AT LAST A HOME BUILT FOR THEM
HUNDREDS of young Townsville residents with high needs will benefit from a major new partnership.
Not- for- profit organisation Youngcare has partnered with Lancini Property and Development to build affordable, accessible housing for young people with high- needs disabilities.
More than 300 people in Townsville are eligible for the Specialised Disability Accommodation, which aims to give them the space and freedom to live like any other young adult rather than with their parents or carers or permanently in hospitals or nursing homes.
Specifications are to be determined but the accommodation could feature automatic doors, large rooms, specialised fixtures and no steps.
Kirwan man Dylan Green said he was anxiously waiting to find out if he would be approved for the specialised accommodation after an accident left him a quadriplegic at just 16.
Mr Green said Youngcare was working with the NDIS to allocate funding to each individual for the custom dwellings based on their needs.
“The reason they’re building them for every individual is because they plan on keeping people around those houses,” he said.
“They’re planning on helping people and setting them up for their lives.”
Mr Green said opportunities to socialise and be independent would give him and other young people living with high needs a new lease on life.
“I’ve been very lucky and thankful for being able to come home to a house with my mum, some kids don’t have that opportunity so when they get their own place, they won’t feel like a patient any more, they’ll feel like a human being,” he said. The Youngcare homes, set to begin construction this year, will be part of Brookstone on the Park in Condon.
Each of the proposed dwellings will be customised for the resident, equipped with technology and equipment specific to their needs.
Stage 1 will comprise two two- bedroom units with a separate care pod for 24- hour on- site and overnight care.
Youngcare CEO Anthony Ryan said the unique development would continue to change the disability housing landscape in Australia.
“We have no problems at all with aged- care facilities or nursing homes, they serve an unbelievable need in the community, but they’re no place for young people,” he said.
“We believe building this type of facility … is going to provide them with opportunities to live in a space where they can be part of a community and feel the inclusivity of living in a suburb that’s not going to judge them, and that’s what people want.”
Mr Ryan said the deal with Lancini was cemented when it expressed a commitment to improving the lives of young people with high needs.
“Youngcare, in its first ever development in this field, wanted to align itself with someone they could trust that had a proven record in the region but more importantly, believe in the fact that this was not about money, it’s about providing a better outcome and dignity for young people with high care needs,” he said.
Lancini managing director Laurence Lancini said Youngcare’s work was “truly inspiring”.
Youngcare representatives will visit Townsville in coming months to finalise details of the development.