It's fitting a new respite centre in Canberra bears the name of Emma Ruby Stuart, even if she doesnt' fall into the age bracket of young people who will use a facility in Cook after it was opened on Monday.
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The daughter of Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart is the inspiration behind his passion to help families and children with autism and other disabilities and her name is now on the wall of the "Emma Ruby House".
It took the Ricky Stuart Foundation board a matter of seconds to tick off on the name for the house, which is now open to help families with young people with autism mostly aged from 12-18.
Emma falls just outside that age group. But before the tradesmen could finish putting up the sign to the house, foundation chairman John Mackay declared: "We're just getting warmed up".
The foundation hopes to start working on plans in the coming weeks to build a third centre in Canberra, which is likely to be available for adults with autism and to give them a home away from home.
"When Ricky suggested the name, that was it. We called it the Emma Ruby House from that minute onwards," Mackay said.
"Emma is an adult now. The Emma Ruby House is mostly for kids from 12 to 18 years old. We've [the foundation] built two houses now and it's with a great deal of irony Emma's not eligible for either.
"But that doesn't stop Ricky. He knows how many families will be helped by this and how much it really is needed in our community."
Stuart was surrounded by tradesmen and business people from 50 different companies who donated time and services to the project when he opened the doors for the first time.
It was a special moment for the Raiders mentor and three-time premiership-winning halfback.
"These houses will make a difference," Stuart said.
"Emma has always been outside the age groups to use the house, the first one or the one we've opened now.
"She's the inspiration behind it all and I thought it would be a nice touch to have her name there. It's a great thing.
"Our board really wants to make a difference to Canberra. The people who were at the launch [on Monday], those people are what Canberra is all about in regards to giving.
"Those are the type of people who give up their time or their services ... it's why Canberra's a great place to live in."
The Ricky Stuart House in Chifley was opened two years ago for children aged six to 12 years old.
The Emma Ruby House has six bedrooms, modified bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining area, breakout rooms and a laundry as well as outdoor play areas.
The ACT government contributed $1.367 million and the land to the project and the Ricky Stuart Foundation spent $400,000 to get it over the line. The building will be operated by the Disability Trust.
"It's so nice to see that it is helping families. A lot of these children can't tell you what it's doing for them, but we can feel it through their parents," Stuart said.
