About Us
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Phil Shanks comes from a Social Work background with proven track record, while in public office, of managing and co missioning services for people with Learning disabilities and complex care needs.
Following his departure from the public sector Phil founded one of the very first supported housing landlords providing homes for hundreds of adults nationwide and commissioned a number of ground breaking facilities for people with learning disabilities and severe autism.
His background in the early formation of housing options for people with disabilities puts him in a prime position to create the modern alternative. As the author of the first insurance policy underwriting the void risk for group homes he is well aware of the shortcomings of the current model.
Phil is a board member for several RPs and chairs the board of a major charitable provider of supported housing.
Our Story
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
