WeCanDo

These projects provide supported accommodation to older men and women who have experienced homelessness who want to live semi-independently. The government define older as 50 plus but we do offer tenancies to people 45+ with documented support needs.

Our Support Service is designed to help older people who need some help to continue living in there own home or shared accommodation.

Our staff, will check how you are managing, talk through any worries or problems and offer a ‘listening ear’.  They will discuss with you what things you need help with then they will organise this for you.

For shared projects, this support is provided by our on site from 10am till 4pm Monday to Sunday. For those in Sheltered Accommodation this support will be determined by your specific needs. In addition there will be out of hours support by pre-arrangement. We will agree with you a support plan you need with us when we begin the service. We can offer different levels of service depending on how much support you need.

As well as providing onsite staff our service also includes emergency call out which is available 24 hours a day which means that help is always at hand.

We aim to meet all the government standards for supporting older vulnerable people.

Briefly, what the Government’s “Supporting People” programme says is that support services:
• Must help older people keep their independence;
• Are of a high quality;
• Give value for money;
• Meet each person’s individual needs;
• And that tenants have a say

What is “Support”?
Before explaining, in a little bit more detail, what the Government says about support services, we must explain what “support” is. This is different from “care” which some older people may also receive. This is explained below.
Support
This can be described as “background help”. For example, our staff provide support by:
• visiting customers, giving advice and a listening ear;
• checking on customers’ well-being
• arranging care;
• any other services that customers require eg. health services;

• encouraging customers to meet other people and have a full life;

• making links with the local community, including religious centres and places of worship

Care
In contrast, care is best described as “hands
on help”. This could be help with:
• washing and bathing;
• getting dressed;
• cleaning;
• shopping;
• laundry;
• medication.
This kind of help is often called “personal care”. Our staff do not provide this but can help a tenant apply to Social Services who will arrange to do a “care assessment”.  This allows Social Services to discuss what kind of care is needed and how often.

So what does the Government expect?
The information in this leaflet is a summary
of what the Government  says Aves Housing support service must do.

Standard 1 – Helping older people to keep  their independence
The role of our support officers is to support older people. We need to make sure that our older people receive all the help they need to keep their independence and continue living at home.

Our staff do this by arranging all the help needed rather than giving the help directly. This is why we have explained the difference between ‘support’ and ‘care’. Our staff will also make sure that any care or other kinds of help that customers are receiving is to a good standard.

Standard 2 – Preventative
Our support service must also help older people to stay in their own home, so that they don’t need to move into residential care, unless this is really needed. Our staff can also make it easier for an older person to come back home after a stay in hospital.

Standard 3 – High Quality Services
Our staff must always give a very good service. They do so by:
• respecting privacy and wishes;
• being polite and sensitive;
• keeping things confidential;
• treating everyone fairly and as individuals.
For sheltered housing, our staff also make sure that the schemes are safe and secure, that social events take place and links are made with the local community. They also make sure that customers have a chance to have a say and get involved, if they want to.

Standard 4 – Well Planned
Aves Housing works closely with other Agencies, such as Health and Social Services. This helps us to make sure that our service suits older people, now and for future generations.

Standard 5 – Value For Money
We must use modern technology. For example, the Aves Housing service gives customers the ‘peace of mind’ that help is available, 24 hours a day, including when our staff are off duty.

Standard 6 – Give choice and flexibility
We do this by:
• allowing older people to choose to move into sheltered housing before they become very dependent;
• offering our support service to older people living in their shared projects;
• offering different levels of service based upon individual needs;
• agreeing with customers how much support they need and other help that we can arrange;
• making sure we give choices about when and how support is given. For example, some people may prefer a visit later in the day rather than early morning.

Standard 7 – Accessible To All
Our service is open to everyone, whatever their ethnic origin, religion, cultural beliefs, nationality, age, sexual orientation
or disability. We also make sure that we  recognise and meet these different needs, in a sensitive way, that suits each individual. We call this “equality and diversity”.

Standard 8 – Clearly explained
We make sure that information about our service is clear and easy to understand. This is to make sure that both current and future customers know what to expect from our service. We also provide information in different ways eg community languages, large print, braille, audio tape etc.

Standard 9 – Links to the Local Community
Our staff help customers to keep in contact with the “wider community” as this can help older people keep their independence.
Our sheltered scheme communal lounges are also available for other older people in the local community to use. We encourage others to join in social events and for community groups to use our facilities for social events, luncheon clubs, day services etc.

Standard 10 – Check services are working well
We carry out regular checks to make sure our service is working well. Customers are asked for their views and are involved in improving our services.  Aves Housing is committed to making sure that its support service for older people meets all the requirements of the Government’s Supporting People programme.

Older People

Our Aims for the WeCanDo Project are to give older people:
High Quality Services
• Always promoting independence
• Professional staff
• Promoting equality
• Continuously improving
• Working in partnership with other organisations

An Independent Life
• your own home or shared house
• with support
• tailored to meet

Individual Needs
• helping, not doing
• tenancy rights and control
• safety and security

Quality of Life
• promoting choice
• respecting privacy and wishes
• maintaining dignity
• peace of mind
• affordable

An Enjoyable Life
• supporting people to enjoy life to the full
• companionship
• getting involved
• having a say
• links with the local community