‘Supporting People’ in Supported Living

We were delighted to participate in an event led jointly by the Department for Communities and the Department for Health.

The event was thinking about challenges, opportunities and risks to the Supporting People Programme, whose purpose is to offer people with additional support needs the opportunity to improve their quality of life, by supporting and enabling them to live more independently.

The Supporting People Programme in Northern Ireland has three broad objectives:

• achieve a better quality of life for vulnerable people to live more independently and maintain their tenancies;
• provide housing support services to prevent problems that can often lead to hospitalisation, institutional care, or homelessness; and
• help to smooth the transition to independent living for those leaving an institutionalised environment.

To date, the Supporting People programme has invested over £1.2 billion. Last year over £76 million was distributed to 82 service providers who deliver over 800 vital services toover 19,000 individuals across Northern Ireland.