When will I be ready for Supported Living?
Anyone, regardless of their ability, can be supported to live in
their own home with the right support. The support you receive will
be carefully planned to support your needs to live independently.
Supported living will help you develop the skills you need.
This could mean that you are supported for a few hours a week,
everyday, overnight or even 24 hours a day.
What are my housing and support options? How can I decide where
I would like to live?
A guide to housing for people with learning difficulties has
been produced to help you think about the housing options available
in Bath & North East Somerset. The guide contains information
about the different types of housing, how you can be supported,
paying for supported living and who to contact to find out
more.
Can I live with friends?
Yes, some people like to live with other people especially
people who they get along with like friends or a partner. Supported
Living starts with a belief that every person has the right to lead
their own life. To decide where they live, with whom they live, who
provides them with support and how they live their lives.
When should I start planning? How long will it take to find
somewhere to live?
Moving home is a very big step in anyone’s life. It is very
important that you plan ahead. You might not be ready to move at
the moment but you might be thinking about moving in the future.
Finding housing can take a long time. You should start by thinking
about what is important to you, where you would like to live, who
you would like to live with, what housing is available and the time
it might take to get what you want.
Who can help me?
Your Care Manager can tell you more about supported living. You
could have a person centred plan to help you think about what you
want in the future. You could be referred to an advocate who could
help you speak up for what you would like. You could talk to people
who are already living in supported living who can tell you about
their experiences.
Who will make sure the appropriate support is in place?
The local Authority has a duty to provide some people with
support. You need to have a Community Care Assessment from Social
Services to assess whether you need support services. A Community
Care Assessment will identify your support needs. If needs are
identified following the assessment a support plan is put together
with your Care Manager to meet your identified needs.
If you think you need a Community Care Assessment contact the
Adult Duty Desk on 01225 477000
More information about the Community Care Assessment is
available on the help for adult’s pages on the website.
Will I be lonely?
The support you receive will be carefully planned to meet your
needs. Each person will have a care plan carefully drawn up to help
you develop social networks, activities such as going to college,
help find employment or take part in community activities.
Who will review and monitor the support?
Once your support package is in place it is important that it
continues to meet your needs and you are happy with it.
You will have regular review meetings to make sure that you are
getting what you need and any changes can be made if needed. You
can attend this meeting along with the people that support you,
your family and an advocate if you would like one.
Who is responsible for regulating Supported Living?
Social Services will monitor the support to make sure the agreed
standards are maintained. The Support plan will be followed to make
sure that the appropriate support is provided. A list of local
Support Providers that we have approved is available on this page.
All the Providers meet standards to support people to live in their
own homes.
If there are any problems with the support you are getting, both
Social Services and the Support Provider will do their best to
resolve them.
Support Providers also register with the Commission for Social
Care Inspection (CSCI) this is a formal body who inspect and report
on the services provided by the Provider. Providers receive regular
inspections and have to comply with many regulations and standards.
Following an inspection the Commission for Social Care write a
report on their findings saying what the service does well and what
it needs to do to improve, the reports are available on:
http://www.csci.org.uk/.
What happens if I don’t like where I live or I don’t get on
with the Support Staff?
If there is a problem with the accommodation you are living in
you should contact your Landlord or your Support Worker who could
help with things like arranging for repairs to be carried out. If
you want to move to different accommodation it could take a long
time to plan and arrange. You should tell people such as your Care
Manger, Advocate, Support Worker and Landlord who will be able to
give you advice on finding alternative
accommodation.
The support you receive will be selected to best support your
needs. However if there is a problem with the support you receive
we will start by working to resolve the problem. If there is a
problem that can’t be resolved the Support Provider can be changed
without you having to leave your accommodation.
What happens in an emergency?
Each person will have an agreed procedure for dealing with
emergencies. Here are some ways that you can be supported in case
of an emergency.
- A person may have a Community Alarm System you can find out
more about this from the community alarm service
- The person or staff can call the emergency duty team.
- Some people will have 24 hour support available.
- The Support Provider may have staff on call to provide
support
- The emergency services can be contacted if
appropriate.
