Introduction to the Supporting People Programme
The Supporting People programme is government funded and enables
vulnerable people to have a better quality of life by helping them
live more independently in their own home.
Supporting People in Suffolk is a working partnership of local
government, probation, health, voluntary sector organisations,
housing associations, support agencies and service users.
Supporting People in Suffolk receives a grant of over £18 million
which is managed by Suffolk County Council on behalf of all the
partners.
The Supporting People in Suffolk team monitor the quality of
housing related support services and make sure that Suffolk has the
right services to meet people's needs. Supporting People in Suffolk
has a five-year strategy that explains what work we are doing now
and our plans for the future. Click here for more details of
Supporting People Strategy.
The Supporting People programme does not provide accommodation
or support directly but pays other organisations to deliver
‘housing related support’ services.
What is housing related support?
Supporting People cannot provide all the services people might
need to live independently and focuses on 'housing related support'
which is support to help develop or maintain independence. Other
services such as health care or personal care are funded by other
agencies.
The main purpose of housing related support is to help you live
independently in your own home. Services may include:
- Assisting people with the security of their homes
- Assisting people with personal safety in their homes
- Assisting people with dealing with other people such as
landlords, other tenants and a range of professionals
- Assisting people with personal budgeting
- Enabling people to undertake minor repairs and organise the
servicing of their own equipment
- Helping people with social skills, such as motivational support
and preventing loneliness and social isolation
- Life skills training, such as support to acquire domestic
skills
- Supporting people with neighbour disputes
- Support with moving to more independent accommodation
Support services can be ‘short-term' or ‘long-term' depending on
your needs. You may receive short, weekly home visits, or support
workers available on-site in supported housing schemes, such as
sheltered housing, or homeless hostels.
Short-term services can last for up to two years and are
designed to help you move to, or maintain independent living.
Long-term services have no specified end date and are provided to
help you maintain independent living.
Who is it for?
Supporting People in Suffolk support over 9,000 people
including:
- Homeless people
- Older people with support needs
- People escaping domestic violence.
- People who have recently come out of prison or are at risk of
offending
- People with drug or alcohol problems
- People with learning disabilities, mental health problems,
physical or sensory disabilities
- Travellers and gypsies
- Young vulnerable people and teenage parents
Other Roles of the Supporting People programme
Supporting People is a partnership programme and our key
partners the District and Borough Councils, Adult Community
Services (ACS), Children and Young People (CYP), Primary Care
Trusts (Health) and the Probation Service all have places on the
Supporting People Commissioning Body.
The Commissioning Body monitors and develops housing support
services to provide additional assistance and support to enable
vulnerable people to live independently.
We monitor the performance of all Supporting People services for
quality of service and performance against set Key Performance
Indicators. As part of this role we speak to service users and send
questionnaires to gain comments on the Supporting People funded
services that are delivered.
How do I get a housing related support service?
If you think you need housing related support, you can ask your
housing officer, needs assessor from health or social care, nurse
or probation officer. You can also ask housing related support
providers or contact the Supporting People team.
How can I get more information?
For more information about Supporting People in Suffolk and the
services we provide please visit our website.
www.supportingpeoplesuffolk.org.uk