Chris recently moved into brand new, purpose-built Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), managed by Compass Housing. He is thriving in his new home.
Having lived in State care since he was four years old, Chris has been part of the Hunter Residences Program, an initiative transitioning 325 people living with disability from large residential, NSW Government-run centres such as Stockton, Tomaree and Kanangra into community-based specialist housing.
Now 58, Chris lives with three peers and one of his closest friends in a contemporary home built by Home4Life, a consortium of BlueCHP Construction and Compass Housing, with Lighthouse Infrastructure as the investor. Compass has partnered with a number of Supported Independent Living (SIL) providers who deliver the personal care support in the 65 Home4Life houses across NSW.
Each property is built to High Physical Support Housing Design Guidelines, with generous dimensions and additional features that cater to people with higher mobility and/or behavioural needs. Properties are configured as five-bedroom share houses or three to four-bedroom homes with one or two-bedroom semidetached villas. Whether the bedroom is located in the main part of the house or in a villa, residents receive 24/7 SIL support as per their NDIS plan.
According to Chris’s guardian David, Chris is settling in very well.
“It is a fabulous house,” David says. “It’s modern, spacious and light. I think for the first time Chris will remember, he is living in a house rather than an institution.”
Since moving into his new home, Chris has built a chicken pen in the backyard. One of his favourite pastimes is tending to the chickens and collecting eggs. He also helps maintains the vegetable gardens, growing tomatoes, pumpkins, avocadoes and nut trees, favourites selected by Chris and his fellow residents. Living sustainably is a big focus at the house.
Chris gets involved in cooking and helping around the house in general. He loves having visitors, putting on the occasional BBQ and never misses an opportunity to have a good laugh and a joke with his housemates and support workers.
For more information on Home4Life properties, including current vacancies, visit https://www.compasshousing.org/sda-vacancies or email sda@compasshousing.org. Better still, come and see us at our stand at the Hunter Disability Expo, Newcastle Racecourse, Friday 3 and Saturday 4 April, 9 am to 3 pm. Register for this free event for fast entry.