This has been a long time coming...
Kevin has been supported by WALK through residential and day supports for almost 20 years. His goal for the last number of years has been to purchase his own property.
In 2018 a lot of time was spent with Kevin being supported by WALK and his advocate in trying to get access to his own money. His money is held in ‘trust’ as he is a Ward of Court. In March 2019, Kevin was told that the courts had appointed a ‘court liaison’ individual, Kieran, to meet with Kevin and his support staff with a view to finding out more information about Kevin and his goal of home ownership.
In a show of support and solidarity for Kevin, our CEO, Director of Residential Services and a Residential Team Coordinator were all present at Kevin’s first meeting with Kieran. This meeting was an opportunity for Kevin to lay bare all the facts around the challenges he had faced to that point in being a ward or court and therefore in realising his goals.
During the months that followed, a lot of background work happened between Kevin, WALK, Kieran, the Ward of Court and Kevin’s newly appointed solicitor, Anne. He now had a lot of people advocating on his behalf and for Kevin there was a sense that the system was finally working for him and not against him. Although highlighting that the legal process was slow, Kevin said he was happy because he could see that things were moving forward.
The Courts appointed Shane to support Kevin to source a suitable property. WALK supported Kevin to consider what was important to him in a new home, and to communicate this to Shane. After a number of viewings, Kevin found a property that ticked all the boxes and besides a few material changes that would be required, Kevin viewed this as the right place and a place he would call home.
With the help of his advocate, Kevin wrote to the solicitor general requesting a meeting with the Ward of Court and his solicitor. Off the back of that he and Anne attended the Wards of Court office and met with the Solicitor General. WALK supported this meeting by preparing Kevin and also attending with him. This was a chance for Kevin to talk to the people in charge about his journey and his frustrations along the way. He also presented them with the property he intended to buy and explained why this was his preferred property. The meeting was very successful and Kevin walked out the door knowing that the Solicitor General was instructing Shane to make an offer on the house. Another outcome of this meeting was that Kevin finally got info he had been asking for several years for about how much money was actually in his Trust.
A week after the meeting he was informed that his offer had been accepted and he had gone ‘sale agreed’. In September 2019, Kevin was supported by WALK to attend court proceedings with his legal team where the President of the High Court sanctioned the release of funds for Kevin’s property.
0n 17th December 2019, the sale was finalised and Kevin officially became a home owner.
Renovations were due to start on the house in the first week of January 2020 to get it to be the place that Kevin wants to call home.
