Summer Foundation Focus – April

More than 10,000 younger people died in residential aged care over the past decade, new data shows.

Photo: Wayne Taylor

Fourteen-year-old Xavier Edwards became a quadriplegic when he was involved in a bike accident in April 2022. Xavier has spent almost a year in hospital, despite being ready to go home since January. The situation is made worse because Xavier and his family live in Echuca/Moama and Xavier is in hospital in Melbourne.

Over the past 6 months the Summer Foundation has been focused on engaging with residential aged care (RAC) providers to assist them to support NDIS participants in their care.

We first met Daniel almost a decade ago, when he lived in a nursing home. Last year, Daniel moved into his own SDA apartment.

Tell us about yourself

I’m 57 years old and have cerebral palsy. I’m a Richmond Tigers fan and in my earlier days was passionate about martial arts. I love spending time with my family, friends and, of course, my cats. I’m passionate about my advocacy work and hope it improves other people’s lives.

In February, the Disability Reform Ministerial Council acknowledged the failure to achieve the first 2 targets in the Federal Government’s Younger People in Residential Aged Care strategy.

The South Australian Government recently announced that they will meet their obligations under the National Construction Code.

Our UpSkill initiative, offering NDIS training and resources for professionals assisting people with complex support needs, continues to expand.

The Summer Foundation secured 2 significant research grants in February.

A La Trobe University/Summer Foundation team received an Australian Research Council (ARC) grant for a 3-year project investigating the lived experience of people with a disability moving into specialist housing.