Mercy Connect turns sod on much needed disability Transition House

Mercy Connect, which provides a range of services to support people with a disability to live independently, has funded the building and hopes construction on their Bottlebrush Street grounds will be completed by the end of the year.

Chief executive Trent Dean said there was a huge need for this type of service on the Border and around the state.

"Buildings like this could be everywhere, with services like this needed yesterday, frankly," he said.

The Transition House will offer safe interim housing for people with disability who need additional support to meet long-term needs or crisis accommodation and will also be suitable for those needing to further develop areas such as social and independent living skills.

Mr Dean said staff working at the Transition House could help participants find employment, get their drivers licence, access education or anything else they might need to help them take the next step to independent living.

"It's a very bespoke, very specialised building we're doing," he said.

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Mercy Connect staff will be available on-site to provide support as required, with housing available for up to two residents at a time.

Chair of Mercy Community Services Australia Matthew Clancy said the Transition House would be the second Mercy Connect construction this year, with more development works in the pipeline.

"We've currently got Kambora Court that's under construction; that's due to be completed in April this year and we're looking forward to that being finalised," he said.

"We'll provide accommodation for nine residents, participants of the NDIA so that's the first development that we've got going.

"We're very fortunate that we're in a position that we can do this it is through previous boards that have allowed us to have the reserves so that we can make this investment into the facilities that were providing here at Mercy Connect."

Mr Clancy said it was an exciting time for Mercy Connect and the community.

"There's a huge need, we are getting calls quite regularly to provide this type of service and this is really the first time that we're in a position to provide something like this," he said.

Mr Clancy said that the service received fortnightly calls from people seeking the type of support the Transition House would provide.

"We find that as soon as people know that you're doing it, even though we're still a little way off, they're still calling us to see how we can facilitate people, to support people, that are coming into the system."

Mr Clancy encouraged anyone who was interested in finding out more about the service to get in contact with Mercy Connect.

"Reach out and see if we can help in any way," he said.

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