Arriving at Scarecrow Farm feels like entering a warm family home.
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Nelson the white Maremma and Jackson the Jack Russell greet you at the gate, accompanying the car like a royal entourage to the house, which sits looking out across the rolling hills of Karoola.
It’s hard to imagine a more idyllic spot, and easy to see why the place is a ‘sanctuary’ for the children who stay there.
Jamie West and Jacqui Abraham opened a respite home for young people with a disability at the start of the year, giving them the opportunity to experience and develop their skills on a small rural property.
The farm offers short-term accommodation, and has become a home away from home for many of the children they support.
“They're like part of the family and everyone who comes in here, they know where everything is,” Jacqui said.
They cater mainly for young people living with autism and Jamie said they work to develop the life skills of those they support.
“There’s three sides to our business; there’s preparation for employment, then there are people that come here just through the day for more leisure reasons because it’s peaceful, it’s tranquil … and then there's the short term accommodation,” he said.
“We look at all of the things that people can have to offer, their pre existing skills, and look to build on them.”
An integral part of the experience Scarecrow Farm Respite offers is the opportunity to engage with and care for the menagerie of animals that also call the farm home.
The gentle chirping of ducks, gobble of turkeys and clucking of hens is the soundscape of the farm.
Sheep are dotted across green paddocks and Millie the donkey recently delivered a new arrival, her baby Charlotte.
I’m glad our animals aren't on the payroll because they should be, because they are absolutely instrumental to the success of what it is that we do.
- Jamie West
“I’m glad our animals aren't on the payroll because they should be, because they are absolutely instrumental to the success of what it is that we do,” Jamie said.
“Living with autism for some can also impact on their overall mental health, so for them to come here and certainly not feel judged by the animals and obviously by us, it's on one hand a safe place for people to come, but on the other it’s one where people are being prepared to take on some of the challenges of life outside of this sanctuary.”
Jacqui adds, “I didn’t have any idea that [the animals] were going to be so important.
“If we go for a walk the turkeys come with us and the sheep and the dogs and there’s a cat, Lola, around here somewhere as well … mostly they love the sheep and the donkey and the dogs.
“The other day one of the girls was telling the turkeys a joke, and they just laughed at exactly the right time.”
Jamie has worked in the disability sector for 25 years, and the couple are excited to be able to offer a homestay experience as an alternative to institutional care.
Jamie has a personal reason for working in disability services; his uncle lives has a disability, which opened his eyes to what people living with a disability have to offer.
“My uncle has an intellectual disability and grew up on a farm, and until recently lived with my grandparents on the farm, and he has the most amazing talent in wood craft and art,” he said.
“That informed me from a very young age that people with disabilities can still remain some of the most talented people that you’ll ever meet.”
The homestay began small, but the need for it was immediately apparent.
There’s room for another 10 of us.
- Jacqui Abraham
“There’s room for another 10 of us,” Jacqui said.
Within a month of receiving their National Disability Insurance Scheme registration they were 75 per cent booked and by easter just a few months later they were almost fully booked for the entire year.
“We still welcome enquiries and we still encourage people to come and visit us to see what we have on offer, however we are very close to capacity,” Jamie said.
“What I’d also like to say is we would be keen to see other services evolve similarly to how we have.”
The couple are happy to speak to anyone who is interested in opening a similar homestay to help by sharing their experience.
Sitting around the wooden kitchen table, there are glass bowls of native mountain pepper berries sitting at the far end, picked by some of the children.
Jamie said they are exploring developing some enterprises the young people can establish with their support.
“We’re getting closer to having some firm ideas about enterprise ... so picking mountain pepper berries and hopefully on-selling them to restaurants and things like that has potential to connect people we support with enterprise or employment opportunities,” he said.
The young people also make jams, preserves and process honey from the Scarecrow Farm beehives.
Jamie and Jacqui have also seen friendships blossom between people who stay at the farm.
“They actually find, ‘Oh well okay I'm not the only one that this happens to, im not the only one who feels like this’,” Jacqui said.
“They’re making great friendships and they're finding people in common, a mum I was talking to said it’s just so good for her daughter, she's actually feeling good about herself because ... people want to be here with her and she has none of that in the rest of her life.”
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