The Government wants more people with learning disabilities and their carers to have a greater choice and control over where and how they live.
There is evidence that:
- People with learning disabilities can live successfully in many different kinds of housing. They can cope with a full range of tenures, including owning their own homes.
- Most people with learning disabilities live with their families. The reason they have to leave is often because of an emergency like the illness or death of a carer.
- More and more people are living with older carers, so we need to get better at planning for the future.
Studies have shown that there are good and bad points about every type of housing. Things like staff training and management style are as important the type of housing you live in. Valuing People says that no types of housing should be counted out.
What does Valuing People say will happen?
- Learning Disability Partnership Boards wrote local housing strategies for people with learning disabilities by the end of February 2003).
- Some of the money from the 'Learning Disability Development Fund' will be spent on 'supported living' approaches for people living with older carers
- People who are still living in long-stay hospitals will be helped to move to other kinds of housing. Some of the Learning Disability Development Fund will also be used for this.
In Southampton we have
Set up a housing subgroup to think about how things need to change. We are writing a book for people with learning disabilities to tell them about housing options, and another book for carers with the same information. We have also agreed a form that people fill in when they apply for housing that gives more information about what they are looking for, what their needs are, and when they want to move. These forms will help Commissioners to plan new housing which is something the group also advises on.
People moving from health (LBHU Locally based hospital units) are talked about in the Health section.
