Supported living is quite a simple idea
A person with disability gets the support they need to live in their own home. If the person’s needs change the support they get can also be changed. The most important thing is that the support matches the person’s needs. This means the supports are designed for the person…they fit the person, the person does not have to fit the supports. This helps the person to live in their community.
How supported living works has been described like this:
Supported living is an approach to housing and support for people with disability based on the fundamental belief that every person has a right to lead their own life, to determine where, how, with whom they live and who provides them with support.
Common elements of supported living include:
- Separation of housing and support
- Support is provided by a combination of informal (non-paid) and paid support with intentional strategies used to develop informal support
- Paid support is individualised, flexible and under the control of the person with disability
Where a service provider is involved, it stands beside the person with disability and their family to develop and implement the lifestyle the person wants.
Articles about Supported Living
Learning to listen: the key to supported living Scott Shepard and Cheryl Mayfield
From a four-bed ‘placement’ to a New Life David Weatherow
Supported Living: From Control to Freedom Peter Kinsella
Crucial Times: Creating Home an exploration or the efforts and commitments to create individual lives March 2008, Issue 40
Families for Change: Supported Living Edition Autumn 2008
The Choice between a ‘real home’ and a program Michael Kendrick