Designing the perfect home for four young people
Our new supported living service in Oxfordshire for four young people with learning disabilities has been set up using an entirely different approach. The young adults and their families have collaborated with FitzRoy and RWP to design and coproduce a perfect home.
The property
Finding the right property was key. Michael Boyle, Development Manager for RWP, part of Progress Housing Group, said: “Oxfordshire County Council were fully supportive of the scheme being developed and the approach being taken. However, this was a co-produced service rather than commissioner-led. The parents, supported by FitzRoy, helped to produce a property specification to ensure the chosen property would be perfect for needs of the young people involved. We reviewed numerous properties but we knew straight away that this was the right house after our first visit. It ticked all the boxes.”
Building a relationship with the parents and FitzRoy was a really important part of the process. I wanted the parents to trust that RWP would work with them to find and develop the perfect home for life, which I hope we have achieved.
The transition
Service manager Emma Shreeve was involved with the process right from the start and said: “It feels like it’s been a long time coming to get this from inception to the young men moving into their new home, but it’s fantastic to see them so happy. Because of the time it took we had to work hard at keeping a relationship established with the boys. My deputy Kim and I would meet with them once a month for a game of Uno, a meal, and a few drinks. It worked really well to keep that bond intact, so that they were comfortable with us when they could finally move in.
“With the families being so involved from the start, we discussed decisions with everyone but were clear where the boundaries lay. For instance, the boys and their families were involved in the recruitment process – because it’s so important for them to be happy with their staff and to make sure their voices were heard throughout – but we as FitzRoy also have our own processes that we need to go through to be compliant, so we had to make sure that boxes were ticked on both sides of the equation.”
Moving in
Emma continued: “I felt we’d built a really good relationship with the young people and families by the move in day. But it is still an emotional and anxious time when their sons are leaving home. It was just incredible though how quickly they settled in – it really was within hours. Now we’re around eight weeks in, and they’ve taken it all in their stride. They seem so happy living together and are really enjoying their independence, but have a nice mix of time with their families too.
“One of the young men already has a job at a local gym and we’re supporting them all to explore the courses on offer at the local college for September. I think they all really want to find a job rather than carry on with education though – they’ve all done work experience before and have an idea of the kind of thing they want to do.”
Lessons learned
Regional manager Helen O’Donnell said: “This approach is new across the sector, so we’re leading the way here, which is very in keeping with the FitzRoy values of being brave, creative, and seeing the person. We’ve certainly learned a lot in the process, including the importance of being really clear about who was responsible for doing what, and why that was. We were all very much on the same page and determined to set up the best possible home for these young people and it’s brilliant to now see them happy and settled in their new home.”