Volunteers and Can Do Albany transform Paragon Games into all-abilities accessible gaming environment

Volunteers from community groups and businesses chipped in on Sunday to help with refurbishments to transform Paragon Games into an accessible space for National Disability Insurance Scheme participants and the public.

Operations manager Rebecca Brennan said she was “overwhelmed” by the amount of support.

“It was really humbling, and it was definitely a moment where I felt the most connected to my community,” she said.

Albany Delivery and Removals assisted by moving furniture into the gaming space, and General Fabrications assisted with fitting the design into a tight budget.

The day included assembling pods for the centre and a sausage sizzle run by Albany Youth Support Association chief executive Ian Clarke and Jess Davies.

Ms Brennan said pre-planning and preparedness for the day enabled volunteers to have fun.

“We were able to just enjoy each others’ company and enjoy the fact that we were doing something cool and different,” she said.

“Everybody’s that joined in on this project so far for Paragon has been really committed to supporting the overall goal.

“To be able to get everybody in here and get it started was a really significant moment.”

Video games and tabletop gaming will be on offer at the refurbished gaming centre once it opens, as well as coding and graphic design workshops.

Can Do Albany acquired Paragon Games in June 2024 and intend to transform the space into an all-ability friendly environment.

“We’re trying to create a space that’s friendly for all abilities,” Ms Brennan said.

“Which means that we are trying to create areas that have smaller, more comfortable spaces where people who don’t enjoy being in large crowds or having loud noise can have individual or more personal spaces so that they can feel more comfortable and also be able to relax and feel like they can make new friends in whatever form that looks like.”

Paragon Games will begin slowly re-opening from March 3. It will be available to the general public on the weekend and will operate privately for NDIS participants during the week.