Page 3976 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 12 December 2006
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Two Abbeyfield houses have operated very successfully in the ACT for a number of years: one in Ainslie has operated for the past 28 years; and a second has been operating in Garran for the past eight years.
The Curtin house represents a very significant departure for Abbeyfield, not just in Australia but globally. For the first time an Abbeyfield house operating under a community housing management model has been created for younger people with physical or intellectual disabilities that are capable of independent living but still require a supportive living environment. The Curtin house is now home to 10 young Canberra adults.
For many, moving into the Abbeyfield house represents a true rite of passage. For many it is the first time that they have left their parents and struck out on their own. The ACT Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services provided $1½ million for Abbeyfield disAbility House as part of the 2002-03 community housing capital funding program.
A direct grant of land was made by the Land Development Agency to Abbeyfield in 2004 following quite extensive community consultation. Community Housing Canberra managed the project on behalf of Abbeyfield, making a number of significant alterations to the project design to accommodate the needs of the site and the residents, and some concerns of some of the neighbours. The property is now managed as community housing by Abbeyfield disAbility as an affiliate of the Abbeyfield Society (Australia) Ltd.
Community housing represents a reasonably small proportion of housing stock in the ACT—about 500 dwellings. But it is an option that has great potential, particularly when solutions are required to meet very specific needs, such as the needs of these 10 young adults with a physical or intellectual disability. The residents of Abbeyfield disAbility House fit the bill.
These 10 Canberra men and women are more than capable of independent living. Like all of us, they deserve the opportunity to live independently and to exercise their right to control, as far as possible, their own lives and their own destinies. They deserve the right to have a home that they can call their own and to participate in the management and functioning of that home.
Abbeyfield disAbility House gives its 10 residents that opportunity. The residents have been fully involved in the project since its earliest stages at the conceptual level. As they get accustomed to their new life, a live-in housekeeper will help residents develop the life skills that will enable them to fully participate in the management of their home.
Abbeyfield disAbility House is the result of a very successful partnership between Abbeyfield, the ACT government and the local community. The house is in fact a first for the Abbeyfield movement worldwide. I am sure that it will be watched with great interest by affiliated Abbeyfield organisations in dozens of countries as well as around Australia. I believe that the model of community housing created by this particular
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