Dundaloo Hostel is being erased from the Wingham Road landscape and as the bricks and mortar disappear its demolition will close a challenging chapter in the story of Dundaloo Support Services (DSS) and the lives of former residents.
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There is no sadness, says DSS chief executive officer Shelley Sabey, “it was uninhabitable and it represented the past, sometimes an unhappy and unpleasant past.”
‘We worked really hard to ensure our practices were of the highest quality even though our facilities were of the worst quality.”
Neil Chapman thinks he was at school when he came to Dundaloo Hostel. Today he is 42 years old and when he looks to the demolition site he is thankful it is no longer his home. It was run down, it did not meet housing standards within Australia and importantly, it did not meet his requirements or nurture his hopes for a life rich with opportunities and choice.
Today Neil calls a purpose-built property in Old Bar his home and he says he is happy. It is shared with five other residents and he says his room is large, that he loves spending time cooking a barbecue and enjoying the Bali Hut inspired outdoor area. He is looking forward to Summer, being close to the beach and enjoying the challenge of learning to use an air rifle.
Shelley says Neil is living a life of his choosing and doing his own thing – just like you and me – and that it is a step forward for Neil, and his experience is not unique, with all former hostel residents celebrating the changes to their lives and their new homes in Taree, Wingham and Old Bar.
For Shelley, the hostel demolition is a milestone moment as it was her main goal when she took the top job 12 years ago. She is quick to commend and thank the local families who gave their time and money to establish the hostel.
“When it was set up it in 1967 it was state-of-the-art and way ahead of its time but it didn’t progress. It became run down, it didn’t meet the needs of residents and so we asked the question, why should a person who has an intellectual disability, or who is disadvantaged be treated differently than any other citizen and have to live in a segregated hostel?
“Would you prefer to drive a Datsun 120Y or a BMW 2016 model and I think that’s what we have been able to progress.”
Progress can be measured in many ways, but Shelley looks to the health and wellbeing of the people supported by DSS.
“It is positive and it is profound. One gentleman who lived in the hostel would have a seizure at least once a week, but since he moved into his new home he has only had three seizures in 18 months and that’s about health and wellbeing. We’ve had some people who struggle with verbalising starting to speak more.
Shelley says a great deal has changed and continues to change in the disability support sector.
“We had a budget to support each person in Dundaloo Hostel of $13,000 a year, which is extraordinarily low. We built that up for each person with the average package now being $120,000. So we’ve worked really hard.”
Shelley is proud of the work achieved by DSS and is looking forward to advancing further improvements in 2017. The hostel demolition is part of a redevelopment process and she says the community will be consulted.