We’ve written a useful guide to help you navigate your way through the search for mainstream housing. “Mainstream Housing Options” is written specifically for people with disability and is part of a series of guides that we put together to help people with disability find suitable housing.
Mainstream housing guide
The Summer Foundation has produced new resources that explain residential aged care fees and what charges are covered by the NDIS.
Source: Get Us Out | Author: George Taleporos
Last week the Prime Minister announced the Australian Government would hold a Royal Commission into aged care. The Summer Foundation’s George Taleporos tells us why the Commission must make sure young people get the chance to get the hell out.
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SUMMER FOUNDATION UPDATE – SPRING 2018
Welcome to our Spring update. Looking back over the past few months, it is gratifying to see the positive strides we are taking on a number of issues that contribute to keeping young people out of aged care.
We welcome the recently announced Royal Commission into Aged Care. Our hope is for this Royal Commission to look beyond just making aged care better for young people. The Royal Commission needs to identify the solutions that help young people avoid entering aged care in the first instance. We encourage you to consider responding to the Government’s call for input into the Terms of Reference for this Royal Commission. Timing is tight – find out how to make your contribution here.
Summer Foundation has been focusing on the need for improvements to the health and NDIS interface over the past few months. The hundreds of health professionals and executives across the country who have attended our conferences, seminars and training sessions this year are strongly endorsing this focus.
RAPID HOUSING PROJECT
When someone with complex support needs is ready to leave hospital, a lack of suitable housing often results in them having to stay for longer periods of time in hospital or rehabilitation or they are forced to move to aged care. While this option may be seen as a temporary solution, often people remain there for many months, or end up staying permanently.
The Summer Foundation recently supported Kirsty Martinsen to speak at our Leaving Hospital Well National Symposium. Kirsty spoke about her experiences living with a disability and her hopes for the NDIS and health services to work together. She wrote this postscript:
Our Get Building SDA initiative has been launched in regional NSW.
Get Building SDA aims to increase the number of SDA properties for NDIS participants and, as a result, increase the hours of Supported Independent Living (SIL) delivered in NSW.
In its continuing work to resolve the issue of young people with disability being forced to live in aged care, the Summer Foundation has launched a $1 million research grants program.
We are assessing prospective partners for the high quality research that is needed to find ways to improve the lives of young people in aged care or at risk of entering aged care.
Source: Pro Bono Australia | Author: Maggie Coggan
Building sustainable partnerships within the social and health sectors is “absolutely critical” to finding a solution for young people in residential aged care homes (YPIRAC), a disability expert says.
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[lead]The Summer Foundation is pleased to announce the Allen Martin Research Scholarship 2018 sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kew and Robinson Gill Lawyers.[/lead]
This scholarship is open to clinicians, health professionals and students who wish to conduct a new research project in the field of recovery following acquired brain injury. This year there are two awards, each valued at $5,000, which need to be utilised over a period of one year. All applications must meet the eligibility criteria and responsibilities of the scholarship, which can be accessed here.
Applications are now open. To apply complete the application form and submit to louise.dixon@summerfoundation.org.au by COB Monday 15 October 2018.
Applications will be reviewed by the Summer Foundation Scholarship Sub Committee and the successful candidates will be announced at the Allen Martin Lecture on 14 November 2018.
This scholarship acknowledges the work of Allen Martin who showed great dedication and support towards advancing clinical knowledge and practice for people with complex brain injury, with particular emphasis on slow stream neurological rehabilitation.
Previous scholarship winners:
Laura Connolly – Light therapy for fatigue following traumatic brain injury
Suzana Hercegovak – Participation in volunteering roles following ABI
Michelle Kahn – Development of a gold-standard clinical assessment for associated reactions of the arm following ABI
Kate D’Cruz – Investigating the value of client-centred practice from the perspective of adults with traumatic brain injury participating in community based occupational therapy
Katie Anson – Long-term outcome following acquired brain injury
Melanie Drummond – Consequences of post-traumatic anosmia
Ming-Yun Hsieh – The treatment of people with anxiety disorders following moderate-severe traumatic brain injury
Lucy Knox – The experience of decision-making after severe traumatic brain injury: A Grounded Theory exploration
Margaret Mealings – ‘School’s a big part of your life’. Perspectives of students returning to secondary and tertiary education following traumatic brain injury, their peers and family members
Ruth Tesselaar – Classroom performance of student with an acquired brain injury: The impact of aide programs.
SUMMER FOUNDATION UPDATE – WINTER 2018
Welcome to our 2018 mid-year update. It comes with the latest news from the Summer Foundation and is delivered to you by our new CEO.
In April the Summer Foundation Board announced that I would take on the role of Summer Foundation CEO. I’m incredibly excited for the challenge ahead in continuing Summer Foundation’s work to reduce the number of young people being forced into aged care because there is no where else for them.
Di Winkler, the founder and previous CEO of the Summer Foundation remains very actively involved and you can read about her new focus on research and innovation in this update.
Luke Bo’sher is the new CEO of the Summer Foundation.
Announcing Luke’s move to the role, Summer Foundation founder and former CEO Di Winkler said the appointment had been carefully planned.
Sam Petersen is very worried about how the NDIA’s decisions on SDA might affect her and where she hopes to live.
“The uncertainty over what is essential for me makes me feel like my life has had the pause button put on,” she said.
Evidence shows that there are very positive outcomes for people with disability who want to live alone and have the opportunity to do so. Living alone is not for everyone, but Summer Foundation believes that people with disability should have that same right to live alone as any person without disability.
The Summer Foundation and 20 other organisations issued a joint statement in response to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)’s SDA Provider and Investor Brief published on 24 April.
The Brief indicated only a “very small number … of a very small percentage” of NDIS participants would be funded to live alone in SDA”.
This is a big concern to people with disability, housing providers and those funding the construction of new disability accommodation. We know that when governments spend more upfront to support people to live independently, the long-term support costs will be lower.
The NDIS is an opportunity to invest more in high quality housing and capacity building upfront. This means more innovative housing models can develop, providing alternatives to group homes for many young people in aged care who may not want to live in a shared housing environment.
The Joint Statement from Summer Foundation and 20 other organisations called for immediate reassurance and said that “certainty is needed on how the SDA market is expected to grow and operate”.
The Australian Government has announced a review of the SDA framework. This is an opportunity to outline what is working well and what needs to improve. You can read the Summer Foundation’s statement on the SDA framework review here
The Summer Foundation is pleased to announce the Allen Martin Research Scholarship 2018, sponsored by The Rotary Club of Kew and Robinson Gill Lawyers.
The majority of younger people admitted to nursing homes come from a hospital setting. Building knowledge and understanding of health and aged care professionals is critical to helping solve the issue.
In the past three months, the Summer Foundation has delivered 40 training sessions – 23 to hospital staff, 12 to Residential Aged Care (RAC) workers and five to Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACAT).
The Australian Government has announced a review of the NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) framework.
This is an important opportunity to tell the government what parts of the SDA system are working well and what needs to be fixed. You can read the Summer Foundation’s statement on the SDA framework review here.
Alternative format (Microsoft Word) available here.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) presented its latest policy position for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) in a statement to the provider and investor market on 24 April.
People with disabilities and developers of innovative housing for people with disabilities are pleased the NDIA has reiterated the government’s commitment to SDA in its SDA Provider and Investor Brief. The NDIA has confirmed that the SDA funding model is here to stay.
However, the NDIA’s SDA Brief expresses a vision for SDA housing with a clear bias toward shared models of housing for people with disability, presumably to reduce support costs. This is unacceptable. You can read our joint statement here (A Rich text format is available here).
You can read the Summer Foundation’s summary of the SDA Brief here.
Source: The Australian | Reporter: Rick Morton | Photographer: Aaron Francis
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Source: Sydney Morning Herald | Author/Editor: Rachel Lane
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The Summer Foundation is looking for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants to create personal digital stories that capture their experience of hospital discharge, housing or living as a young person in aged care.
Your stories will be used to help the health system, aged care sector and the NDIS improve the way they interact with people with complex disability – and with each other – to improve outcomes for people in the future.
HOSPITAL DISCHARGE EXPERIENCE
We’re looking for ten NDIS participants across Queensland, NSW, Tasmania and SA, to create personal digital stories that capture your experience of hospital discharge.
These digital stories will form part of a training package that will be used to help hospitals and the NDIS achieve smooth discharge from hospital back into the community as the NDIS rolls out across Australia.
For more details, download the flyer here.
EXPERIENCE LIVING IN A NURSING HOME
We’re looking for eight NDIS participants across Queensland, NSW, Tasmania and SA, to create personal digital stories that show how the lives of younger people with disability, who are living in residential aged care (RAC), can be improved.
Examples of positive outcomes could be: receiving NDIS funding, creative models of support and/or transitioning from RAC to more suitable housing.
These digital stories will be used to build knowledge within the aged care sector so that better outcomes can be achieved for younger people living in nursing homes across Australia.
For more details, download the flyer here.
EXPERIENCE LIVING AT HOME OR IN SUITABLE HOUSING
We’re looking for eight NDIS participants across Queensland, NSW, Tasmania and SA, to create personal digital stories that show how the lives of younger people with disability, who are living at home or in suitable housing, can be improved.
Examples of positive outcomes could be: receiving NDIS funding, creative models of support and/or transitioning from residential aged care (RAC) to more suitable housing.
These digital stories will be used to build knowledge, so that better outcomes can be achieved for younger people living in nursing homes across Australia.
For more details, download the flyer here.
[lead]The Summer Foundation is pleased to announce the 2017 Allen Martin Research Scholarship sponsored by The Rotary Club of Kew.[/lead]
Source: Pro Bono Australia | Author/Editor: Lina Caneva
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Source: The Urban Developer | Authors: Dr Di Winkler, Luke Bo-sher & Dr George Taleporos
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The shortage of appropriate housing for people with high and complex disabilities is a huge problem.
The Summer Foundation is holding a series of workshops with people from around Australia who are likely to be eligible for NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation payments, to gather information on what new housing for people with disability could look like. This information will be used to influence governments, developers, housing providers and investors, to make sure that future accessible housing meets the needs of the people who will use it.