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Source: Probono Australia | Author: Di Winkler and Peter Mulherin
Only a mandatory approach to accessibility standards will future-proof Australia’s housing for coming generations, and cater to the demands of an ageing population, write Dr Di Winkler and Dr Peter Mulherin outlining the Building Better Homes Campaign.
The Summer Foundation and La Trobe University are conducting national surveys of people with a mobility impairment and occupational therapists (OTs) about housing accessibility features.
We are aiming to get input from:
The studies involve a brief online survey to understand the importance of accessibility features in new Australia housing.
If you are a person with a mobility impairment or an OT and would like to participate, please follow the links below for more information and to access the survey.
By completing the survey and sharing your lived or professional expertise, you will help ensure that future Australian homes better meet the needs of all people. The surveys will be open from 8 February to 19 February.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Phone: 03 9894 7006 or email: research@summerfoundation.org.au
Source: ProBono | Author: Dr Di Winkler and Alecia Rathbone
People with high or complex disability support needs have traditionally had extremely limited options when it comes to finding somewhere to live. The growing specialist disability accommodation market is beginning to change that, write Dr Di Winkler and Alecia Rathbone.
Source: The Guardian | Author: Caro Llewellyn
My childhood was spent navigating my father’s disability. Then I was told I was facing the possibility of life in a wheelchair myself. The thing about disability is it usually doesn’t only affect the person living it. It changes the lives of children, parents, friends and partners.
Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is well placed to meet a rising demand for impact investment products in Australia, according to the Summer Foundation’s newly released SDA Explainer for Investors.
In recent years, impact investing – investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and/or environmental impact alongside a financial return – has started to attract the attention of investment banks, super funds and private sector investors.
Summer Foundation CEO, Dr Di Winkler, said there has been a significant progression from impact investment being primarily for philanthropists with an interest in a particular area or sector, to it being seen as a viable option for mainstream investment banks, super funds and private sector investors.
“One of the limiting factors for the growth of impact investment in Australia is the lack of products that have the capacity for investment at scale – the SDA market is well positioned to leverage this private capital,” Dr Winkler said.
“SDA is still somewhat of an unknown quantity for some investors.”
“The SDA Explainer provides a succinct analysis of the SDA demand and supply outlook and investment principles to support investors considering SDA investment opportunities.
“These principles relate to the properties, the quality of the new dwellings, the tenant selection process, disability support and ensuring that the investment is set up for a long term positive social impact.”
What impact investors need to know about SDA
Dr Winkler said that SDA, as an emerging market, has enormous potential to provide both long-term stable returns to investors, while also meeting the housing needs of people with disability.
The Summer Foundation SDA Explainer for Investors has been published on the Summer Foundation website.
Source: Pro Bono | Author: Dr Di Winker & Dr Peter Mulherin
Dr Di Winkler and Dr Peter Mulherin explain the Specialist Disability Accommodation market and why disability housing is well placed to leverage the private capital available through impact investment.
The Summer Foundation is pleased to welcome 2 new Board members, as part of an active Board renewal process designed to strengthen the diversity, strategic capacity and breadth of expertise on the Summer Foundation Board of Directors.
Source: Australian Ageing Agenda | Author: Amelia Condi
There’s support for aged care providers as they transition to NDIS and start providing more choice and control for people with disability, writes Amelia Condi.
[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/contributors/a-new-era-begins-for-younger-people-in-aged-care/”][/button]The Summer Foundation 2020 Annual Public Forum was held as an online event on Thursday, 12 November, with around 300 attendees joining us via Zoom. Watch the highlights video here.
Led by Host, Beverley O’Connor (ABC News 24), our panel of policy makers, sector experts and people with lived experience of disability and contributors were able to share and discuss the positive life-changing impacts of SDA as well as some of the barriers and challenges being faced by many along the journey to SDA. We also explored what is being done to make SDA a possibility for many more people with disability.
Thank you to all who submitted questions during the forum. Some of these questions were able to be addressed directly by our panellists during the Q & A session. All have now been answered and are available for review below:
This information was correct at the time of the event recording, but is subject to change. For information about the NDIS, please visit the website www.ndis.gov.au for the most up to date information.
DOWNLOAD ANNUAL PUBLIC FORUM TRANSCRIPT
Recommendations presented today by the Aged Care Royal Commission’s Senior Counsel Assisting, Peter Rozen QC, relating to younger people in aged care, have been warmly welcomed by Youngcare, the Summer Foundation and Young People In Nursing Homes National Alliance.
Source: Probono Australia | Author: Di Winkler
Dr Di Winkler AM, CEO and founder of the Summer Foundation, takes a look at the new Younger People in Residential Aged Care Strategy and reflects on what success will look like.
[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2020/10/ypirac-is-a-wicked-problem-that-can-only-be-solved-by-working-across-sectors/”][/button]About SDA Information Sessions are being delivered online around Queensland and Western Australia to assist housing providers gain a better understanding of housing options available to NDIS participants including Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).
Without effective support coordination it can be difficult for people with high and complex needs to avoid or exit aged care, the Summer Foundation said in its response to the NDIA’s Support Coordination Discussion Paper.
We welcomed the review as an important opportunity to address significant problems people with high and complex needs experience in accessing adequate and timely support coordination.
It’s a particularly exciting time for me as the Summer Foundation starts the next stage of our journey to ensure people with disability have access to the support they need to control where they live and who they live with.
Our Board has just signed off on the strategy that we expect will see the Summer Foundation achieve its purpose in 5 years. The main change to the strategy that has driven us in the past is the formal addition of “lived experience” as one of our tools.
The Summer Foundation has welcomed the Federal Government’s new funding and strategy to reduce the number of younger people living in aged care.
The release of the Young People in Residential Aged Care (YPIRAC) Strategy and funding boost is another positive step towards achieving the government’s targets supporting young people to find appropriate housing that suits their needs, said the Summer Foundation’s Head of Government Relations and Policy, Amelia Condi.
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As we navigate what’s happening in the world around us we are faced with new challenges, but also new opportunities. We have been planning a number of initiatives in recent months that we are excited to start rolling out.
You will be seeing more opportunities to get involved, including a pilot project designed to develop tools that will help people find a new home, and also inform the future of our work. We will be inviting people to contribute so stay tuned for updates.
Over the past six weeks, the Summer Foundation has been presenting online Housing Options workshops for people with a disability in Tasmania and their families. I was pleased to be a facilitator at these workshops. Up until now, people with a disability in Tasmania have mainly had the traditional options for housing, such as group homes or having to live with family; but not anymore.
It sounds like a simple thing for most of us — an independent life, living in a house that is set up for our purpose.
But that is not the case for thousands of people living with disabilities. Finding a house fit for their needs is not always so simple.
[button icon=” fa-laptop ” text=” view online ” link=”https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-22/disability-housing-accommodation-ndis-ipswich-queensland/12364150″][/button]
State Trustees Australia Foundation has allocated $25,000 to the Summer Foundation as part of the 2020 Community Inclusion grant round.
Source: SBS News
Sam Petersen is one of many Australians living with disability who has difficulties accessing personal protective equipment, such as face masks. As Australia prepares to lift restrictions, she’s concerned people with disabilities are being left behind.
[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://www.sbs.com.au/news/this-woman-is-concerned-people-living-with-disabilities-will-be-left-behind-after-covid-19″][/button]
The Summer Foundation has joined forces with 2 of Australia’s largest providers of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – RSEA Safety and Blackwoods – to launch 2 online stores offering PPE for people with disability.
The online stores will supply reasonably priced gloves, gowns, surgical masks, face shields, hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes, and will be accessible to NDIS participants from today.
Days after a disability worker in Victoria died after contracting COVID-19, advocates are calling for urgent action to ensure the safety of Australians living with a disability who are particularly vulnerable to the disease, and their carers.
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The pipeline of new homes developed with National Disability Insurance Scheme funding has jumped by 50 per cent over the past 12 months, the latest report by the Summer Foundation and Social Ventures Australia into the sector shows.
[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/private-sector-flocks-to-specialist-disability-accommodation-20200326-p54e1i”][/button]
Close to 3,000 Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) places have been built or are now in the pipeline, according to a new report from Social Ventures Australia (SVA) and the Summer Foundation.
Tom Butler is the provider of his own Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). He moved into his SDA unit in Tasmania in 2019. We asked him about the journey to becoming his own SDA provider.
