Artwork Left: My Land – Lesley Pickett (WA) Pictured Inset: Specialist Housing Group General Manager, Helen Douglas.
specialist housing group update
The Specialist Housing Team has a unique role within Housing Choices to support individuals with a disability to find, remain or change the home in which they choose to live. In late 2021 Housing Choices engaged with Social Ventures Australia to complete a review of our Supported Disability Accommodation (SDA) services. The recommendations were approved by the Board in late November 2021 and included an investment for additional specialist roles within the team. The focus of the review was about participants and how best Housing Choices can deliver excellence in SDA services to meet individual needs. New team members included: • Our Housing Choices “front door” to SDA is led by the Manager of Partnership and Engagement, for the first time we have two additional staff who work alongside each participant interested in a Housing Choices SDA property. • The Manager of Quality and Safeguarding provides a critical role to ensure the quality of what we deliver meets individual expectations and ensure the safety of all participants living in a Housing Choices SDA home. This role engages across all partners who deliver care and support within each home. • We also added a new project officer role to support ongoing participant discussions on resident preferences, wishes and goals for future housing as part of the Singletons Renewal Project.
Helen Douglas joined Housing Choices as General Manager of the Specialist Housing Group in mid-January. Helen led through a period of change as the Specialist Housing Group aligned roles to ensure the best outcome for each participant. The team continued to visit homes meet participants and families and identify areas where maintenance could improve homes. COVID-19 added a complexity to support services in the past 12 to 18 months; however, our preferred contractors across a range of professions ensured ongoing maintenance to homes.
Our enthusiastic team works hard to keep the participant at the centre of our decisions, seek to improve the service we provide each day and have a suite of choices for SDA home types in SA, Tasmania and Victoria.
Helen Douglas, Specialist Housing Group General Manager
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2021-22 annual report
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