Campaign for adequate housing for Shauna launched online

The family of eight-year-old Shauna Wallace has launched an online campaign in a bid to ensure the young girl gets adequate housing. Last month the Westmeath Independent highlighted Shauna's case as her family made a plea to Athlone Town Council to provide them with a house that is appropriately adapted to meet Shauna's needs. Shauna has a rare chromosome disorder which means she has no mobility. She was born with the features of a condition known as Diploid-triploid mosaicism. While tests have so far proved inconclusive, Shauna's family explained that her doctors have said that Shauna displays all of the features of this condition and believe she will test positive for it at some stage, but due to her cells changing the diagnosis has not yet been confirmed. What it means for Shauna is that she has no mobility, no pelvis, is missing one of her kneecaps and has a prosthetic eye on her left side. She also has some webbing between her fingers and toes and other features of the condition include obesity and developmental delay. Since Shauna's mother Lisa Wallace passed away when she was just two years old, her aunts Louise Quinn and Maureen Lee have cared for Shauna. They have been fighting since for adequate housing for Shauna and last week launched an online campaign in a bid to petition Athlone Town Council to prioritise Shauna's case. On Thursday the family set up a facebook page entitled 'Support Shauna on her right for suitable housing', which very quickly had in excess of 3,000 members. Alongside the facebook page, the family also set up an online petition on the Care2 petition website, aiming to get 1,000 signatures and by Monday they had already got 693 people to sign the petition. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent about the decision to move the campaign online, Maureen Lee explained that she had been ill the weekend before and spent four days in hospital, which got her thinking about what would happen to Shauna if she or Louise were unable to care for her. "It gave me a hell of a fright, I'd hate for nothing to be done for her," she said. Maureen is currently on bed rest for a few weeks, which means she couldn't take Shauna last weekend like she normally would. Louise is Shauna's primary carer and Maureen provides respite at weekends. While at home last Thursday Maureen decided to set up the 'Support Shauna' facebook page and has received an outpouring of support. A woman who now lives in the UK, but grew up near Maureen - Olivia Fennell-Smith - quickly came on board with Maureen and is helping to get support online for Shauna's campaign. Maureen said people have been asking what they can do for her and Shauna and she said she would simply urge them to sign the petition, pointing out that it is going straight to Athlone Town Council. "I don't want to be falling out with anyone," she says of the council. "This is only about trying to get Shauna what she deserves." The family say that while the council has previously offered Shauna a house in St Anne's Terrace, it was unsuitable as it is where her mother passed away and it is also too far away from Louise's family, who offer support in caring for Shauna and live in Sarsfield Square. They explain that what they need is a house adapted for Shauna's needs, with a ramp to allow wheelchair access and also a room big enough to ensure that Shauna's equipment can be used so that she is able to do her physio exercises. At present Louise is lifting Shauna as they are unable to use the hoist in the house they are now living in. They would ideally like a house near to St Mary's NS and Louise's family in Sarsfield Square, explaining that they would like to keep Shauna in mainstream education for as long as possible, but when she is no longer going to St Mary's, she will attend St Hilda's, which is also in the area. Shauna uses a specially moulded wheelchair to ensure that she is sitting in the correct position and her aunts explained that due to Shauna's condition, her life expectancy can be extended if she is kept in the best possible health, which involves exercise and adequate housing conditions for her needs. It is because of this that Shauna's aunts determined to ensure that she gets a house that is suitable for her needs. Maureen explained this week that since the article was published in the Westmeath Independent highligting Shauna's case she has been stopped by people on the street offering their support. "People in this town are great," said Maureen. "We've support and there's the petition. Hopefully they (the council) will listen. I don't know what's going to happen, but we've got to try. What we want is for people to support this and maybe if a house becomes available and it needed renovations that maybe people will help out." And while her family still continues to fight for adequate housing for Shauna, she herself has had a couple of reasons to be cheerful recently, having been guest of honour at the Westmeath Rose contest, thanks to Share a Dream, and getting to meet her idols Jedward while she was at a medical appointment in Dublin. Maureen explained that Shauna was in Dublin to see a specialist when her family realised that Jedward were in Elvery's across the road and asked if they would meet Shauna, which she got to do in style. She was brought into the sports shop where she met the Grimes twins exclusively as they closed the doors of the shop and she was delighted to have her photos taken with them, which can be seen on the 'Support Shauna' facebook page. Fine Gael Cllr Gabrielle McFadden, who has been working on Shauna's behalf, said this week: "The council is trying. It's hard for the council to tick all the boxes for Shauna in terms of proximity to school, to family support, being the right size and adapted for disability. A couple of things came up but they weren't close. Maybe we have to accept that we can't tick all the boxes." Anyone wishing to support the online campaign page can log onto the 'Support Shauna' page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/supportshauna/ or sign the peition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/831/637/684/suitable-housing-for-shauna/