Learn how support coordinators are helping their clients navigate the complexity of NDIS Home and Living to develop personalised living arrangements by engaging Mable’s Home and Living Consultancy.
Few aspects of daily life are more critical to our sense of security and wellbeing than having a safe home.
Having the freedom to live independently could be an important goal for your clients.
However, finding a place to live in Australia has become notoriously challenging. Support coordinators may find it difficult to advise clients on their ideal living arrangements and how to choose and manage the delivery of various NDIS Home and Living options.
With the launch of Mable’s Home and Living Consultants, you have another valuable resource to recommend when your clients feel stuck when planning and realising their preferred living situation.
Read on to learn more about Home and Living and why support coordinator Mirjam Holthuis has referred 4 of her clients to our consultancy service.
Beyond funding criteria: what's your client's version of home?
Funding eligibility and availability of housing options under common funding types like Supported Independent Living (SIL), Individualised Living Options (ILO), and Specialised Disability Accommodation (SDA) are complex in their own right.
But first and foremost, there are many assumptions to overcome and questions that need to be answered to
accurately articulate a person’s home and living support needs so they have the best chance of pursuing and using funding to match how they want to live.
Libby Ellis, who leads Mable’s Home and Living Consultants, has devoted her career to helping NDIS participants to be the authors of their own lives and exercise choice in creating personalised living arrangements.
“There are many people with disability who have achieved a home that is right for them. They have worked through barriers and shaped supports and funding to make it work,” Libby said.
“What they show is that you don’t only have to live with others with disability, or live alone and be vulnerable to loneliness and isolation.”
Specialist advice is helping Mirjam's clients have their voices heard
Support coordinator Mirjam Holthuis has a 16-year-old son with Down syndrome and 10 years of experience working in the disability sector. She currently helps over 30 clients make the best use of their NDIS plans.
The quality of the people delivering the advice is the key reason Mirjam sees value in referring clients to Mable’s Home and Living consultancy — that is, the experienced, methodical approach spearheaded by lead consultant Libby Ellis.
“Libby is fantastic. I want all my clients to work with her,” Mirjam said.
As well as being able to dedicate time to thoroughly unpacking each client’s needs and gathering the right evidence, Mirjam said that clients’ parents and carers often benefited from being able to speak to someone with independent, specialist knowledge of NDIS Home and Living.
The specialised knowledge and advice available through the Mable Home and Living Consultancy provides a way of planning for other housing options, not just group homes, which is important to Mirjam.
Like many in the industry, Mirjam is conscious of how NDIS rules and funding decisions are changing. These changes will only intensify the need for well-planned pathways and collaborative problem-solving.
Help to guide next steps after a housing setback
Mirjam said partnering with Mable’s Home and Living Consultancy has improved the advice available to one of her clients who recently had to move back into her parent’s home after living independently.
Mable’s lead consultant, Libby Ellis, helped the client—in collaboration with her support worker, her parents, and Mirjam—determine her next steps and address risks that were present or emerged during her previous living situation in order to make the next move better.
According to Mirjam, Libby’s involvement has ensured a good process that was respectful of all stakeholders. Importantly, the engagement was focused on giving Mirjam’s client choice and control in how she lives, with safeguards in mind.
Help to develop a strategy for the right funding
Mable’s consultancy service is also providing a fresh perspective on a tough case in which Supported Independent Living (SIL) requests had previously been denied for a client of Mirjam’s, who is experiencing extreme conflict at home.
Mirjam felt her client could benefit from another experienced person to help him better articulate and document his desire and need to find a safe space away from home.
“With Libby, she can give him a voice better than anyone else can through the way she works.”
Working with clients to strengthen their voice when making decisions about their own living arrangements is a value that runs throughout the Consultancy. We aim to bring meaningful choice and control to each client’s home and living experience.
Can Mable Home and Living Consultants help your client?
Your clients don’t need to use other Mable services to access our consultants. We offer 3 set consultancy packages, or we can tailor a quote based on an individual’s needs.
The process can include helping your clients to:
- Clearly describe what their ideal home situation looks like.
- Understand the possibilities and relevant funding options.
- Create the right plan, a roadmap of support and safeguards.
- Stay on track as they implement their plan or build a support team.
Book a call with a Mable Home and Living Consultant today.
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