SUPPORTING FUTURES

1.1   What is Supporting People?

The Supporting People Programme began in April 2003 and brought together funding from probation, health, social services, councils and the Housing Corporation into one funding stream.  The programme commissions and funds the provision of housing related support to vulnerable people to help them remain within the community and live independently in their own homes.

Supporting People programme also reviews and monitors providers to ensure that services are being provided to an acceptable standard and that service users' needs are being met under the terms of the contract.

Gloucestershire Supporting People is a countywide service with a Partnership Board made up of the County Council, the six district councils, three Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), the Gloucestershire NHS Partnership Trust and Gloucestershire Probation.

1.2   The Partnership Board's Vision and Aims

Vision

The Supporting People Programme will provide high quality housing support services to vulnerable people to allow those that can to integrate and live independently within their own community within the resources available.

The Supporting People Partnership Board will achieve this through a strong Partnership of housing, health, social care and criminal justice linking supporting people spend and performance monitoring into their mainstream business planning and commissioning processes. 

Aims

The Supporting People Partnership Board aim to:

• Introduce a framework where support is able to intervene and withdraw according to the needs of the service user

The Supporting People Partnership aim to ensure that:

• All services are of high quality and achieve value for money

• Vulnerable people are able to access support without having to move home

• The access of support services are co-ordinated with the allocation of housing

• Housing and support are separate activities with housing provided by a housing organisation and support by a support organisation

• Vulnerable people get greater access to mainstream housing in both the social rented and private sectors

• Supported housing is self contained not shared