Ms Tara Doheny:

On housing, back in 2008 when we set about putting out applications for funding, services would have come back to us. They would have worked with people who were interested in moving into the community and their families. They would have put in applications to us which were assessed against specific criteria. Once the funding had been received, staff were employed to work with those individuals in a different way to source suitable accommodation in the community for their needs. The services then had the challenging piece of unbundling funding within the services to support that person in the community. Some people have quite complex needs and sometimes many adaptations were required in the home. The services would have worked with each individual around that piece in terms of sourcing what they needed.

The important thing around the training that was provided, in terms of supported self-directed living training, was that staff were trained to support and work with individuals in a different way. It was not the medicalised model. It was more around the preference and needs of the person.

We started small and then we grew bigger. With the service reform fund, we look at whole large institutions around that reform piece. We started small. We became champions for change and learned from experiences and used the stories to help and support other people who wanted to move.