The person is the most important
thing…
Supported living is the
idea that people with disability can get skills
and make their own choices. It is about person-centred
planning. Each person makes decisions about the
support they want. People have different ideas about
what their home should be like. This is because people
have different likes and dislikes. This may be because
of their age, cultural background, sex, sexuality and
family. There is no one model that can meet everyone's
needs. At the moment people are often grouped together
and get funding as a group just because everyone in
the group has a disability. The most important thing
for the service is disability. But people with
disabilities may want very different things. Supported
living means each person has a say about their own
life.
New ways of looking at support…
Agencies help the person choose what kind of
supports they need to live safely at home and help
them coordinate the supports. For a long time, people
with disability have been supported by special
services. Supported living may involve a wider range
of supports. People may be supported by formal and
informal supports, specialist and general agencies.
People may get general services like home care,
community transport, community volunteers and natural
support from family, community and neighbourhood
contacts. They may want support to go to the dentist,
get a haircut, join a gym or whatever they decide will
help them in their life. Supports should help the
person feel safe at home and able to follow their own
interests, culture, language or religion. Supports
should also help the person to choose their own
lifestyle in their neighbourhood, their connections
with their family and community. The main thing is
helping a person to enjoy their home and their life.
It is not about controlling, training or 'fixing' the
person.
Being included in the community…
Supported living aims to help people have real
lives that connect with other people in their
communities. It might make opportunities to do new
things, meet a range of people, and make a
contribution to the lives of others. Everyone needs
real ongoing relationships with other people. People
with disability have often been kept away from
ordinary life in their communities, so an important
part of supported living is to help the person with
disability to develop community opportunities and
networks.
Flexible for changing needs…
Everyone's life changes all the time. Until now
supported accommodation has kept a person in a
particular place that may no longer suit them, for
example, a group home. Supported living allows
supports to change with a person's needs, because
support is separate from accommodation. If a person's
accommodation needs change, they can move and get
different supports to suit their new home.
For anyone…
No-one has to be 'ready' for supported living. It
is for anyone. Around the world there are many people
with different disabilities being supported this way.
People
with low support needs through to people needing 24
hour care, people with complex medical needs and
people with challenging behaviours or significant
intellectual disability can all benefit from
supported living. It is not a new idea, but it is one
that more and more people want.
In NSW the Department of Ageing Disability and Home
Care knows that more and more people with disability
want supported living in the community. (DADHC 2004.
Models of Supported Accommodation. Discussion
Paper.) In NSW there isn't enough of this kind of
supported living available yet. Other states have
started this kind of supported living when families
have been clear about wanting it.
This website is to help you get the same kind of
supported living happening here.
O'Brien J (1993). Supported
Living: What's the Difference?
Klein J (1994). The
Principles of Supported Living.
Kinsella P (2001). Supported
Living. The Changing Paradigm - from control to
freedom - Paradigm
UK.
California Supported Living Network. What
is Supported Living?
Jay Nolan Community Services. Supported
Living.
Supported Life Institute. A
Supported Life.
Queensland Disability Housing Coalition (2005).
A
home of my own: right, rhetoric or reality? Sheet
9B 'What is personalised support?' p. 22.
Center on Human Policy. Syracuse University.
Supported
Living Resources.
Family Advocacy. 2002. Innovative
support for people with disability. A resource
book.
