In this, our 55th edition we have returned to an exploration of what it means to create a home.

Generally we think of home as a safe and secure place to be oneself and from that security take up opportunities to work, study or contribute to community, so we think it’s important to consider why a real home is so often out of the reach of people who live with disabilities. This topic has been the theme of previous editions of CRUcial Times and in some ways nothing has really changed about the fundamental importance of home and how essential it is. What we need to consider to assist someone who lives with disability to create and sustain a home hasn’t changed much either. However, the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Australia means that for the first time having enough funded support to move into a home of their own is a real possibility for many more people with disabilities.

With many people being offered only accommodation or a bed in a house we thought it was timely to return to the topic of creating a home to ensure that houses do become homes and do offer the comfort and security required to be a Launchpad into the rest of life.