Independent living- Factsheet

Supported living is where a person with a disability gets the support they need to live in a home they own or are a tenant in. They can live alone or with others. The support people receive is personalised and centred on their needs. The types of support that are available include:

• Housing support - This is to help you manage your home. It is sometimes provided by your landlord as part of the service.

• Outreach or floating support - This is support that gives you support in your home when you need it. It is separate from your landlord. It can be anything from 3 hours a week to most of the day and night.

• Domiciliary support - This is support that is provided in your home like floating support and includes help with personal care.

• Live in support - This can be a live in carer who provides all of your support, a support tenant that provides some of your support or a Community Support Volunteer (CSV) who provides some or all of your support.

• Home help or cleaner - If you do not want to or cannot clean or cook you can get home help or a cleaner to help you.

• Assistive technology -These are gadgets and devices that keep you safe or help you communicate.

• Friends and family - You can get some help from friends and family.

To get supported living, you will need to be assessed by adult social care through Bury’s Care, Contact and Direct service. It is not a good idea to look for supported living until you have received a completed assessment. You may not be eligible for support to live in the home you want. An assessment will tell what support you can get. It will avoid you being disappointed. You will also need to complete a financial assessment to see how much you will have to contribute towards your support.

Access to supported housing is done through the Bury’s Central Access Point. This support can be similar the support above however would involve living in a shared housing for a period of time as you develop your independence before moving onto your own property.

Shared Lives is for people over the age of 18 who have additional support needs, this may because they have a learning disability, a long-term health condition, or may be a young person aiming to build on life skills for more independent living. Bury Shared Lives, which is managed by Persona, is a unique scheme that offers tailor made support to adults within the Bury area.

All our enquiries for placements come through our Bury Adult Social Work teams. The matching process is central to the person-centred approach in Shared Lives. This can take time, and involves considering the support needs of the person, the location, social networks and other factors specific to the person.

The Shared Lives Scheme is accessed through Bury Council, please contact Bury’s Care, Contact and Direct to receive an assessment.

Residential Residential homes are for people over the age of 18 who live in Bury and who are no longer able to remain living independently at home due to physical or learning disabilities, sight or hearing loss, frailty or illness. In certain circumstances, short term places are also available for people recovering from a hospital stay or illness, or to give the person who cares for them a break from their caring responsibilities.

If you need financial support from Bury Council to enable you to move into a residential home, we will carry out a Care Act assessment to work out just how much, and what type of, care you need.

If following the assessment, we agree that a residential home is the best place for you to live, we can then recommend which ones would best meet your needs and also tell you whether they have any vacancies. If you are looking for a residential home in Bury, we can help you to find one in an area near to your own home or close to family and friends. We will encourage you, or your relatives or carer, to visit the home to see if you would be happy there and to ask any questions you may want answering.

Supported Accommodation Household Costs and Charges for Support If you choose supported accommodation, you will need to help pay for things like electricity, water, and other household bills. If you share a home, you will share these costs with others. If you live alone, you will manage these costs by yourself. You will also have a financial assessment to see how much you need to contribute to the support and care you receive.