In April 2003 a number of existing funding streams were brought together into one grant to fund housing related support services. The Supporting People programme offers people the opportunity to improve their quality of life through greater independence. It promotes housing-related support services, which are cost effective and reliable, and which complement existing care services.
What is Housing Related support?
Supporting People funding can be used only for housing-related support, it cannot be used to fund housing management or personal or health care, for which other sources of funding are available.
Housing Related Support can include the following tasks:
- Setting up and maintaining a home or tenancy.
- Developing social skills/ behaviour management.
- Managing finance and benefit claims.
- Gaining access to other services.
- Establishing social contacts and activities.
- Establishing personal safety and security.
- Supervising and monitoring of health and well-being.
- Supervising or monitoring medication.
- Finding other accommodation.
- Advice, advocacy and liaison.
- Emotional support, counselling and advice.
- Provision of community or social alarms.
- Advice and support on repair work/ home improvement work.
- Assistance with cleaning, shopping, errand running and good neighbour tasks.
Who can get this support?
The Supporting People programme provides housing-related support services to a wide range of people including:
- older people;
- people with learning difficulties;
- people with mental health problems or some disabilities;
- refuge and move-on support for women fleeing domestic violence;
- support for young homeless people who may never have had a tenancy; and
- tenancy support services for people struggling with their current accommodation.
What are the changes and how do they help?
The programme has changed the way housing-related support services are planned and funded and is a working partnership of local government, service users, health, probation, and support agencies. The co-ordinated approach to providing support services:
