Welcome to our last edition for 2021. We celebrate the significant amount of critical work that has been done toward ending the need for younger people with disability to live in aged care; in what have been challenging circumstances over this past year. As we open up and resume face-to-face engagement, we look forward to also carrying over the benefits and efficiencies we’ve honed over the past almost 2 years of working with COVID-19 disruptions.
Summer 2021 news update
The Summer Foundation’s Board renewal process continued with new appointments and planned resignations in November.
The successes, challenges and new opportunities from the 2020/21 financial year are highlighted in our latest Annual Report.
It shows the progress of the Summer Foundation against our key areas of focus including:
- Building the capacity of key service providers, including support coordinators, hospital staff, allied health professionals, SDA and support providers, and many others
- Developing an evidence base for potential solutions that will ensure young people with disability have choice and control over their housing and support
- Building the capacity of people with disability around housing and support options and housing pathways
On-site shared support (OSS) provides a significant opportunity for people with disability living in Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) apartments to increase control over their housing and support options and to lower the cost of their support.
Our UpSkill team has developed a new guide to delivering support coordination to people with complex needs.
The Summer Foundation was the proud promoter behind the Million Dollar Vax competition that received over 2.7 million entries in October. The aim was to increase the rate of vaccination nationally to reduce the burden on our healthcare systems and reduce the risk of infection to the most vulnerable in our community including people with disability. The campaign targeted regions with low vaccination rates.
Andrew, who is 49 years old, has been living in aged care in Tasmania for 4 years.
The Summer Foundation’s Housing Hub team will soon pilot a support coordination service that will specialise in developing housing evidence for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) eligibility.
More than 330 people logged in to our 10th Annual Public Forum on 4 November. Reaching Towards Success – Closing the door to aged care for young people discussed the progress being made to end the need for younger people to live in aged care, as well as the barriers that remain.