are an another 44,000 parent primary carers aged 45-64.

“Governments have never dealt with anything like this before.” said Jack. “There is a drastic lack of accommodation options for people with a disability right now, which is going to reach crisis point when the current generation of carers are no longer able to care.”