Mount Alexander Shire Accommodation and Respite Group is planning to ramp up work on its second major project ‘A Home of My Own’.
After successfully completing construction of its Lions McDonald Hill Respite House in McKenzie Hill in 2016, the group is now ready to tackle their next big challenge – affordable local housing for people with disabilities.
MASARG A Home of My Own project manager Kerry Anderson said she was disappointed to learn of how many local people with disabilities had been forced to leave family and friends to live in another town because of a lack of suitable housing.
During February and March, MASARG is organising a series of conversations around the idea of ‘A Home of My Own’ with task groups of local builders, designers, property developers, realtors and landlords. Some conversations will also be tailored for the wider community.
Ms Anderson said industry and community members with an interest in better understanding the challenges people with disabilities faced to live locally were warmly invited to join the ‘A Home of My Own’ conversations.
National Disability Insurance Scheme housing consultant Joseph Connellan warned on a recent visit to Castlemaine that rural and regional communities were in danger of missing out on valuable funding to invest in disability housing unless they became proactive.
“The NDIS has presented us with a wonderful opportunity and there are many practical ideas we can explore that will benefit all of us,” Kerry said.
“This is a ‘whole of community’ conversation, everyone is welcome.”
Anyone interested in joining one of these task groups or conversations can contact Kerry Anderson on 0418 553 719.
