Life Choices

Skillnet Group continues to support the development of person-centred planning within the Swale and Dover districts.

This is aimed at people who live with older carers/parents. We are ensuring that the people that we support receive the following:

• People have been supported to plan for their futures to ensure that they have the right support in place when they move on to live independently or if family circumstances change.
• People are working on their person centred plans (including health action plans) to ensure that the correct information is available when decisions have to be made about their future.

Update on work carried out from September 2008- April 2009:

• Alan has had planned meetings with the integrated teams in Swale and regularly meets up with the team at their team meetings.
• 5 people from Swale have been meeting up and planning their futures
• Another gentleman has been supported to look at his health and well being since joining the project. He now accesses individual support to lose weight by going swimming and walking. He has researched local interests and is looking to get support to access these. He also has decided where he wants to live and who will support him. He is having support to enable him to read and write to help in the future when he is living independently. He is also accessing respite at the moment to feel what it is like to be on his own.
• One person in Dover has applied to go on the council housing register and has been supported to get all the right supporting statements to ensure she is allocated the right points. She has had an OT assessment at home and is trying out different equipment on loan to aid her in the kitchen. She is also looking at having a direct payment to go away with support instead of going into respite service. She has also been supported to speak up and express her wishes to her family.
• One gentleman in Dover has looked at two different housing schemes and is ready to move on. He also has joined a gym and is using direct payments to have support at home when his mum goes away instead of going in to respite. He is also looking at Telecare as an option to aid his transition to living independently. He would be paying for this service through a direct payment.
• All the people we are supporting are being encouraged to look at what is available locally within their community regarding social activities
• We supported two parents with information that we had to access Mencap’s ‘Will and Trusts’ seminars locally. This has enabled them to get information about on what is best for the future.
• We are actively in contact with Advance Housing regarding the grant allocated shared ownership scheme.

Work planned for the next 6 months:

• We will continue planning with the 5 people that we have been supporting.
• We will be looking at supporting people to access direct payments to carry on the Life Choices work should they wish too.
• We will continue to link in to other organisations regarding housing options and support.