Supported Living

Within an Individual’s Own Home and Community

Supported Living offers the most supported environment that we provide, with 1-1 support 24 hours a day where necessary. The principles are the same as any other service we provide. All the people we support have their own tenancy agreements with the housing associations and share the property with up to 4 other people. They are supported by a permanent team of between 6-10 people with the skills to meet the needs of the people that live there, and work shift patterns that are determined by the service users’ needs.

The needs of the people we support vary enormously, with some needing support in every aspect of their life, while other people may need less support. We solely focus on providing individual support to enable people to live as independently as possible and achieve their aspirations, regardless of the level and complexity of the support they need. Our aim is to enable people to be as independent as possible, with control over their own lives and not to become unnecessarily dependent on services. Several people that we have supported in 24 hour services have moved to independent accommodation, with reduced support being provided by the same staff team.

Young People

Transitioning into Adulthood

The transition from a young person to adulthood can be a challenging time. For a person with a learning disability it can be particularly difficult – not only are they going through difficult changes as individuals, but also having support transferred from Children’s to Adults’ services with little or no preparation. This can result in a young person with a learning disability having to deal with unfamiliar agencies and people who don’t know the person and their needs, at a time when they are particularly vulnerable.

We’ve worked with many young people in their transition into adulthood, living at home or in Local Authority care. By working closely with the person, their family and statutory agencies to identify the persons needs and aspirations, we can provide continuity of support for as long as the person needs it. This can be through outreach support in their family home or own home or in 24 hour supported living services, depending on the person’s individual need. Our aim is to develop the person’s independence and control over their life and to reduce their dependency on support.

Parents or Expectant Parents

With Support Needs

Over the last 15 years Access for Living has gained significant experience in developing services for people with a learning disability who are parents or expectant parents. Although it’s not our role to determine the person’s suitability to be a parent, we can try to ensure that they have the same rights and opportunities to be judged on their ability to be good parents, rather than just on their disability.  Although its often the case that the parent is judged by the statutory bodies not to be able to care for the child, we work with the person to ensure that they are fully involved in the process and where possible remain in contact with their child. Where the person is able to keep their child, we can offer support to ensure they access all of the resources available to new parents and help with issues that may arise as a parent. Our role is solely to support the parent to work with children’s services and other agencies in the best interests of the child.

Outreach

Shorter Periods of Specific Support

Our Outreach Team supports people with a wide range of learning disabilities who live either with their families or in their own homes, but don’t require 24-hour support. We provide support to people in all areas of their life, including health, managing their homes, helping with finances, as well as maintaining and developing relationships. The aim of the outreach team is to develop a person’s independence and skills so that they are able to live as independently as possible, providing support in areas were the person struggles. Some people may require significant support to remain in their family home, while others require a few hours of specific support around daily living tasks.

The outreach team often support people who, having developed independent living skills in 24 hour supported services, move to their own independent accommodation. This ensures continuity and insight into the individual’s needs and in some cases leads to the person being able to live independently, accessing support when they need it.

How to Access Our Services

The majority of the individual services we provide are commissioned through the local authority via specialist social workers. They refer people to us and we work with them and the individual who needs support and their family to identify the service they need and whether we are able to provide it. We will only agree to provide a service if we feel we can make a significant difference to the that person’s life. In some cases where the person has an individual budget or their own resources, we can consider direct referrals from the person or their family.

If you are interested in our services or just need some advice on services in general, please feel free to contact us and we’ll do what we can to help.

Would you like to know more?

If you would like to discuss the possibility of engaging our services please don't hesitate to get in touch.
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