Best mates unlock endless possibilities with their new accessible home

Keith Perry, Robert MacKenzie and Frank Jenson met at school in the 70s. The Mackay trio have lived together for more than 50 years and recently were handed the keys to a brand new home during a spectacular event.

In front of an exuberant crowd including family and friends, along with Dawson MP Andrew Willcox, Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert and Mackay Regional Councillors Laurence Bonaventura and Michelle Green, Keith officially untied the ribbon on the home’s entrance door.

With a private patio off each bedroom, assistive technology, built-in help alarms, and a mobility-accessible floor plan, these best friends are excited to embrace their independent living with the support of each other and our wonderful Mackay employees.

“I like all my friends with me,” Frank said. 

“[We’re] always helping each other,” Bob added.

A fourth member of the household, John O’Sullivan, attended the event and also calls the new house home.

Their close bond is captured in a memory photo wall filled with five decades of special moments. Created by Home Site Supervisors Dannielle Gallagher, Mary Denton and Terry Stacey, the memory wall has photos of the housemates living, working and simply hanging out together.

Bill “The Legend” Pascoe, a close friend, who lived with the men for many years passed away prior to the completion of the new home.

During the event, Keith, Robert, Frank and John unveiled a special wooden bench built by the team at our Mackay social enterprise, in memory of Bill. Robert also kickstarted their garden by planting a mandarin tree with a little help from Mr Willcox.

Since moving in, the men have agreed they love the fishpond, which now has several varieties of fish. They look forward to making the backyard their own. The friends have years to make their mark on the home – it’s their home for as long as they choose.

Endeavour Foundation is Australia’s largest owner-operator of Supported Independent Living for people with disability. We are investing over $45m in the My Home, My Life initiative, which will see us renovate and build more than 90 custom homes for people with disability.