Digbeth’s Resources for Autism (RfA), Birmingham, UK – is a charity which supports the needs of children under the age of 19 with autism and their families in Birmingham.
The charity is partially funded by a grant from Birmingham City Council.
However the Birmingham Mail reports that the grant will run out in September and the organisation is therefore worried that the council may cut funding.
Parents have started a campaign and are urging the council to save this service and will lobby MPs next month.
They have also started an online petition.
At present RfA have more than 900 people on the waiting list for their combined support services,
Rennie Mudzi, whose son, 6 uses the service, said:
“This services has highly-trained staff to make sure the needs of the children are met.
She also adds that the charity is very valuable as it provides respite for parents
” It’s a stressful job looking after autistic children and parents can get a break and meet other parents.”
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said:
“The council faces significant funding pressures which means we have to make changes to the services we provide, but we will continue to provide short breaks and support for disabled children with complex needs.”
They add that they are carrying out a robust commissioning process to ensure that they have the organisations best placed to provide for the people most in need, while providing value for money.
“While this process takes place we are looking to extend contracts for a small number of organisations that currently provide these services. Resources for Autism is aware this process is taking place.”
The original article by Jasbir Authi in the Birmingham Mail can be found here