New home empowering people with disability

A new home being built at Petrie will transform the lives of four people living with disability.

Endeavour Foundation head of property development Amelia Salmon says the home will meet platinum standard under national Livable Housing Design guidelines and will include private space for a 24/7 support worker.

Amelia says it’s being constructed as part of Endeavour Foundation’s My Home My Life initiative, which launched in 2020.

Since the initiative began in 2020, Endeavour Foundation has invested more than $30 million to build and renovate more than 60 houses, townhouses and duplexes, giving more than 500 people living with disability the choice to live more independently in a home that meets their needs now and into the future.

“We have created homes for 16 people in Moreton Bay so far,” Amelia says.

In addition to the new build, “the four others were renovations - it’s a total investment of $2.3 million,” she says.

Generous donation

Amelia says the Petrie home is the first Fully Accessible new build for Endeavour Foundation in Moreton Bay and is extra special because the land was donated by a family who had appreciated the foundation’s services.

“They left this house and one other to us. We sold the one at Albany Creek and that’s almost funded this - the demolition and build is almost $1 million.”

When it’s completed by middle of the year, the home - with four bedrooms and two bathrooms - will be able to accommodate people of varying abilities, including those in electric or manual wheelchairs.

It will also have Wi-Fi and high-speed internet.

“We have an open-plan kitchen so you can maneuver easily and it will be fitted with side-opening ovens and electric height-adjustable benchtops.”

There are also fire sprinklers being fitted to allow residents more time to move to safety in an emergency.

Work in progress - see the gallery

Amelia says the My Home My Life program gives people the chance to live as independently as possible while having the peace of mind of a support worker on-site.

Endeavour Foundation supplies most furniture, but residents are encouraged to bring some of their own to put their own stamp on the property.

“There are 441 (specialist disability accommodation participants) that require accessible accommodation in Moreton Bay and of those 143 are living in accommodation that is not suitable for their needs or don’t have access to disability accommodation,” Amelia says.

“We know how tough the market is generally and then to need a place that requires modifications makes it even harder.

“We do find a lot of people who we support have ageing, elderly parents who need support themselves.

“It gives everyone freedom and independence.”

Expressions of interest

Amelia says other My Home My Life projects across the state have been built with input from those who were going to live there, but residents of the Petrie home would be found via an expressions of interest process.

“This particular house we were building because it’s an opportunity, but we have asked people to register their interest,” Amelia explains.

“If there are people that the house is not suitable for, we can look at the ways Endeavour Foundation can support them.

“We try to co-design with people so we understand what their needs are – it’s part of our people-first model and we will work with the people who move in to design our outdoor area.

“For example, in Mackay the people love gardening, so we built raised garden beds and planted fruit trees and moved in a whole fishpond.”

Click here to find out more about the Supported Independent Living home at Petrie or to lodge an expression of interest.