Launch of the Brittany and James Fund

Brittany, age 9, and James, 5 yrs, are two young children with Muscular Dystrophy. Their mother, Louise, has been fighting a desperate battle to keep the bank from repossessing their home.

The launch of the fund will be held at 11.00 am on Friday 6 May at the family home at 12 Kirabati Rd Midway Point.

Louse is represented by Tasmanian Barrister Paul Mason who states

” I have no hesitation in acting for Louise on a pro-bono basis, because there is just not enough help in the system for her. This is a David and Goliath battle for this young mother. The fund is being established with an intitial target aiming to pay off the outstanding mortgage and keep Louise in the house which was specially designed and built for her children. At this stage the most critical thing we need to do is to hit our first target of $38, 000 to save the family home. Without that we will have another family with disabled kids forced into poverty and out on the streets.”

Roger Law, Secretary of Action for Tasmanian Autistic Children [ATAC], said that his organisation had united with the smaller Muscular Dystrophy Association with ATAC providing legal support and MDA working to help the children.

Mr Law stated that his organisation believes that Tasmanians will take this courageous young woman to heart. The sacrifices she makes for her children are unbelievable, even to sleeping on the floor while her children share the bed when she had been forced to live in temporary accommodation in an attempt to save the family home. He asks people to imagine how difficult it would be to live every day not knowing how long your children will live. In addition, the constant lifting of the children, one of whom cannot walk and the other who can only walk for very short distances, has taken a serious toll on her health.

John Salmon, Secretary of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, said that in the long term, there will be a need for a lot of help for this family, and my organisation will be fighting hard for the long term medical care of the children. “We are grateful for the help of those who have joined with us to get this family through their present crisis.”

THE BRITTANY AND JAMES FUND WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY THE TASMANIAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION.

The need to save the house has meant that many details of the fund are yet to be finalised. For more information on the fund, and how to donate to it, contact Madeline Ogilvie, Barrister and Solicitor, on Ph 0409 001 800