Supported Living | Providence Centered Care

What it is

Somewhere to live, and support that intends to become unnecessary

Supported living is a home rather than a placement. You have a tenancy, a private furnished bedroom that is yours, and shared spaces you use like anybody sharing a house. Staff are on the premises around the clock, which is different from being on call, and the support you get is written down and agreed rather than whatever happens to be offered that day.

What separates it from residential care is the direction of travel. A care home is somewhere you move to. Supported living is somewhere you move through. Our support is organised in three tiers, and the whole point of each tier is to make the next one possible.

The first tier is about safety and stability, because nobody works on anything else until they have a secure place to sleep and a settled routine. The second adds the things that actually change a life: counselling where it is needed, help finding work or training, learning to budget, cook, manage a tenancy and deal with the letters that arrive. The third is about living independently and rejoining a community properly, with support that steps back as it becomes unnecessary.

Properties are ours or managed by us, and every one is assessed before we take it on and adapted where it needs to be. Providence House has ten rooms, a communal lounge and kitchen, a garden, activity and skills rooms, and a sensory room.

This is likely right if

Living completely independently is not safe or manageable right now
Residential care would be more restrictive than the person actually needs
Somebody is coming out of hospital, care, custody or a homeless situation and needs a base
The goal is independent living and there is a genuine route to it
A young person is moving out of children services and into adult life

Something else may fit better if

Someone wants to stay in the home they already have, where homecare or live in care fits better
The need is round the clock nursing care
Only a short break is needed, where respite is the right service

In practice

What living here is actually like

A house rather than an institution. The staff are part of the household rather than behind a desk.

Your own room

Private and fully furnished, and yours. You are not sharing a bedroom and nobody walks in without knocking.

Shared spaces

A communal lounge and kitchen, a garden and outdoor space, activity and skills rooms, and a sensory room where that is needed.

Staff on site

Around the clock, in the building. That means the middle of the night is covered by somebody who is already there rather than somebody who has to drive over.

A plan you own

Support is written down, agreed with you, and reviewed. It names what you are working towards, not just what needs doing to you.

Learning the practical things

Cooking, budgeting, laundry, shopping, dealing with post and appointments, using public transport. The unglamorous skills that independence is actually made of.

Moving on

The three tiers exist so that leaving is the expected ending. Support reduces deliberately as somebody becomes ready rather than stopping abruptly on a date.

The detail

What is included, and what is not

Set out plainly so there is nothing to discover later. Anything not listed here can still be discussed, and often arranged.

Included as standard

A private, fully furnished bedroom
Staff on site twenty four hours a day
A written support plan agreed with the person, reviewed regularly
Access to communal lounge, kitchen, garden, activity and skills rooms
The structured three tier programme towards independent living
Support with appointments, benefits, budgeting and daily living skills
Links into education, training and employment support

Arranged separately

Nursing care requiring a registered nurse
Personal spending money and personal purchases
Transport outside planned activity, which we can add separately

Getting started

From first call to first visit

Most supported living placements come through a local authority or an NHS team, but we take enquiries directly too.

01

Referral

From a social worker, a commissioner, an NHS team, a family or the person themselves. Emergency referrals are answered within hours rather than days.

02

Assessment and matching

We look at needs and risks, and just as carefully at who else lives in the house. Putting the wrong two people under one roof helps nobody.

03

Confirmation

Placement details, funding and start date agreed in writing before anybody moves.

04

Moving in and settling

A support plan from day one, an early review, and a named person responsible for making it work.

Cost

How this is paid for

Supported living is usually commissioned by a local authority or an NHS team, with the accommodation element often met through housing benefit and the support element through social care funding. That split is normal and we will explain exactly how it works for a given placement.

We also work with people using Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, and we accept private arrangements. Where a placement is urgent, funding can be confirmed after the person is safe rather than before.

Read the full guide to funding

Questions

What families ask us about this

Is this a care home?

No. In a care home you are a resident in somebody else building. In supported living you have a tenancy and your own room, and the support is a separate thing from the housing. The legal position and the feel of the place are both different.

Do I have my own room?

Yes. Every bedroom is private and fully furnished. Shared spaces are shared, bedrooms are not.

How long do people stay?

As long as it takes and no longer. The three tier programme is designed so that people move through it, and the point of the last tier is leaving. Nobody is pushed out on a date and nobody is left parked either.

Who else lives there?

Providence House has ten rooms. Who lives in a house together is a decision we take carefully, because getting that mix wrong makes life harder for everybody in it.

Can you take somebody at short notice?

Yes. Our emergency placement service runs twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and it is one of the things that genuinely sets us apart. Submit a referral and our team will respond.

What kind of needs do you support?

Mental health conditions, learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, dementia, acquired brain injury, epilepsy, stroke recovery, sensory impairment, and dual diagnosis. We do not turn away complex cases as a matter of course.

Also worth reading

Services that often go together

Emergency Placements

Somewhere safe tonight. We answer emergency referrals twenty four hours a day, every day of the year.

Looking for a placement?

Whether it is planned for next month or needed tonight, tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you honestly what we can do.

Make a referral Talk to someone first

Emergency placements are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.