What a year it’s been! COVID-19 forced us to rethink the way we work and has led to a greater focus on using technology to engage and build the capacity of people with disability and other stakeholders. All our training and information sessions are now delivered online.
The Housing Hub is running a new series of workshops about NDIS housing options for people disability.
In 2020, Summer Housing, a sister organisation of the Summer Foundation, supported 56 young people with disability to move into their own specialist disability accommodation (SDA). One of those people was Helen, a 63-year-old woman who had previously been living in residential aged care for over 7 years. Helen was also a panellist at our 2019 Annual Public Forum.
Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is well placed to meet a rising demand for impact investment products in Australia, as is outlined in our newly released SDA Explainer for Investors.
The Housing Hub team has launched an SDA Housing Advice Line.
The Summer Foundation is delivering a national education project for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) providers.
The Summer Foundation is supporting a campaign for mandatory accessibility standards in the National Building Code to ensure all Australians have access to appropriate housing.
The Summer Foundation welcomed 2 new Board members in November, as part of an active Board renewal process designed to strengthen the diversity, strategic capacity and breadth of expertise.
Our 2020 Annual Public Forum was delivered online due to ongoing COVID-19 related restrictions.
This format enabled much wider participation than in the past, with about 300 people tuning in to celebrate Finding our way home: Navigating the journey to SDA.
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.
