News

We are very excited to share the news that the Summer Foundation’s Hunter Housing Project (Belle Apartments) has won the 2017 NSW Disability Inclusion Award in the residential development category.

The award, presented by the Association of Consultants for Access in Australia (ACAA) in partnership with the NSW Department of Family and Community Services (FACS), aims to recognise achievements in enabling people with disabilities to fully participate in community life through the creation of an accessible built environment.

The award has been presented for outstanding contribution in the field of Disability Access and Inclusion for the Hunter Housing Project.

The Hunter Housing Project comprises 10 apartments designed for people with disability, peppered throughout a 110 unit private development. The apartments have been designed to achieve Platinum level certification under Livable Housing Australia Design Guidelines and feature fully accessible bedrooms and bathrooms, open plan living including accessible balconies, and customisable kitchen and bathrooms.

The accessibility, adaptability and universal design elements of the apartments dramatically increase a person’s independence and quality of life. Centrally located, these apartments allow people with disability to actively participate in their community and to build and maintain relationships with family and friends.

This award recognises the many people who have worked diligently and passionately on this project. We would particularly like to thank and congratulate Summer Foundation employees Justin, Sophie, Tom, Natalie and Sarah, as well as Astrid Reynolds on this wonderful achievement. Thanks also go to our partners: Tony Parker from Connectability, Scott Shafren and Cash Robinson from Basebuild, Nathan Gill from Automation Innovation, David West from Nadin West Joinery and the MSM Architects. And finally, a big thank-you to Aja Goddard from BCA Access Solutions, who nominated the Belle Apartments for this award as the project’s Access Consultant.

If you have a disability, inappropriate housing can make life difficult. It can stop you participating in work or study; it can stop you participating in your community. For people who aren’t happy with where they live, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) may be an opportunity to explore better housing options.

For many people, the NDIS is a whole new world, with lots of new words, new rules and new ways of doing things. So the Summer Foundation is creating resources to help.

The shortage of appropriate housing for people with high and complex disabilities is a huge problem.

The Summer Foundation is holding a series of workshops with people from around Australia who are likely to be eligible for NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation payments, to gather information on what new housing for people with disability could look like. This information will be used to influence governments, developers, housing providers and investors, to make sure that future accessible housing meets the needs of the people who will use it.

Young people with disability living in nursing homes are one of the most marginalised and isolated groups of people in our society. More than half of them (53%) receive a visit from a friend less than once a year. They generally lead impoverished lives, characterised by loneliness and boredom.

These problems affect more than 6,200 people under the age of 65 who are stuck in nursing homes. Another 200 people under 50 are admitted to nursing homes each year, where they live with people in their 80’s.