The EW Tipping Foundation is a not-for-profit community organisation based in Victoria, Australia.
The Foundation provides community capital, infrastructure and services. The Foundation commenced as a disability organisation and also undertakes projects and services in children, family and older person’s services.
It was one of the first organisations in Victoria to adopt a person-centred approach to its services, and has contributed to the adoption of new methodologies and philosophies for supporting people of all abilities.
The Foundation’s Patrons are the Governor of Victoria Professor David de Kretser, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, and Dr Marjorie Tipping.
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The Foundation was established in 1970, whilst its namesake, well-known journalist and disability rights activist E W (Bill) Tipping, was hospitalised and terminally ill. It was formed following a public meeting of almost 1700 people at the Melbourne Town Hall.
Bill’s work with the Melbourne Herald was instrumental improving conditions at Kew Cottages and other disability institutions. Bill’s vision was for a network of family homes in the community, in which people lived non-institutional lives, in a community setting.
The Foundation is now the hub of a network of community organisations providing disability, child & youth, family and aged care services. The Foundation has projects and services across much of Victoria, including in the Wimmera, Loddon-Mallee region, Ballarat and Grampians area, Melbourne metropolitan area and Gippsland.
These include residential services (sometimes known as shared supported accommodation, or group homes) for people with disabilities, respite facilities and other projects such as supporting people wanting to move towards independent living, ageing carers, and ageing people with disabilities.
The Foundation is partnered with Victorian Person Centred Services, an organisation which began in 2004. It provides home and community-based services, including skills development, attendant care, support in educational and work settings, recreational and leisure activities and flexible respite.
The Foundation's Vision is "Independence. Choice. Community for All".
The person-centred philosophy adopted by EW Tipping Foundation, and many other community service organisations, is a focus on the individual choice and empowerment. It is a substantial shift from early charity and medical models of service provision.
Person-centred services recognise the rights of everyone, regardless of ability, to enjoy equal rights and responsibilities as citizens, choosing the way they want to live, to participate in the community, and to receive respect. Person-centred approaches are often supported by Person Centred Planning.
The Foundation works to develop communities in Victoria, through co-operation and support of other community organisations, and through development of the community sector, particularly the disability sector. The Foundation is active in National Disability Services, Disability Professionals Victoria, and Disability Professionals Australasia, and is a proponent of the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme.