Opening our Annual Public Forum, CEO and founder of the Summer Foundation Dr Di Winkler shared the origin story of the organisation, its impact so far and our vision for the future.
“We’ve successfully shown that residential aged care is not suitable for younger people with disability. Now we need to lift expectations about what a good life can look like for Australians with high support needs,” she said.
“So, the Summer Foundation is relaunching.
“We believe people who need access to 24/7 support have the right to equitable and inclusive housing, support and services.
“We will identify, design and scale up innovative, user-led housing and living solutions.”
This focus on innovation was central to the Forum, which brought together a panel of experts to discuss housing and living supports for people with disability who need access to 24/7 support. It looked at what is needed to fulfil the NDIS promise in housing and living and what role innovation plays in driving this reform.
The Forum showcased innovative models of housing and living supports in Australia and overseas and the impact they have had.
The panel included:
- Dr Sam Bennett, Disability Program Director at the Grattan Institute
- Jo Collins, Branch Manager, Home and Living Reform, NDIA
- Rod Davies, CEO, One2One
- Dr Mark Brown, Senior Research Fellow at the Summer Foundation
- Michelle Newland, Lived Experience Contributor, speaker and business owner
- Anna Chambers, Lived Experience Contributor
Via video, Ewan King from Shared Lives UK spoke about the shared lives model of care, and Stephanie shared her brother Bill’s journey to his own home in Perth.
More than 550 people attended the Forum in Melbourne and online. It was hosted by Jamila Rizvi, best-selling author, podcast presenter and gender equality advocate.
The Forum was also the public debut for the Summer Foundation’s new look.
If you missed the forum, watch the video here.