To celebrate Starts at Home Day, a campaign which highlights the importance of offering supported housing to those who need the extra assistance, LiveWest is sharing customer experiences in supported accommodation.
MR is a 57-year-old, who arrived at Kernow Court in Newquay having been a patient at Longreach. MR has Paranoid Schizophrenic Affected Disorder and struggles with a history of trauma.
She had been homeless for many years before going to Longreach and had struggled with emergency accommodation. MR would take flight if she felt unsafe which meant she had left a council property while unwell before. This led to MR making herself unintentionally homeless and resulted in her not being accepted to council housing.
LiveWest supported MR and this successfully led to her being assigned housing through Homechoice. MR does not now have to live week to week in emergency accommodation, having moved over 20 times in the 2 years prior to being placed at Cosgarne Hall.
Colleagues assisted MR with health check ups and visits to her GP, something she had avoided previously. Her support time was used for budgeting and help to apply for benefits.
MR was also given a package of care which meant she had a continuity of care from LiveWest when she moved out. This was very important to MR as she often felt like she was being abandoned and really needed the reassurance to transition into independent living.
Her placement in Newquay meant the continuity of her package of care, not just with LiveWest, but with the same support workers she had got to know and trust.
MR is a well accomplished artist and during her stay at Kernow Court painted a picture of a boat in stormy seas with a message written on the back stating “Kernow Court, my safe harbour”. She frequently informed staff that her stay was the first time she felt that she was understood and listened to. She felt safe and had a base to move on with her life.
MR has also enrolled on a course through the Adult Education Centre looking at art and brush techniques. MR has managed to set up her own direct debits and continued to pay all her bills on time.
Although MR misses Kernow Court and the staff there, a stay in supported accommodation allowed MR the time she needed to work with support staff to maintain her own independent tenancy.
MR has since visited Scotland after her partner, who was very unwell, wanted to go there. He has since passed away, so MR has stayed there as she is unable to return home as she feels she is leaving him behind.
MR gave up her property in Cornwall and is currently in accommodation in Scotland. She has a package of care there and has made some very good friends in her neighbours. She has established herself a support network and continues to thrive, using the tools she learnt in supported accommodation.