Investing in Ordinary Lives is an initiative to increase the supply of housing for people with learning disabilities by drawing on alternative sources of funding.
Author: Alicia Wood
H&SA want to create more choice and control for people with learning disabilities in where they live and how they are supported. To achieve this we believe that both the range and type of housing available to people with learning disabilities in the UK needs to be significantly increased.
The majority of people with learning disabilities live in the family home or in residential care. Many people live in the family home because they have no other housing choices. Living in a care home is not the prefered option for most people. However, the majority of private sector investment in accommodation for people with learning disabilities has historically been for residential care - rather than in residential property that people with learning disabilities can rent or buy - as other citizens do.
Housing provided by local authorities, housing associations and charities has been the primary source of housing for people with learning disabilities. However in order to significantly increase the volume and range of housing available it is necessary that privately provided and funded sources of housing are also maximised to meet future housing need and provide a wider range of housing choices.
H&SA want to bring about a step change in the availability of housing available to people with learning disabilities over the next 5-10 years. Local authorities, housing associations and charities will continue to play a vital role in providing suitable housing. The aim of this set of briefings is to help to stimulate and promote continued and growing private sector investment in housing for people with learning disabilities, including a mix of private and social housing sector partnerships.
The briefings are intended to summarise potential options and approaches to promote private sector investment in housing for people with learning disabilities. They are not intended to be an exhaustive explanation of these possibilities and options. H&SA and The Cameron Trust intend to work with a range of private sector and social sector organisations to develop these options further and to bring about the step change required to make housing choices a reality for more people with learning disabilities and their families.
The publisher is the Housing and Support Alliance.
Investing in Ordinary Lives Briefings 1, 2, 3 and 4 © Housing and Support Alliance 2013.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews.
housing, intellectual disabilities, Paper
