Facilities
Open Door is a day centre for adults with physical disabilities. We provide facilities and activities on a daily basis, Monday to Friday, and can cater for up to 30 members per day. Members attending Open Door take part in various activities such as Art, Woodwork, Ceramics, Computers and Music. They benefit from the social interaction with people facing similar life challenges which may have resulted from Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida or from some type of accident.
Transport
Open Door has three specially adapted buses which collect members each morning and drop them back home at the end of the day. The buses are also used to take members on outings on a regular basis.
A Typical Day
A typical day for someone attending the Centre involves starting off in the main day room with a cup of tea or coffee and perhaps biscuits or toast, a chat with fellow members and staff and for many of our members a read of the paper and often doing the crossword. The members then move on to their first chosen activity of the day.
By 10.30am the rooms in our purpose built Centre have become a hive of activity.
Activities
Art/Ceramics
The art room is used for painting 2 days a week and for pottery and ceramics on the other days. It is a good sized room equipped with a kiln for ceramics and pottery.
Everything is wheelchair accessible and the quality of the artwork produced is fantastic.
Woodwork
The woodwork room is also extremely popular. This room is well laid out and it is amazing to see the many different projects that are being undertaken.
There are bird tables, coffee tables, dolls houses, see-saws, wheelbarrows for floral displays, ride on toys and many other practical and artistic pieces. It is quite obvious that the members take great pride in their achievements and we at Open Door believe it is also very therapeutic.
Computers
We have a bank of computers and it is great to see our members using this technology. Computers offer another means of communication for our members and are both feasible and accessible to people with physical disabilities.
Open Door is very fortunate to have a number of volunteers who give assistance with the computers.
Music
Music is another very popular activity. There are group sessions whereby the members create music with various instruments and then there are also individual guitar lessons several times a week.
We also have the Sonas programme which is a therapeutic group session and runs several times a week.
Gardening
Gardening is a new addition to the range of activities available in the Open Door Day Centre. A group of enthusiastic members have been busy planting, growing and cultivating plants for both indoor and outdoor use. Come and visit the Centre to see the vast array of plants that have enhanced the building.
Members derive a great sense of achievement from growing their own plants and find this activity to be therapeutic.
Physiotherapy
Members benefit from regular physiotherapy sessions on a one to one basis. Excercises are specifically tailored to suit the individual and are vital for the physical well being of members.
Meals
Members have lunch, provided by the Health Service Executive, in the middle of the day before moving on to their next chosen activity. The staff are on hand during the day to provide tea/coffee and light snacks to members.
Wheelchair Lending Service
Open Door Day Centre operates a wheelchair lending programme primarily to help persons who need a wheelchair but cannot afford to buy one, and secondarily for those who deem it impractical to buy one for short term use. It is not a business for profit. The fee collected is intended for maintenance of the wheelchair and for the sustenance of the programme.
This is an overview of how Open Door operates – The aim is two-fold, Open Door has a positive impact on the lives of its members but just as importantly it also offers support and respite to carers and their families.
To find out about other disability services visit www.disabilitybray.ie
