Supported Living
Supported Living refers to a range of services and community living arrangements designed with individuals, their families and local authority commissioners to support people to attain or retain their independence to live in their own home and within their local community.
The support services provided by SFHT are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and registered to provide personal care to the people we support.
We work to the guidance of the Reach Standards:
- I choose who I live with
- I choose where I live
- I have my own home
- I choose how I am supported
- I choose who supports me
- I get good support
- I choose my friends and relationships
- I choose how to be healthy and safe
- I choose how to take part in my community
- I have the same rights and responsibilities as other citizens
- I get help to make changes in my life
SFHT has seven supported living services within the Southbourne, Christchurch and Kings Park area. The services vary from accommodation for between 5 and 8 individuals, all with some shared communal space so people can spend quality time together if they wish.
Each property is on a residential street, with neighbours and located close to amenities and good access to transport links, ensuring that development of independent living skills is possible, but also that the people we support can get involved in their local community.
Each individual has their own tenancy agreement with their landlord and are supported to claim housing benefit to meet the weekly rent costs. (unless privately funded). This separates housing and support and ensures people enjoy the full housing rights everyone else has. Our Housing Manager works alongside the housing associations to ensure that each property is of a high standard and maintenance tasks are completed in a timely manner.
We work very closely with several local authority learning disability teams and when commissioned to provide support to an individual we will have access to the person’s care assessments and use these to develop individual support plans to make sure all their support needs are met with a person-centred approach. These plans are then used to assess the level of support someone needs and the cost of this support.
Support is provided by SFHT in the following way:
Everyone will have an element of core support that includes sleep in staff in each service. Core support is described as support that can be interrupted and is shared with all tenants in the service.
One to one support where a staff member provides dedicated uninterrupted support to an individual and can include helping writing a shopping list and doing a grocery shop, a wide range of chosen activities, visiting family, housework, banking etc.
It is fantastic to see the people we support taking pride in their own homes and the increased confidence this independence has given them. They are really enjoying their lifestyles and having lots of fun, are well engaged with their support and for some are slowly realising that there is a whole world to be explored and are thriving on new opportunities and experiences.