Welcome
About Life Assist Living
Changing the tradition of supported housing
Supported housing has been in existence for more than 30 years. While some enjoy self sufficient accommodation based on apartment living many still live in group living in ordinary houses.
Groups of 3 or 4 people living in ordinary housing was the mainstay of supported housing, particularly for people with learning disabilities, principally to make the staffing costs stack up. By this means 3 or 4 people could be supported 24 hours a day cost effectively but it is a model providing a compromised lifestyle with little opportunity for privacy or self- development.
Sharing living, cooking and bathing facility requires a level of compatibility amongst tenants that was hard to achieve at the inception of service and is proving difficult to manage as this model ages.
In fact as this model ages unfilled voids increase and this is set to continue. It does not represent a problem for the landlord, rents can be reconfigured to spread service costs over fewer tenants but it does represent a challenge to commissioners.
The Challenge to commissioners
Commissioners of social care selected the group home model as an alternative to institutional living based on 2 factors. Ordinary housing was readily available.
Grouping 3 or 4 people together allowed them to spread the cost of 24 hour support and reduce unit costs.
Vacancies in group living are rising due in the main by issues around compatibility, however, the cost of supporting the smaller group where vacancies exist are pretty much the same as those for group homes that are full. This means that group homes with a vacancy has a higher unit cost for care . This at a time when resources are stretched is undesirable.
But its not just about money
Quality of life in a historic group home is compromised. Sharing basic resources like bathrooms, lounges and kitchens is difficult as a lifestyle but when the only other option is to spend your time in a small bedroom it becomes a lifestyle that is forced, requires a long term comparability which is hard for any adult to live with. In short the outcomes are less desirable.
We need to build a new approach
Our new “modern group living assets” address the issues with small group homes head on by Providing each tenant with a studio apartment with living , relaxation and bathing facilities that are self contained.
Share high risk areas like a communal kitchen
Allow groupings to be sustained long term with no compatibility requirements. Allow cost effective care to be given to the same levels as group homes. Taking compatibility out of the consideration when filling voids giving greater cost effectiveness and sustainability. Provision of shared lounge to be used if wanted rather than mandated. Single storey housing for maximum flexibility.
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Introducing the Life Assist Living
Our state-of-the-art modern take on group living consists of 4-6 studio apartments of 28sq mtr comprising bedroom, lounge and shower. The apartments front door opens out into a communal space which is sized for maximum enjoyment by the tenants and operational efficiency for the care giver. The common space is a large open aspect lounge with kitchen diner where tenants can be supported to cook for themselves and can then choose to eat in the dining space or within their own studio. A unit is provided for staff sleep in purposes and an assisted bathroom for tenants requiring additional assistance. Great care has been taken to balance the self-contained accommodation with the need for staff to support high risk activities like cooking with a staffing framework like that of the traditional group homes.
This facility is designed both as a new choice and to replace existing under performing group homes where commissioners are concerned about rising unit costs. It is a fully funded option and deliverable by our construction teams within a 6 to 9 month timescale subject to land
availability.
Next Steps
Commissioners who are interested in exploring this option should contact Phil Shanks to
discuss your needs.
