Riverlink Disability Services

In 1987 Riverlink was born out of the needs of a group of parents of children with disabilities. In the beginning, these parents from Sydney’s Lower North Shore formed a support group and identified their needs for respite care and some meaningful and fun activities for their children. In the absence of service to meet these needs, they decided to apply to the NSW State Government for funding to create the service that they wanted. These families all lived in the suburbs bordered by the Lane Cove River and the Parramatta rivers. The rivers linked the community and so the group called their new service Riverlink. Interest and membership in this newly formed service venture grew. To formalise this, Riverlink became an incorporated association in 1988. Now the river link is metaphorical, and Riverlink services a much larger area which reaches from its origins on the Lower North Shore to the Cumberland Prospect area in the west of Sydney and the Hills District. With this growth in the reach of the service, Riverlink’s membership has also grown. Riverlink has a board of management who volunteer their time and expertise. They have responsibility for the governance oversight of the organisation as the Management Committee. The committee is made up of carers, business people and community services professionals. A key role of the Management Committee is to guide Riverlink’s strategic direction. Riverlink is dedicated to making a real difference in the lives of Participants, Carers and their families through our evolving services and activities. We continue to build a strong, viable organisation that reflects Participant needs, Carer’s perspective and increases the scope and reach of our activities and enhances the independence of Participants. Riverlink is constantly building on our knowledge base, listening to the feedback from Participants and Carers and identifying gaps in the community to improve and extend the support we offer.