history

PRA is one of the longest established disability service organisations in New South Wales. It commenced in 1955 at Sydney's Callan Park Hospital. At that time, some relatives and friends of patients in the hospital were concerned at the poor standard of care, and that nothing was being done to prepare people for their return to living in the community.

Out of that concern arose an organisation with the aim of providing social activity for patients in the hospital, and rehabilitation services that would support independent living in the community.

All of this action was unfunded, and largely unacknowledged, by the Government of the day. PRA's programs were run by a large and dedicated team of volunteers, and its finances existed only as a result of fund raising from the wider community. It was 1959 before PRA received its first subsidy from Government and employed its first salaried staff member. By then, two workshops were running, and numerous social clubs established around Sydney.

In the subsequent years the organisation grew as its own financial resources and additional Government grants allowed. Two major mental health milestones of significance to PRA were the Richmond Report (1983) and the COAG National Mental Health Plan (2006).

The Richmond Report was the first major commitment by a New South Wales Government to deinstitutionalise patients in large public psychiatric hospitals. While it actually formalised a process which was already underway, the Report's recommendations presented a blueprint for providing supports for people to recover from their illness in the most appropriate place, which usually is their local community. Some Government funding, though insufficient, was forthcoming, and PRA capitalised on this by opening a number of new services that, with our existing services, including "Buckingham House", would provide the basic shape of the organisation's services for the next two and a half decades.

Chronic underfunding of mental health services, particularly those that could have been provided in the community by PRA and other ngo's, led to a crisis in the sector that could not escape public attention. The situation was so dire that Commonwealth and State Governments finally accepted the need for prioritising mental health when they adopted a multi billion dollar funding plan in 2006. PRA is one of the community based ngo services which has taken on the task of establishing new services in New South Wales to meet the urgent need for more and better services. This new funding has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number and types of services PRA now provides.

If you would like to read more of the history of PRA, contact us for a copy of our 50th Anniversary publication "PRA The Story"