News & Events
Celebrating International Women’s Day at Somerville
Image: Marlene Mundul at the International Women’s Day March in Katherine Somerville staff and participants were excited to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. The Somerville workforce is made up of over 60% female identifying staff, with the majority of senior leadership positions filled by women. On International Women’s Day at Somerville, we #EmbraceEquity…
SIL Vacancies in Katherine
Somerville are about to complete construction of five Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) houses in Katherine East. This milestone represents the culmination of several years of work to build houses exceeding the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) SDA standards. These buildings are amongst the first of their kind in the Northern Territory. There are currently six…
2022 Christmas Gift Wrapping
In December 2022 Somerville held their Christmas gift wrapping fundraiser at Casuarina, Gateway, and Palmerston Shopping Centres. Thank you so much to all the volunteers, in particular Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, Leader of the Opposition Lia Finocchiaro, Senator Luke Gosling, Ministers Eva Lawler and Kate Worden, and Shadow Minister Marie-Clare Boothby.
Move in day at our new Palmerston homes
Beginning in February 2022, Somerville has been constructing two high standard Specialist Disability Accommodation houses in Palmerston. The houses were designed by Troppo Architects and were constructed by M&J Builders. The houses were officially opened by Ministers Eva Lawler and Ngaree Ah Kit at an event in November. At the end of December 2022, participants…
Carnival of Fun 2022
The Somerville team had a great day at the Carnival of Fun 2022, which was organised by the Diversability Collective and the City of Darwin. It was a great chance to catch up with other disability providers and to celebrate people living with disability. Everyone was very impressed by the MC James Morrison and his…
Somerville launches new SDA Accommodation
This week we were thrilled to celebrate the completion of our new Specialist Disability Accommodation high physical support design category homes in Palmerston. The homes were officially opened at a celebration event attended by the Somerville board, Somerville Patron Daphne Read, Member for Drysdale Eva Lawler and Member for Karama Ngaree Ah Kit. The event…
Farewell to Daphne Read
In June 2022, long-time Somerville board member and former President Daphne Read AO stepped down after an incredible 55 years on the Somerville board. Daphne has been central to Somerville’s success since its very inception and her presence and influence has been such a constant feature it is difficult to imagine a Somerville without her.…
Sensory Garden Working Bee
Today Somerville held a working bee at one of our houses in order to implement recommendations made by the Carpenteria occupational therapy team. The recommendations included a sensory garden, vertical gardens, misting fans, a chalkboard, and coloured paving. More recommendations including graffiti art will be implemented soon! It was a hot and sweaty day to…
Verna’s Return to Country
Somerville provides Support Coordination services to assist NDIS participants to implement their plans and achieve their goals. Somerville’s Support Coordination team recently facilitated a memorable Return to Country for one of our wonderful clients, Verna. Verna is a vibrant woman who grew up in the remote community of Numbulwar. Verna was a leader in her…
Margaret Somerville Awards 2022
Last week, Somerville celebrated the Margaret Somerville Awards and the annual acknowledgement of Years of Service. The acknowledgement of Years of Service celebrated employees who have worked at Somerville for three years up to an incredible twenty years. The Margaret Somerville Award, named in honour of our namesake, was introduced in 2015 as part of…
National Day of Action to Defend the NDIS
On Thursday April 28, people across Australia came together to take action to make sure the NDIS is at the top of the agenda this federal election. Many Somerville staff and participants attended this important rally held in Raintree Park in Darwin CBD. Somerville CEO Lawson Broad MC’d the event and moderated the political debate…
Farewell to Elaine Castles
Today we say farewell to our Administration Coordinator Elaine Castles after an incredible 26 years! Elaine has been an amazing asset to the organization for many years and has an incredible knowledge of all things Somerville. She worked particularly closely for many years with the current Administrator of the Northern Territory Vicki O’Halloran. We wish…
Ladies Leisurely Lunge Café
For ladies of all ages, Somerville is organising an opportunity to work towards health goals in a social group while connecting with friends and the community. Ladies Leisurely Lunge Café will be a two hour session that includes a one hour casual walk along one of Darwin’s picturesque walking trails followed by a relaxing drink…
Sandra Nelson Member for Katherine visits Somerville
We were pleased to host the Member for Katherine and Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family violence & Women’s Policy, Sandra Nelson, for morning tea on 12 April. Our Disability Services & Family and Financial Services teams met with Assistant Minister Nelson to discuss the work they do supporting our community in Katherine.
2017 Northern Territory Young Achiever Awards winners announced
As proud sponsors of the Northern Territory Young Achiever Somerville Community Service Award, we are very pleased to announce this year’s winner, Aditi Srinivas. Aditi, 28, is a proud advocate for marginalised groups in the Territory. She is co-founder of the volunteer organisation WHAT RU4 NT?, a group dedicated to reforming NT law, and is a passionate…
