How MediStays supported long term friends and SRS residents to continue living together
Who: Penny (42 years old, Cerebral Palsy), Grant (44 years old, Cerebral Palsy) and Darcy (27 years old, ID and ASD)
Stay type: Transition from a long-term SRS home to MTA while awaiting a new SDA home.
Location: MediStays @ Carrum Downs
About Penny, Grant, Darcy:
As the long-term NDIS Support Coordinator of three participants with complex needs, our referrer came to MediStays seeking a solution to a complex problem. He was representing three participants, with varying accommodation, medical and community access needs, who required a time-sensitive transition from their long-term SRS home.
Due to significant maintenance requirements, their long-term home in South-East Melbourne was no longer safe for the trio to continue living in. And although they had received approval to move to a new home, the SDA build was not yet ready to move into. As such, fully wheelchair accessible transitional accommodation using NDIS funded Medium Term Accommodation was required as a stepping-stone for several months.
Having lived together for more than 10 years, the number one priority for Penny, Grant, Darcy was to continue living together. Their close friendship and trust with one another meant the world to them, especially as all three participants are non-verbal and require 24-hour care.
In the words of their Support Co-ordinator, “Grant, Penny and Darcy are like a family. It was just not an option to separate them. Our number one priority in working with MediStays was to find an option that would allow them to stay together and bring their own support workers”.
Given their situation, Grant, Penny and Darcy’s care team were looking for an accommodation solution that could support a seamless transition, as quickly and smoothly as possible, with as little disruption to their day-to-day lives as possible.
NDIS Plan Goals for three friends (and a pet budgerigar)
MediStays is more than just an accommodation booking service. Our specialist Care Navigator team work closely with participants of the NDIS, their families and care teams to find accommodation options that meet not just their physical requirements, but just as importantly can support them to meet their NDIS plan goals. Our Care Navigators work closely with everyone involved in the transition process to ensure that people have everything they need, including their choice of onsite support workers, assistive technology and the ability to continue attending community engagement activities.
While Grant, Penny and Darcy had unique disabilities and accommodation requirements, they each valued an environment that supported them to interact with one another and to maintain a level of independence at the same time. All three were also eager to have a home that allowed them to stay connected to their community and where a level of autonomy in their day-to-day activities could be maintained with their support workers.
For this reason, our Lead Care Navigator Jayde was able to identify our Carrum Downs property as the ideal location to achieve these goals. Providing Grant, Penny and Darcy with a shared living environment, that also included private bedrooms and roll-in ensuites that could accommodate their individual physical support needs. For Grant, this included a gantry hoist, hi-lo bed and pressure mattress. Penny required access to a roll-in bathroom, with transfers facilitated by a mobile hoist. Darcy is ambulant and had a special request for a kitchen stool to watch his support workers prepare meals. Large communal areas meant they could share meals and activities together, and with a shopping village conveniently located just next door through a park area, the ability to participate alongside their support workers in day-to-day activities and errands was possible.
“When reviewing options for Grant, Penny and Darcy, I could see just how important the support they provided to each other was and how much this contributed to their ability to achieve their plan goals of connection. I also understood how unsettling a transition of any kind can be, so being able to keep this special group together was a must. Carrum provided the perfect setting for them to maintain their connection with each other, but to also have their own spaces when preferred. The location and proximity to local community shopping villages and medical care for Grant was also an added bonus.”
– Jayde, Lead Care Navigator, MediStays.
Reflecting on their stay at MediStays @ Carrum Downs
Our Carrum Downs property provides such a unique environment that can cater to both standard MTA stays and those like Grant, and Penny who were in need of a very specific type of shared accommodation that also provides private bedrooms and wheelchair accessible roll-in ensuites, all at relatively short notice.
“The expertise of the Care Navigators at MediStays was such a factor in our ability to achieve an outstanding outcome for these participants. It wasn’t just about finding a property to them – it was about finding a location that could provide both the physical and emotional support that my clients needed when it came to such a big change after almost 10 years of living in their previous accommodation. The fact that MediStays also managed their funding and made this complex process seamless and rapid was appreciated by us and their families too.”
– NDIS Support Co-ordinator.
MediStays @ Carrum Downs has availability for June arrivals
If you are a Support Coordinator who is looking for a similar MTA environment for your participants, please don’t hesitate to contact our Care Navigators. Whether you’re looking for individuals or groups of participants, our team will work with you to achieve the best accommodation outcomes for your participants.
Make an MTA request today using our MTA Rapid Request Form or call our Care Navigators on 1300 085 036.
1300 085 036