It's about having dignity, freedom, safety & independence.

WHY WAS THE CARINBUNDI FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED?

The Carinbundi Foundation was established to address the housing needs of Bundaberg people living with a disability.

"Access to adequate, safe, secure, accessible and affordable housing is a fundamental human right and one stipulated in the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Carinbundi received a very generous bequest from a local Bundaberg family. The Board of Carinbundi made the decision to use the money to set up an independent charitable foundation with a separate board and the vision of providing homes for life for people living with a disability.

Carinbundi has been providing disability support in the Bundaberg region since 1997. This support includes day service programs, a respite house, flexible respite programs as well as Supported Independent Living (SIL).

Supported Independent Living (SIL) is help with and/or supervision of daily tasks to develop the skills of an individual to live as independently as possible.

"It takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb which means that an entire community ofpeople must interact with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment.

This is the environment we aim to create in all of the Carinbundi SIL homes.

....a circle of friends, family and support staff working together to ensure all of the residents have the opportunity to reach their full potential and lead meaningful lives as valued members of their community.

All of our houses are currently rented through the open market and as such, do not ensure long-term security for our residents.

The Carinbundi Foundation wants to build houses that become homes where residents are free to be themselves, where they feel safe and secure and can share with likeminded friends. We want these homes to be close to community amenities where residents can visit their local shops, post-office, newsagent and cafes and become integral members of their community. We want the community to know the residents by name and we want the residents to know they are valued members of their own community.

We want the residents to love being in their own home and, like most of us, we want them to feel that their home is their sanctuary. Somewhere they can be themselves, somewhere they can hang out with friends and family. We want their home to be a sanctuary where they are free to be themselves.

We want them to have dignity, freedom, safety and independence.

In Bundaberg, there is a shortage of secure, affordable and accessible homes for people with disability. This problem is not exclusive to our major cities.

Do we ever wonder where people with disability live? What is their home-life like? Who looks after them when they are at home? Who are their friends? Do they have holidays? Are they at risk ofabuse? What happens iftheir family members are unable to care for them any longer? What iftheir mum or dad have to go into aged care? What iftheir siblings are unable to support them? Who looks after their financial security?

At the Carinbundi Foundation, we do think about all of these questions. We do worry where people with a disability will live when they can no longer live at home with family.

That is our vision - Disability Homes for Life