A steel ramp at the rear of her Brisbane home gives wheelchair user Jana Wilson, pictured here with her son Ethan, 12, ready access to her patio and back garden.
Up to 5000 frail Queensland seniors and people with a disability are finding life easier with government-funded home modifications.
People like wheelchair-user Jana Wilson of Moggill in Brisbane’s west are among the beneficiaries of the joint Australian-Queensland government Home and Community Care (HACC) program.
A $7 million boost in funding for HACC home modifications in late 2010 is progressively bringing modifications like Jana’s external ramp to homes around the state.
Jana’s steel access ramp is just one of a range of modifications that can be funded.
“Without it I wouldn’t have access to my patio and back garden,” says Jana, who has already paid for modifications at home herself.
HACC funds can pay for a range of modifications from stair lifts and complex bathroom modifications to minor measures like installing a hand-held shower, relocating power points or modifying steps.
For many people with a disability or frail aged people, these improvements can mean the difference between living at home independently or with loved ones, or having to live in residential care.
Around 230 non-government organisations are to share in the latest funding for a wide range of home modifications.
For further information call 07 3247 3847 or email haccadmin@communities.qld.gov.au
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