Moving out of home is a rite of passage, but when you have a physical disability, things aren’t as straightforward as just picking out a place to live. So, here’s my story about moving across Australia to live in an accessible apartment in Melbourne.
Before we jump in, here’s a bit of my backstory. My name is Amy and if you follow Able Foods on social media, you’ve probably seen some of the work that I’ve created for the team. Through my business Little Black Dress Digital, I’ve been with the team for about 2 and a half years, originally based in Perth, but more recently living in Melbourne, which means yes, I’ve now had the opportunity to try some of their meals! I have a rare physical disability called Nemaline Myopathy. As a result, I have muscular weakness and I use a power wheelchair and a ventilator. I also have support workers who help me with all aspects of my life.
With this in mind, you can see how moving out of home has its challenges. This time last year I actually swore black and blue that I was never moving out of home, as I’m a bit of a homebody and very close to my parents, let alone move to the other side of Australia. I had been visiting Melbourne regularly though, with my twin sister moving only 18 months earlier, and each visit I fell in love with the city even more. There were so many opportunities here, not just for my digital marketing business, but personally with events and the horse racing industry, which is my biggest passion.
Feeling at home
Moving out meant acquiring Special Disability Accommodation funding through my NDIS plan. While the NDIS has opened up a wide range of life opportunities and independence for people like myself, it’s still certainly not without its challenges. Between getting organised with reports, to submitting it to the NDIS and then waiting for an outcome, it was roughly an eight month process–definitely not an overnight decision. I was very fortunate though that my twin sister had completed the process only 18 months early, so she was able to guide me through the process and had SDA providers that she recommended.
One of my non-negotiables about moving was that I wanted to be in the same apartment block as my twin sister (but absolutely not the same apartment because we would kill each other). We have a very close relationship and do a lot of things together, especially going to concerts. So after putting my name down for an apartment in her block, it really was just a waiting game from the NDIS and lots of crossing fingers that an apartment would be available for me to move into.
Besides being close to my sister, this apartment block ticked my needs in terms of being close to public transport, home automation and modifications so that I could move about in my apartment independently in my wheelchair as well as a heated spa for hydrotherapy. This particular model also has an onsite shared support worker, which provides the piece of mind that someone is always on call and available to help me.
Moving out meant acquiring Special Disability Accommodation funding through my NDIS plan. While the NDIS has opened up a wide range of life opportunities and independence for people like myself, it’s still certainly not without its challenges.
Accessible housing is for everyone
The ironic thing is, before I started my Bachelor of Commerce degree and the career path I’m on today, I had actually completed a Certificate IV in Residential Building Draft (designing houses) with the aim of designing accessible houses. So not only do I love shows like The Block and was super excited to do the interior design of my apartment, but I also had a basic understanding of what accessible design guidelines needed to be met. When broken down, these guidelines/design recommendations don’t just help people with disability, but when applied to standard housing, it means that the elderly or people with prams or any accessibility needs can independently live in their home. So really, these standards, in my opinion, should be applied to all future builds.
After all of this, if I have learnt anything from this process that I could pass on to other people I would say that if you’re looking at moving out of home or applying for SDA funding, definitely get yourself a good support system who can help you advocate. With SDA funding, definitely look at getting a specialist SDA coordinator to help you write reports and organise everything too, as there is definitely a lot of paperwork involved and organisations like this have done it hundred times before.
Moving out of home has probably been one of the best things I’ve done though! As a 26-year-old, I’m living my best independent life and thriving. So, if you’ve on the fence about it, I would say definitely start the process, even if it’s just to give you options later down the track in life!
Amy Evams
Amy is the brains behind all of Able Foods' social media. She runs her own business, Little Black Dress Digital.
