Supported housing is a life-changing service which impacts many of our customers.
Our supported housing services provide safe and secure places to live, alongside tailored support which helps people build confidence, live independently and stay connected to their communities.
During the National Housing Federation’s Supported Housing Week, we are raising awareness of the vital role supported housing plays in helping people, while celebrating the customers, colleagues and partners who make these services possible every day.
Designed to meet a wide range of housing and support needs, our services help people access the right level of support while maintaining their independence and achieving their goals.
We offer a wide range of support to our customers, tailoring our services to meet individual and family needs.
Across the South West, we currently support more than 1,300 customers through 102 supported housing schemes, helping people live independently and remain connected to their communities.
Our services include:
- 67 learning disability support schemes supporting over 440 customers.
- Over 20 adult and family schemes supporting more than 290 individual adults and over 70 families.
- Seven young people's schemes with capacity to support more than 300 young people.
- 4 extra care schemes supporting over 190 customers with additional support to remain independent.
- 3 veteran schemes supporting over 20 veterans.
One customer who benefited from our supported housing services is Ava Hocking, who lived in one of our adult and family supported housing schemes in St Austell before moving into a permanent home for herself and her daughter, Winnie.
She said: “I’d be homeless if I wasn’t here, so it’s good.”
“It’s nice to know that I’ve got somewhere and there’s also help getting into a more permanent place, which is nice and helpful.”
“It’s nice to be able to provide for Winnie… we’ve been here since I was eight months pregnant. It’s been great.”
“I can imagine when you’re 16 or 17 years old, it’s even more helpful to have accommodation like this.”
From providing emergency accommodation when someone urgently needs a safe place to stay to helping customers learn new life skills and manage their tenancy, our supported housing services offer stability, security and opportunity.
Support is tailored to individual circumstances and can include help with developing practical life skills, sustaining tenancies, accessing education and employment opportunities, improving wellbeing and building community connections.
Whether it’s giving young people the skills and confidence to live independently, helping people with learning disabilities stay connected to their communities, supporting families when times are difficult, or helping older people maintain their independence, our services are shaped around what matters most to each customer.
Support looks different for everyone. It could mean building everyday living skills, maintaining a tenancy, finding opportunities in education or work, improving wellbeing, growing in confidence, or making stronger connections within the local community.
James Reseigh, Director of Neighbourhoods at LiveWest, said: “Supported Housing Week shines a spotlight on the vital role supported housing plays in helping people across the South West live independently and gain the support they need.
“Every day, LiveWest supports more than 1,300 customers through a diverse range of specialist services, helping customers overcome challenges, gain confidence and build brighter futures.
"From enabling customers living with learning disabilities to remain active members of their local community to providing tailored support for older people and those facing complex circumstances, supported housing transforms lives and creates opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach without this support service.
“At a time when demand for support services continues to grow, our dedicated colleagues are making a real difference by helping customers develop the skills, confidence and independence they need to thrive."
If you would like to find out more about our supported housing service, please click here.