The Building Better Homes campaign is calling for an end to housing discrimination against people in NSW.
End housing discrimination in NSW
Welcome to our latest newsletter.
Our Building Better Homes is ramping up to pressure the NSW Government to end housing discrimination in that state.
Mandatory accessibility design standards ensure Australians can live in accessible homes but the NSW and WA governments are refusing to sign on to the National Construction Code that is being implemented across all other states and territories.
The new campaign push is calling on the NSW Government to stop housing discrimination against people with disability and older people.
There is also currently an intense focus on the NDIS and its future. Read the latest update on the NDIS Amendment Bill here.
The Summer Foundation this month launches our expanded co-design services. The expansion is a natural progression of our widely recognised excellence in bringing the voice of lived experience to our work.
As we head into the last 6 months of the year it looks increasingly unlikely that the government will meet its target of having no people aged under 65 living in aged care by 2025. (Read more here)
There has been a welcome 31% decrease to 1,470 younger people living in aged care at the end of 2023. But this is largely due to people dying or ageing out of the YPIRAC cohort.
It is also important to note that moving out of aged care does not guarantee better outcomes for younger people with disability. We must work with the government and the sector to ensure better housing outcomes for people who need access to 24/7 support.
We’ll be talking about this at our Annual Public Forum – Fulfilling the NDIS promise in housing and living: Innovation starts today – coming up on 17 October. Save the date!
I look forward to seeing you there.
View all articles in this issue
End housing discrimination in NSW
The Building Better Homes campaign is calling for an end to housing discrimination against people in NSW.
NDIS Amendment Bill update
There has been much discussion and debate around the NDIS Amendment Bill. When the Bill was first tabled in Parliament in March, Minister Bill Shorten said the government had taken the legislative approach to establish “an enabling architecture for rules and future reforms”.
Exciting growth in co-design services
The Summer Foundation is well known for its excellence in bringing the voice of lived experience to our work, so it is exciting to see that a natural progression of this expertise has seen the team grow and expand their remit.
Calling all NDIS participants who are housing seekers
The housing specialists at the Housing Hub have created a new peer support group on Facebook for participants wanting to discuss and share their housing journey with others.
Meet Tania
My name is Tania Lewis, I am 52, I’ve been married to my hubby Lenny for 35 years. He is my best friend in life, we have known each other since we were little. Together we managed to create our daughter, she is beautiful, she is 25 now and is doing her own life. Life hasn’t always been great for us. Sickness happened and got in the way of our life, I guess you could say. I had a stroke at 39, due to that I ended up in aged care.
Resource highlight – Key NDIS roles and how they can support you
Our resource Key NDIS roles and how they can support you provides an overview of the roles of LACs, planners and support coordinators, and how they can support you. This resource will be updated when the new role of Navigator is rolled out.
There has been much discussion and debate around the NDIS Amendment Bill. When the Bill was first tabled in Parliament in March, Minister Bill Shorten said the government had taken the legislative approach to establish “an enabling architecture for rules and future reforms”.
The Summer Foundation is well known for its excellence in bringing the voice of lived experience to our work, so it is exciting to see that a natural progression of this expertise has seen the team grow and expand their remit.
The housing specialists at the Housing Hub have created a new peer support group on Facebook for participants wanting to discuss and share their housing journey with others.
The NDIS Housing Peer Support Group is a closed Facebook group and is hosted and moderated by the Housing Hub admin team who are NDIS participants with personal experience of finding a suitable home.
If you are an NDIS participant going through your housing journey and would like support from others with similar experiences, this group is for you!
Tell us about yourself?
My name is Tania Lewis, I am 52, I’ve been married to my hubby Lenny for 35 years. He is my best friend in life, we have known each other since we were little. Together we managed to create our daughter, she is beautiful, she is 25 now and is doing her own life. Life hasn’t always been great for us. Sickness happened and got in the way of our life, I guess you could say. I had a stroke at 39, due to that I ended up in aged care.
How did you first connect with the Summer Foundation?
I met the Summer Foundation at a forum in Newcastle when I was living in aged care. They just happened to be at the table that I sat at, and you know everyone yaps at those things. They seemed to have the belief that I have, that people with disabilities should not be forgotten, we’ve all got purpose in life no matter how hard we do it.
We first met you over 11 years ago, how is life for you now?
When we met I was living in aged care, now I am living with my beautiful hubby and daughter in an SDA home. I am a casual employee with the Summer Foundation and I also have part time employment with another company called Community Disability Alliance Hunter. I am on the board of an indigenous corporation and I try to get involved in any work or events in the community.
You started off as a volunteer with Summer Foundation, now you are employed as a casual working across a couple of co-design projects. Can you tell us about this work?
The most recent work I am doing with Summer Foundation is at a very crucial time. A lot of companies are now seeing the value of lived experience from people with disabilities. The Summer Foundation is going to draw from our lived experiences to create solutions together.
Why do you share your experience and insights?
The power of peer support has taught me, if you don’t share what you know, how is anyone else ever going to learn from it or see it as a way forward. You know, someone sees you doing something and says “wow they can do that and they are in a wheelchair and they’re smashing goals and they’re trying and they are giving it a go, maybe we can do it.”
Sharing what I have been through and what I know, it is who I am. It is a passion of mine now.
Do you have any advice for others thinking about connecting with the Summer Foundation and sharing their knowledge and experience?
Just come along (to workshops), pop your head in and have a listen. Listening is good sometimes, absorbing what others are doing until you feel comfortable to share. They never put pressure on people. The Summer Foundation has always put people first and put people with disabilities first. They do it 100% right. I would do anything to help them because they have changed my life – through their eyes I have been able to see other people’s lives and seen life through others’ eyes. So go and pop your head in, I reckon.
If you are interested in sharing your story, please get in touch with us at:
livedexperience@summerfoundtion.org.au
Our resource Key NDIS roles and how they can support you provides an overview of the roles of LACs, planners and support coordinators, and how they can support you. This resource will be updated when the new role of Navigator is rolled out.