“I love it here and wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
The first night Wendy spent in her new apartment, she cried tears of joy.
“It hit me just how lucky I was to have a home like this,” Wendy says.
Wendy moved into her spectacular new apartment in February this year. It has amazing views and immaculate styling, and is just minutes away from Westfield Doncaster. It is everything Wendy hoped for.
Right from the start, Wendy knew what she wanted her new home to look like. A fan of pinks, gold and French fashion brands, Wendy wanted those things to be front and centre in the styling. Her housing provider, Purposed Housing, engaged a designer to work with Wendy to turn her dream into reality.
And the result is stunning.
“I love it here and wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
Now in her mid-30s, Wendy had lived for the last 12 years on her own in a one-bedroom unit in Reservoir. But Wendy says her previous home didn’t really suit her needs. It was on a main road, which limited her ability to safely go places on her own, and the lack of accessibility features meant that Wendy had to rely on support workers to do many things for her.
“It makes me feel empowered to operate my own blinds. In Reservoir, I had to wait for my carer to open my blinds.”
“My whole house is a smart home. My blinds can go up and down – I operate everything from my phone including my doorbell as I just showed you. I wasn’t happy about people just knocking on the door and not being able to hear who was there. So I now have intercom on my phone and I can see who is at the door.”
Get to know your SDA provider
Wendy says that having a good relationship with your SDA provider is really important. She has known Anna from Purposed Housing for many years.
The first night Wendy’s mum stayed over in her spare bedroom, she was kept awake by the noise of the generator providing uninterrupted power supply to her place’s 8 SDA apartments.
So Wendy contacted her landlord and they immediately began working on a solution. Wendy says it’s now much better.
Wendy has also had a couple of hiccups with her smart home technology, but says that those have been fixed remotely. Wendy says she also has a great relationship with her technology provider.
Getting on with life
Now happy in her home, Wendy is busy getting on with life.
She is an Ambassador for her support agency, OnCall Group Australia, and helps train staff in that role. She has also just started a Certificate IV in Disability at a training college.
Wendy is a passionate advocate for people with disability. Being an advocate for others is important to Wendy. “When my brother passed away 11 years ago I made a promise that I’d advocate for people like him.”
Wendy has 6 hours without support every day. Wendy’s planned supports are backed up by the development’s on-call support worker who is available for anything unexpected.
Wendy catches up with her support coordinator quite regularly to discuss any issues she has.
Advice for others
Wendy says that waiting for the apartment to be finished and for SDA funding to be included in her plan was the hardest part.
“I’ve had to wait a year and a half. It was a hard journey, but worth the wait. Now, I’m not going anywhere. If you are waiting for a house to be built just hand in there and you’ll love it in the end.”
“I insisted on meeting the [NDIS] planner personally and not over the phone. At that’s why I’m here because of my persistence and a great team behind me.”
“Just please trust your child if they are capable of doing this. Let them grow, let them achieve their goals. If your child comes to you and says ‘I’d like to move out’, just trust your child.”
“My Mum comes and stays sometimes. It feels good to have my Mum stay. We have a good relationship.”
Article published: May 2021
Questions about NDIS Housing?
Call our NDIS Housing Advice line
For people with disability, families, and supporters. Monday – Friday 10.00am – 3.00pm AEDT. You can also email us anytime at housingoptions@housinghub.org.au.
