Shire residents urged to support MS Awareness Week
Ballina Shire residents are being urged to get behind MS Awareness Week from June 1–7 to support around 40 people affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the Ballina area.
Chief Executive Officer of MS Australia–ACT/NSW/VIC, Bill Younger, said MS was a disease that mostly affected young people and that the impact on the community was staggering.
“MS is an illness that strikes in the prime of life – the average age of diagnosis is just 30, when most people are starting their families or kicking off their careers. 18,000 Australians have MS,” he said.
“MS costs Australia $2 billion a year and the loss of productivity costs the nation a total of $150 million.”
Mr Younger said MS Australia–ACT/NSW/VIC had recently opened a new regional office in Alstonville to help these people living with the disease in the local area.
The office is staffed by local Community Support Worker Val Gilmore (pictured), who regularly travels to Ballina visiting people with MS to teach them how to take their medication, refer them onto physiotherapists or simply be a shoulder to lean on. The office can be contacted on 6628 0144.
MS Australia is the only patient organisation in Australia for people living with MS. MS Australia helps people living with MS to achieve as full and healthy a lifestyle as possible, raise funds for the provision of services, programs and research, educate the community and advocate to Government on behalf of people living with the disease.
