Good social care needs good housing
As part of Supported Housing Week, FitzRoy Chief Executive Angela Murphy reflected on why good housing is so important to good social care and why it must be part of the conversation about reform.
We talk a lot about fixing social care. But I don’t think we will ever get it right unless we also think seriously about where people live. Having the right support matters enormously. But so does having somewhere you can call home, where you feel safe, make your own decisions and be part of a community.
Too much of the debate about social care starts when something has gone wrong. A family is at breaking point, someone cannot leave hospital or pressure on the NHS has become impossible to ignore. But social care should be about much more than responding to crisis. It is about helping people to live good lives, with relationships, opportunities and the freedom to make choices about the things that matter to them.
For many people, the right home is what makes that possible. We know what good supported living can achieve. With the right home and support, people can become more confident, learn new skills, find work and enjoy greater independence. Sometimes it means someone can finally leave hospital after spending years there.
David* moved into his own bungalow near his family after more than 40 years in secure mental health hospitals. There wasn’t an existing service that could meet his needs, so we worked with David, his clinical team, commissioners and other partners to bring together the right property, funding, specialist support and staff team.
Today he is living in his own home, getting out every day and seeing friends and family. As David says; “At first I was a bit worried. Now I’m happy. Nothing to worry about at all. I’m out every single day.”
That is what Homes not hospitals means in practice. But simply calling for people to leave hospital is not enough. The right home and support have to be there. We cannot talk seriously about giving people choice and control if the housing they need isn’t available.
We work closed with landlords and housing associations to make this happen. Les Warren, Executive Director for RWP and Growth at Progress Housing Group, says; “As a housing provider, we see the difference effective partnerships with social care teams and support providers can make. By working together, we can ensure housing is designed and tailored to meet the needs of the individual. When housing providers are seen as part of the solution early on, we can effectively deliver homes that help people to live their best lives and achieve the outcomes that matter to them as individuals.”
The Casey Commission gives us an important opportunity to think again about what we want social care to achieve. FitzRoy has contributed the experiences of people we support through our work with sector partners and housing must remain part of that conversation.
Supported Housing Week highlights what good housing and support can make possible. The challenge now is to make that possible for many more people. And we will not do that unless we treat housing as a fundamental part of good social care.
*David’s name has been changed to protect his privacy.