A CRY for help from the parents of disabled children in Bury has gone unheard. Social Services' Home from Home scheme, which offers temporary respite care for disabled children and young people, sent out an urgent appeal for suitable couples and individuals to come forward - but they have not received a single response. Loving families are needed to offer anything from short breaks to respite care just for a single evening or weekend for youngsters, to give their parents a break.

Bury mum Sandra Mottershead, whose nine-year-old daughter Jodie has cerebral palsy, described the service as "a massive help."

She said: "When I first heard about it I didn't really want to let her go, but once I met the family and saw the way they were with her, it was fine.

"Now they're like her second family. They love her as much as we do."

"And it's good for Jodie as well, because it gives her a break. She goes out on day trips and outings, she loves it."

Jodie, who also has epilepsy, is partially sighted and needs 24-hour attention.

Sandra, from Toon Crescent in Brandlesholme has three other children as well as Jodie. She said: "She can't go and stay with her grandparents like other kids because she needs specialist care.

"I don't use the service all the time. Just when I need a break, or like when Jodie's sister was born."

Since Sandra and her husband Bill first heard about the Home from Home service, they have been able to take their first holiday for nine years.

"It's great for families like us, but it's really rewarding for the people who volunteer too," said Sandra. "A lot of people are frightened of handicapped children, but Jodie is a very happy child. She never cries, despite all the difficulties she has."

All families and who apply to the scheme are vetted carefully and offered training.

But without new volunteers, the service could be severely effected.

Family placement team manager Isobel Marshall said: "We are baffled by the fact that not a single individual came forward to offer their services. Having no one at all means we are really struggling to cope with the demand."

The team are looking for as many sorts of people to help as possible from different backgrounds.

Said Isobel: "There are no stereotypes. Black, white, single people, couples with or without children, unemployed or working, it doesn't matter.

"Quite simply we need new faces, and without them things are going to get very difficult."

To find out more about foster caring, contact the Family Placement Team at 18/20 St Mary's Place, Bury, BL9 ODZ; or telephone 0161 253 5457/5464

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