Twenty-year waitlist for disability housing leads Tasmanian father Bob Gordon to find his own solution
By Annah FrombergPosted 17 Nov 2019, 8:35am

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-17/son-needed-disability-housing-so-dad-built-it/11699586 
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Four years ago Bob Gordon and Dianne Snowden started looking into housing options for their youngest son, Jack.
Key Points:

• It's estimated 500 affordable homes will be required in Tasmania's disability sector over the next 5 to 10 years
• Many parents are worried about where their children will live when they can no longer care for them
• A group of Tasmanian philanthropists has stepped in to address major gaps in disability housing

The 28-year-old — who needs supported accommodation — was seeking independence and was ready to move out of the family home.
Bob and Dianne attended a family forum for Tasmanians with disabilities and were extremely frustrated by the limited options.
"We were told there was a 20-year waiting list," Mr Gordon said.
"In Tassie there's a bit over 700 rooms for NDIS participants, and when it's fully rolled out there'll be 11,500 people on the NDIS, so you've got an idea of the sort of demand there is."
Ralph Doedens — who was the chief executive officer of disability support provider Mosaic Support Services at the time — was also at the meeting.
"We were overwhelmed. We had so many families speak up and say where can they get accommodation for their loved ones," he said.
"They were worried about when they die who's going to look after that person for them."
He distinctly remembers Mr Gordon addressing the crowd.
"He stood up and he said, 'Why can't we do that ourselves; why do we have to wait for somebody else to do that?'"
Mr Gordon came up with his own solution to the problem.
"The NDIS basically doesn't fund housing, so I got together a group of colleagues … all of whom had an interest in trying to solve the problem," he said.

With the pro-bono help of accounting firm KPMG, the group put together a business case for affordable, supported accommodation and started pitching to institutional investors, like super funds.
"The business case found that if we could build this sort of accommodation then it would give a reasonable return to institutional investors, that it would enable much better standard of accommodation for people on the NDIS," he said.
"And for the charities that provide the care in the units, it would provide them with a better rate of return as well."
The group then sought advice from carers, clients and families on how the units should be built.
"We had lots of meetings with parents … the average profile is someone in their mid-70s who has recently realised they are going to die before their dependant," Mr Gordon said.
"We had a couple of rules, the first one being it would have to be a house that you or I would be happy to live in.
"The second was it had to have much lower maintenance and cleaning costs."
They came up with a design and created a property trust, called the Supported Affordable Accommodation Trust, to construct a series of two-bedroom modular units.

The Trust has since attracted a $6 million federal grant to acquire land and develop nine sites, each with three two-bedroom units and staff quarters.
The units are built in a factory at Cambridge, east of Hobart, and then transported to a parcel of land, which helps keep costs to a minimum.

"We don't lose any time through bad weather. You can see in this factory how convenient it is. The homes are just put in a production line and rolled out," Mr Doedens said.
The first site, in the Hobart suburb of Glenorchy, is now a reality and will be managed by Mosaic Support Services as a respite facility.
Mr Doedens said the accommodation model was also expected to be rolled out interstate, with talks already underway with service providers in regional New South Wales.
"There's over half a million people on the NDIS nationally and a lot of them are looking for homes as well," he said.
He said that in Tasmania alone, it was estimated that at least 500 more affordable two-bedroom units would be required in the disability sector over the next five to 10 years.
The first clients are expected to move in to the Glenorchy accommodation by Christmas.

While Jack Gordon has managed to find accommodation elsewhere, he is proud of what his dad has achieved at Glenorchy.
"The houses are pretty good, very proud," he said.
For Dianne and Bob, there is peace of mind that Jack and other Tasmanians will have the opportunity to live an independent life.
"This philosophy behind the NDIS was to allow people to develop their full potential," Mr Gordon said. "This type of accommodation will allow people to do that."
Jack's mum, Dianne, said having a child with disabilities leave home was one of the hardest things a parent usually had to face.
"In our case, our son thought it would be easier if we left home and he stayed," she said with a laugh.
"For others, there's no choice. The parents are elderly, they can no longer look after the person that they've been caring for most of their lives, and it becomes a really hard struggle to find somewhere appropriate."
Dianne Snowden said Jack had come out of his shell with his newfound independence.
"He would always hide away a bit from people that he knew. If he saw one of his schoolmates in the street or a family friend, he'd put his head down. But now he engages with them. He's a lot more confident. People can see the change in him. He's blossomed."
"He's no longer a child, he's 28, but he still needs support and care. But he's thriving."
(ABC News, Annah Fromberg)

Back in July 2015, at a Mosaic Disability Services Family forum, A number of families talked about their concern for their grown up family members with disabilities and the lack of supported accommodation options available in Tasmania.
 
Bob Gordon asked the group the question “Why can’t we develop something to provide suitable housing to meet this need”. It was then that the concept was born.
 
In January 2016, John Lennon facilitated a workshop with a number of interested parties (see details attached) and this was followed up later in 2016 with Tim Rutherford donating his time and resources, on behalf of KPMG, preparing a detailed business case and financial model indicating how this concept could work.
 
Since then, the Trust has been formed with Roger Curtis undertaking the legal work and lots of input from many others including Mosaic Support Services (who also signed up to lease the first property) Robert Rockefeller, Royce Fairbrother, a number of support workers, families and people with disabilities and others to arrive at what we have today with the first 3 x 2 bedroom unit home along with staff support and shared areas currently under construction (with a vastly improved floorplan than the one in the original workshop). The Trust has 3 directors Bob Gordon, Sarah Merridew and Roger Curtis with Tim Lane the Company Secretary and myself as administration manager.
 
Apart from construction costs and some unavoidable fees, all of the people involved to date have given of their time and talents for no charge.
 
Today, The Federal Government has announced that they will fund the trust for $6M with all proceeds being reinvested for future affordable homes (see below). This is a fantastic result and will enable the Trust to build 9 x 3 bedroom unit with staff quarters in the Hobart region. This in turn will enable the Trust to leverage off these buildings to expand to other parts of the state and perhaps interstate – going a long way to supporting this great need in the community.
 
A big thank you to you all for your contribution towards this very worthwhile venture. 

Ralph Doedens
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22 February 2019
$30M HOUSING GAME-CHANGER FOR THE HOBART AREA
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie will join Senator Eric Abetz, as well as social housing providers, as the Federal Government announces a $30 million social housing package for the Hobart area.
WHEN: 10:15am TODAY 22 February
WHERE: 115 Allunga Road CHIGWELL (former Mt Faulkner Primary School site)
 
“I’m thrilled that the Federal Government has announced today that they will invest $30 million into social housing in the Hobart area,” Mr Wilkie said. “This is terrific news and will go a long way towards helping the thousands of Tasmanians without secure housing, especially among those who are most vulnerable such as people with a disability, the elderly and people fleeing domestic violence.”
“I’ve been lobbying the Federal Government for this housing package for some time and it’s great news that they have seen the merit and announced such a significant investment today.
“Hobart’s housing crisis has been front and centre in the minds of many Tasmanians over the last year and I’ve heard so many heartbreaking stories from people who are struggling to find secure housing. I’m glad that, thanks to this announcement, we’ll be able to help hundreds of these people.
“The funding will go to four organisations who have a track record of building and delivering affordable housing. It will allow them to build over 130 dwellings and put a big dent in the housing waiting list, helping hundreds of people overall.”
The housing package consists of:

• $8m for Housing Choices Tasmania to build 32 dwellings to house elderly people living with health and/or mobility issues, people living with a disability, women and children escaping domestic violence, and other priority applicants;
• $8m for Community Housing Limited to build 27 dwellings available to rent to low and very low-income earners;
• $8m for CatholicCare Tasmania to build 45 dwellings for housing priority applicants, on shovel-ready land in Claremont; and
• $6m for Supported Affordable Accommodation Trust to initially build 27 specially-designed dwellings for people living with a disability, and allow them to leverage against the property assets to build more dwellings in the future.

Authorised by Andrew Wilkie MP 188 Collins St Hobart