Home page
About Us
Publications
Feedback
Membership
Links
Contact Us
|
Information Sheet
(Printer friendly version - PDF)
A Bed in a House is not a Home
This material is based on a workshop that was presented by Margaret Ward of Homes West
in Brisbane. The Workshop was held in Narrabundah on 13 April 2004, and was organised by Centacare
Canberra.
| Key Elements of a Home of Your Own and How to Get There |
Key Strategies |
Start Now, Not Later!
- A person who has a disability can’t sit back and wait – nothing will happen if you don’t plan.
| Start with the Person, their Family, Friends and Community
- Building “community connections” takes time and tenacity.
- Start in an area where you know people.
|
Believe it and it will Happen!
- Clarify in your mind what it is that you believe.
- Visit people who have a home of their own, who are having “a good life”.
- Name and share your dream, even if it seems impossible at the time.
| Plan, Plan, Plan
- Find out everything there is to know about housing tenure, financial assistance, transport, local
facilities, support opportunities and ideas.
- Trial your ideas – go for holidays, mind people’s houses, visit friends who have their own homes.
|
Families Know the Most!
- No one knows a person who has a disability better than a loving and supportive family.
- With support, encouragement and guidance, families can do amazing things.
| Look at the Ways People Usually Do Things
- How do people usually rent a property, manage payments, find flatmates, work out a budget, keep
their possessions safe, manage their correspondence etc?
- It is always worthwhile taking note of the way people usually do things before deciding to do
something different.
|
Think Outside the Square to make it Possible!
- Most people do not have what is seen as adequate funding.
- Creativity and lateral thinking can go a long way towards filling the gaps
|
Life is a Journey, not a Solution
- It is highly likely that the first home will not be the last!
- Opportunities that come with the first home may increase the person’s confidence and horizons,
meaning that further changes may occur.
- As is common with many young people, things may not go entirely as planned.
- The trick is to try and build positively on every experience – both good and bad.
|
|
