When Va was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in April 2020
she was living in her own home with her teenage son. As her condition
progressed, her home was no longer suitable or safe. Va says: “It was really difficult for me, because I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly your whole life has changed.”
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With the help of Lauren Lovegrove, support coordinator from MNDNSW, Va
found a new suitable home. Lauren took a person-centred approach with an
emphasis on finding housing and support that met both Va’s needs and
preferences.
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Va needed a home she could share with her son. The location
was also very important. Va wanted to be near family, church, a park,
cafes and a convenience store. “
All these things are very important to me because I can’t drive. So they should be accessible to me, as a new wheelchair user,” says Va.
A person-centred approach is not just looking for a group home
vacancy and slotting a person in. Instead a person-centred approach
looks at how a person wants to live their life and how they can be
supported to do so.
Lauren says the Summer Foundation’s My Housing Preferences tool has been really useful to guide discussions and gather information.
It is important that support coordinators understand what the NDIS
can provide, as well as know how and where to engage mainstream and
community services. This can include connecting with real estate agents,
social housing providers, share house platforms and the Housing Hub as
well as investigating SDA or other disability specific housing.
We know supporting a person to live an ordinary life is not without
challenges. Lauren advises support coordinators to be persistent. “Just
keep going, it can happen and there can be really great outcomes for
participants, it’s just a matter of trying again and again until you
find the right way to do it.”
And for Va? Since moving to her accessible new home she says: “I’m enjoying every minute of it. It’s made a lot of difference, absolutely… It is a real game changer.”
