Allan Crawford

Residential support provider

2007 TAS Local Hero

Allan Crawford runs Dudley House in Launceston, a residential boarding house catering almost entirely for severely disabled people with a chronic psychiatric illness. Where others baulk at having such boarders, he does much more that merely provide accommodation. Allan is unfailingly kind to those under his care – he pays close attention to their overall well-being in a most unassuming way, without seeking to make a name for himself. However, his reputation has travelled far. One of his referees, for example, has told how her son found refuge and solace at Dudley House after being discharged from an institution in another state as being capable of being released into the community. He couldn’t cope and was terribly exploited before he found out about Allan’s safe and caring family-style environment. This story is just one of many successes that have never been publicised. Allan Crawford truly is an unsung local hero.