Under the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022, all new housing will be required to meet minimum accessibility standards.
Big win for accessibility
The Summer Foundation Board renewal program continues and we are delighted to welcome new director Cain Beckett.
The Housing Hub has begun publishing data from housing seekers in a summarised way to inform the market.
General Manager Alecia Rathbone said the Housing Hub is working to make sure the needs and wants of housing seekers are driving the market for accessible housing.
The Summer Foundation’s Welcome Home education package for SDA providers was launched in May.
The free, self-paced learning package contains resources designed to help Board and executive team members and tenancy managers understand their obligations under the SDA Practice Standards and explore a rights-based approach to service delivery.
Our partners in research, La Trobe University, are conducting a study to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people with acquired brain injury (ABI) e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumour, hypoxic brain injury. They are looking for adults withABI who live in Australia, or carers/family members of adults with ABI to participate. Find out more here.
The Summer Foundation is pleased with the recent Australian Government decision to expand eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination to all NDIS participants and carers.
The Summer Foundation encourages all NDIS participants and carers to get vaccinated, if possible. For COVID-19 updates, click here.
My name is Pam, I have been involved with the Summer Foundation for about a year now.
I was diagnosed with MS in 2009. I was living independently in a private rental but after I had a serious relapse and ended up in rehab for 7 months they told me to consider moving into a supported home. I moved into a group home in 2018. There were pros and cons – it was nice to be surrounded by people, but I didn’t have agency any more.
The Summer Foundation Research team is currently involved in an extensive range of projects.
These include:
- Looking at the hospital to home journey for people with disability and complex needs with a focus on health and NDIS timeframes
- Looking at ways to support young people stuck in hospital to find housing that aligns with their needs and preferences
- Finding out what makes an effective support coordinator
- Looking at the impact of the NDIS on young people in aged care or those at risk of admission
- Exploring factors that influence the quality of paid disability support
- Investigating needs and preferences regarding housing, disability supports and assistive technology
- Evaluating the outcomes and impact of tenants living in new specialist disability accommodation (SDA)
to create an evidence base for the SDA market, and - Exploring the experience of partnering with people with disability in a co-design project
Have your say
Our partners in research, La Trobe University, are conducting a study to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people with acquired brain injury (ABI) e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumour, hypoxic brain injury. They are looking for adults with ABI who live in Australia, or carers/family members of adults with ABI to participate. Find out more here.
To access the Summer Foundation’s wide range of research reports, head to our new research library here.
Despite the unprecedented challenges of the past year I am delighted about the strong progress that is being made on several fronts towards our goal of keeping younger people out of aged care.
The long-awaited final report of the Aged Care Royal Commission provides great reason for optimism (see here).
The Summer Foundation has welcomed the key recommendations relating to younger people with disability outlined in the final report of the Aged Care Royal Commission.
The Summer Foundation has developed The Housing Needs and Preferences to Support Discharge Guide and Template for health professionals to support a person with disability to be discharged from hospital to suitable housing.
The Housing Hub’s extensive range of workshops and events has kicked off for 2021.
More than 12,000 people have signed a petition calling for minimum accessibility standards in new homes to meet the needs of all Australians.
The Summer Foundation and La Trobe University has conducted national surveys of people with mobility impairment and occupational therapists (OTs) about housing accessibility features.
Without effective support coordination it can be difficult for younger people with high and complex needs to avoid or exit residential aged care (RAC).
A brutal assault in 2003 robbed James of his active life and studies. At 21, he was forced to live in aged care for nearly 7 years before a TV interview set his path to independent living in Specialist Disability Accommodation – first in NSW and now in Melbourne.
The Summer Foundation’s policy team has released a position statement on Medium Term Accommodation (MTA) eligibility, funding and quality.
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.
Our Research Team has been very busy lately with the publication of several journal articles including literature reviews on young people in aged care, outcomes of moving to individualised housing and the use of smart home technology.
You can read the articles on our website here.
Since being set up as part of the Summer Foundation’s response to COVID-19, the Housing Brokerage Service (HBS) has grown and developed.
“We created the team as a COVID response to use the knowledge and expertise in the organisation to help in the emergency situation we all found ourselves in, but the demand and outcomes have been so positive that we are going to continue until at least December 2020, and possibly even longer,” said Project Lead Cath Bucolo.
The HBS works with NDIS participants with complex needs who are ready for discharge but are often stuck in hospital waiting for an appropriate housing option to be found.
All new housing should be accessible for everyone – that’s the message in the Summer Foundation’s recent submission to the Australian Building Codes Board.
The Summer Foundation Board welcomed new member Dean Ireland at its August meeting.
Dean has been a long-time supporter of the Summer Foundation, particularly the work of the Housing Hub team, and is on the housing advisory committee.
The Housing Hub team has this year supported 200 young people with disability and complex support needs to move in to their own SDA apartments.
One of these is Gretta, a 29-year-old who has recently moved into a new SDA apartment in the Sydney suburb of Penrith.