Paula’s blog: “Every day is different, and every tenant is different.”

“When someone has a learning disability, there are usually lots of people involved in their life; family, support agencies, social services, health services, occupational therapy, benefits services. It is important to understand the different roles professionals have so that you can support the tenant. At the start of a tenancy, it can be very overwhelming, as it is for anyone moving house, especially if the person has previously always lived with their family.

Supporting tenants

“At sign ups we talk though the tenancy agreement and support them to apply for housing benefit and the setup of utilities. If they have any hobbies that they would like to share I get in contact with the customer voice team. We support with reporting and chasing repairs and logging any anti-social behaviour.  Throughout the tenancy, we check at our visits to see if tenant’s needs have changed, if they are happy with our services, and if there is anything they are unsure of. Other teams within Progress Housing Group, which RWP is part of, can support with additional help such as rent queries. 

“I will always ask for the tenant’s preferred method of communication. This could be larger print or documents that are pictorial. At sign ups we always talk through a pictorial tenancy agreement as this is much easier for tenants to understand. The pictures are clear and most tenants like looking at these and it will often start a conversation about the picture. Some tenants like to speak with you over the phone and some prefer face to face. 

“We carry out an annual review every year. It is important for me to get to know my tenants and vice versa. I chat with them about what they are doing for the day, if they have any holidays planed and how they like their home. One of my tenants recently told me that she is going to decorate her bedroom with an Alice Cooper theme as she is his biggest fan. 

Adaptations

“I always check if any adaptions are needed for our tenants at annual reviews. Adaptations can be small things such as grab rails or lighting that we can do through our aids and adaptions budget. If the adaptations are larger for example a ramp or level access shower, then we give advice about applying for a DFG (disabled facilities grant) that the support staff would help with.

“Recently, we identified that some bathrooms needed replacing and one of the tenants did not want the bath replaced for another bath as he and his wife could not manage it. We took this into account and fed back to the relevant team, and it was confirmed that we could remove the bath and install a level access shower. I know both tenants will be very happy with this and pleased that they have been listened to.

Value of supported living 

“Supported living gives each person a chance to learn new skills and to live as independently as possible. They can learn how to cook and clean, and they can become more confident and be proud of their home. Some tenants live busy lives as they attend and take part in many groups and activities. Every day is different, and every tenant is different. It is a good feeling to know that what you are doing is helping someone.”