Sussex Oakleaf operates Floating Support Services in Mid Sussex for individuals who have a Mental Health condition which impacts on their ability to achieve their chosen goals. The funding for this comes from both Supporting People and local Mental Health Commissioners. This allows for a flexible delivery of service.
Description of the service
The service is designed to increase the capacity of individuals to sustain their independence within the community and to assist them to develop the skills required for this.
It aims to:
- Decrease hospital admission and support people following discharge from hospital.
- Reduce tenancy breakdown
- Increase access to local community resource
- Increase social engagement and activity;
- Increase access to training, employment and other meaningful activities
- Coach people to maximisation their income and manage their financial affairs
- Coach people to deal with providers of goods and services by telephone, letter or face to face.
- Assist people to access and communicate with other agencies including health services, social services, benefit agencies and family support services;
Referral to the service can be from Health and Social Care services, Housing professionals, other professionals or by self referral.
Support can be offered for a maximum of two years. It could be short term intervention for a few months to set up a tenancy or a longer process of coaching in everyday skills until confidence builds to a point where a greater degree of autonomy is achieved.
Who could benefit from this service
Individuals over 18 who live in Mid Sussex and have a mental health issue, or are in recovery from one, who are:
- Leaving residential care or supported housing to live in general housing stock.
- Being discharged following hospital admission.
- Experiencing problems in managing their tenancy or dealing with financial matters.
- Require support in improving daily living skills/ home management skills.
- Require assistance in accessing other forms of support but are not sure how to do this.
Our approach to delivering services
We work in partnership with multi disciplinary Community Mental Health Teams, Social Services, GPs, family/carers, advocates and other appropriate professionals to ensure the person we are supporting is able to maintain and develop a network of support, and have access to the support they require. This approach to developing individually tailored packages of mental health and housing support helps prevent placements breaking down, crises and hospital admissions.
Our local knowledge of mainstream and specialist services in the community enable us to signpost people on to activities, resources and other sources of support and information, where necessary.
Our skilled and committed staff work 1:1 with people to support them to identify their wishes and draw up a goal-orientated individual support plan to develop the necessary skills and confidence to live more independently. Wherever possible this will include move-on to more independent accommodation, and a reduction or ending of specialist support.
Recovery
Sussex Oakleaf is committed to the principles of recovery-based service delivery. This means we believe that everyone has the ability to learn or regain the ability to be in charge of their own life. We understand recovery to be a person’s individual journey to a life that has personal meaning and fulfillment for them, and includes living well in the presence or absence of symptoms or other difficulties.
Staff receive training and supervision to ensure their practice embodies recovery-based values, and that we retain the hope and belief that the people we support are able to live their lives as they wish, and recover control. This approach enables people to have the central role in designing their lives and their support, and to have support from staff to use tools such as Wellness Recovery Action Plans or the PATH planning model, should they wish.
Case study
We have recently worked with someone who was leaving supported housing schemes and supported him to set up his utilities and bills and establish himself in his own home in the community. We have numerous other cases where we have succeeded in this.
We have supported another individual whose needs have been a lot more complex and the work has involved referral to and liaison with several other agencies.
Two thirds of all British press and TV coverage on mental health includes an association with violence. (Health Education Authority 1998) 44% of respondents to a study by the Mental Health Foundation in 2000 reported stigma and discrimination from GPs. Sandamas and Hogman, 2000, found that black people are twice as likely to be involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act than white people.
