McCallum resident Carmel Waight outside the new unit, which is being built in Alfredton. PICTURE: JUSTIN WHITELOCK
VICTORIANS with disabilities are facing an acute shortage of accommodation, but McCallum Disability Services is making a difference to the lives of many with a series of new housing projects around Ballarat.
The latest, an independent living unit in Leopold Street, Alfredton, is under construction and will be able to accommodate two people when completed.
The organisation also hopes to build a further four two-bedroom units in Albert Street, Sebastopol, later this year.
McCallum Disability Services chief executive officer Shane Molloy said there was a large waiting list for accommodation in Victoria, and McCallum was proud to be able to help.
He said one success story had been its seven-unit independent living complex in Leopold Street, which opened in 2009.
There had been no federal or state government finding readily available at the time to build the complex, so McCallum had determined to embark on the project.
Now, the Oliver Family Foundation has donated $145,000 towards the cost of an additional unit at the site.
A resident at one of the Leopold Street units, Carmel Waight, said having her independence was the most important thing.
She said it was a “great” place to live. “I just like to be independent now,” she said.