Exclusive online forum for NDIS participants is now active
![When facing challenges associated with the NDIS, being able to talk to others about your experiences can help you feel less alone. [Source: Shutterstock]](https://agedcareguide-assets.imgix.net/news/articles/wp/facebookwheelchair0608.jpg?fm=pjpg)
A new and exclusive online forum created for NDIS participants is creating a community of peer support for members
Key points:
- The Housing Hub has created a new Facebook forum to allow NDIS participants to share their experiences of finding suitable housing
- Approximately 23,000 NDIS participants currently utilise Specialist Disability Accommodation and that number is expected to rise to 36,700 participants by June 2042
- NDIS participants and their supporters are encouraged to join the forum by requesting access on Facebook
An exclusive online forum for NDIS participants and their supporters has recently been launched and currently hosts 144 members.
The NDIS Housing Peer Support Group forum was launched in April 2024 to help NDIS participants access peer support in an online community.
Approximately 23,000 NDIS participants currently utilise Specialist Disability Accommodation which is expected to rise to 36,700 participants by June 2042.
This group is intended for NDIS participants ‘going through a change in your housing’ to get support from the Housing Hub team and other NDIS participants navigating the NDIS housing system.
The forum, created on Facebook, is a private group, meaning that only people accepted by the Housing Hub admin can view and comment in the group.
Group administrators can moderate the group’s content and help ensure that members remain respectful to each other.
Housing Outcomes Facilitator Belinda Aitken, a group administrator and NDIS participant, explained why online platforms can help participants navigate the NDIS system.
“When you are on the housing journey looking for your new accessible home under the NDIS, you can sometimes feel like you are the only person going through it,” she said.
“Having a place to go where you can chat to people who have gone through or are going
through similar experiences can be very valuable — they can provide you with answers to your questions and even show you if you’re the only person who has experienced something along the way.”
The Facebook group was created to give NDIS participants a place to discuss their experiences with finding NDIS housing. [Source: supplied]
People with lived experience navigating NDIS housing and the Housing Hub team have collaborated to create the NDIS Housing Peer Support Group and establish the most suitable platform and relevant guidelines.
According to the group’s description, ‘the NDIS has provided some of the funding for this group through their Round 2 Home and Living Demonstration projects grant.’
Ms Aitken expressed the importance of making the group private so that participants can freely discuss their experiences and offer support to others.
“What I have loved so far is the knowledge that is already in the group and the willingness people have to share their experiences to help others,” she said.
“If someone in the group has a question or is experiencing a problem, someone jumps in to help out with an answer, which I think is really great to see.”
Belinda, an NDIS participant, is an admin of the Housing Hub’s online Facebook forum. [Source: supplied]
Members of the group have discussed numerous topics including eligibility for SDA, how assistive technology can help people with disability and what the roles of support workers are.
Online platforms and forums are used all over the world with benefits including being able to access peer support, get relevant answers, improve social presence and participate in the community. This is helpful when members live in different states or have physical disability that may impact their ability to leave their homes.
Approximately 649,620 eligible participants are registered with the NDIS according to information on the NDIS website.
NDIS participants and their supporters can join the NDIS Housing Peer Support Group by requesting to join on Facebook.
You can read the Facebook forum rules for this group on the Housing Hub website.
How could the online Facebook forum help you?
Let the team at Talking Disability know on social media.
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