14 February 2011

A new social housing model?

| johnboy
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In a big day the Minister for Children and Young People has again sallied forth with a strange $7 million project called “Intentional Communities” mixing disabled youth with other public housing tenants.

ACT Minister for Housing, Disability and Community Services Joy Burch was today joined by
three families of young adults with a disability in Phillip to announce the ACT Government’s commitment of more than $7 million for an Intentional Community development, which will co-locate a small group of young adults with a disability with about 20 public housing tenants who elect to be part of the medium density housing complex.

Ms Burch said that a site in Phillip had been identified by the ACT Government for the development, and thanked the three families from the local organisation Getting a Life who initially came to the Government with the proposal for an Intentional Community.

“The young men have been on the public housing waiting list for several years and their families proposed the Intentional Community to the ACT Government,” Ms Burch said.

“The Intentional Community allows for the transfer of care from parents to be managed. The transfer is inevitable but it needs to be done in such a way that ensures longer term security and stability.”

The term ‘intentional community’ is used for a housing project that attracts a group of people with a common interest. There are examples of ‘intentional communities’ in Australia and internationally.

The intention is to create a sense of ‘home’ through a suitable physical environment (house and landscaping), informal networks, positive social relationships and a sense of warmth and care. Public housing tenants will be given the opportunity to elect to be part of the Intentional Community.

Meritorious? Or bong water?

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Presumably, ongoing care is an issue for these chaps, otherwise transition from home would not be one of the objectives.

… so, who will be looking after them? The other tenants? The funky landscaping?

It is worth a try … there are enormous challenges but the individuals involved will get this up and running initially. Unfortunately, nothing I have seen so far that would make this sustainable. It is impossible to judge long-term practicality on the information provided so far … the absence of sustained funding suggests constant Government cutting will destroy this in the long run.
Realistically, 3 may not be economically viable. There are few aged care villages for just 3 clients. Will the Government decide ‘intentional communities’ don’t work if this one fails because it is too small to be viable? (rhetorical)

I predict meritorious on the basis of working with challenged people in a cafe in the 80s. That situation worked very well delivering a lot for all concerned – people in a place are generally nice to each other and the whole Intentional thingy is what will get this off on the good foot.

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