Many local authorities have changed services from residential care to supported housing for people with learning disabilities. Much of this change has focussed on achieving wider access to welfare benefits and having a tenancy.
The aim of supported living to achieve choice, control and community inclusion has been much less of a focus. The result has been a focus on the housing ‘mechanics’ and as a consequence housing rights are often denied in practice, institutional practices continue in supported living and community inclusion and networks are not achieved by people.
This three year Department of Health subsidised project, led by the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi), will address the need to include community inclusion at the heart of housing planning and design by increasing knowledge, understanding and developing materials to:
The outcomes and learning from this project will be disseminated through a series of discussion and good practice papers, a national conference, national programmes for housing and social inclusion and regional learning disability and housing networks.
Project Partners
Halton & St Helens PCT & Councils
North Tyneside Council
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Slough Borough Council
Essex County Council
Gloucestershire County Council
Bradford Metropolitan District Council
The Real Tenancy Test is a quick test to be used in supported living and tenancy based supported housing to determine if real tenancy rights are being met.
More and more people with a learning disability have a tenancy. Some people with learning disabilities have the same rights, choice and control in their homes as all tenants should, but many people with learning disabilities have tenancies in housing and support services where they do not enjoy real rights, choice and control. This is usually because although they may have a legal and binding tenancy agreement, their home operates more like a traditional residential care service, where a care provider runs the home and commissioners ‘place’ people in their home. The Real Tenancy Test is designed to get a quick understanding of whether a tenancy in supported living gives real tenancy rights. The Real Tenancy Test should not be used for tenancies in a temporary supported housing service.
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This report has been written to help people planning and managing housing and support services for people with learning disabilities. It explains the difference between supported living and residential care. It describes different types of housing and support that should be available for people, and how to go about putting them in place.
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A guide to changing services from residential care to supported living for people with learning disabilities. The guide says what helped to make this work well and can be used to help people who are planning to change care homes to supported living. Examples are given of different things which have helped in different places. It also has stories from people living in care homes which have changed to supported living, which tell how their lives have become better.
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This report is about how commissioners can help make sure that services help people to live good lives in their communities.
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'My Own Place' report provides practical tools and advice to help young people with disabilities and their families have good information and be supported to plan so that they have equal access to housing opportunities. This report is part of the three year Department of Health funded project on Housing and Social Inclusion.
Based on the real experiences of young people and their families, the report provides a ‘Housing Pathway’ to be followed as young people plan for their adulthood. The Pathway also sets out the most important issues that need to be tackled strategically in a local area, so that commissioning can ensure high quality information and support for young disabled people.
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Can we confidently say that Supported Living is being delivered effectively? After the scandal at Winterbourne View, can this approach be applied to people with high and complex support needs? Two national conferences - one in March in London, one in Leeds in June 2012.
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