Accessible homes for all

EMERGE Living has teamed up with genU to ensure people living with disability have the opportunity live more independently in modern and accessible housing.

An educational Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) event hosted in partnership by Emerge Living and genU will educate attendees about SDA, including the SDA market and how to apply for SDA funding, how to complete a successful application, options for in-home supports, and SDA projects and sites in development.

Tomorrow’s event (Friday, February 26) from 11am to 12.30pm at Rydges Geelong will feature key speakers from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and independent SDA specialists.
Emerge Living general manager Mark Hudson said there was a lack of awareness regarding SDA funding and the NDIS application process.

“We want to educate people on how to go about the application and what options are available,” he said.

“Funding is currently being paid to just over 50 per cent of the estimated 28,000 NDIS participants who are expected to be eligible for SDA,” Mr Hudson said.

“This means individuals who may be eligible are living in accommodation that may not be fit for purpose, such as residential aged care, with elderly parents or in older group homes.”

The event will appeal to people living with disability, careers and families who wish to gain more knowledge about SDA, housing models, funding opportunities, with representatives assisting eligible candidates through the application process.

“We want to run this event to demystify, educate and inform, with various speakers who have experience in enabling people with a disability to choose and control where they live,” Mr Hudson said.

genU executive manager Natasha Williams, who will be speaking at the event, said she hoped the day will help motivate people to take the next step to more independent living.

“We are trying to provide the most contemporary, most innovative houses for people with a disability in the broader Geelong and Surf Coast regions,” she said.

“People become disabled through accidents, neurological conditions, illness and stroke and we want to assist them to ensure they have the same opportunities in life as anyone else.

“That’s why Emerge Living and genU want to create these housing opportunities so that people with a disability are empowered.

“I hope people with a disability living in nursing homes will think there is a chance for me, there is a better alternative I can explore, I can have that life and I can live in a location that I choose,” she said.

To find out more, email [email protected] or phone 1300 103 050.