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Supported living? Who knows?

Suzanne Gale suspects supported living is not what commissioners claim it to be, fears a
‘Covid blanket’ is covering up poor-quality, unmonitored services and falls in love with
Lucinda’s marvellous Makaton lessons

t’s very unpopular within the learning
disability commissioning sector to say
Ianything bad about supported living.
Commissioning strategies across the land
inform us that local authorities no longer
commission old-fashioned registered care
for people with a learning disability.
Supported living is the way forward, with
everyone having their own tenancy and
the illusory loads more money.
But scratch the surface of this and you
generally discover gaping holes in
knowledge about tenancy law,
registration, management agreements
and tenant choice.
In many cases, people end up more
vulnerable, with fewer housing rights and
often with less control over their money
than they had over their (albeit tiny)
pocket money in the care home.
I recently heard of a woman with Solar power: Lucinda and mum Nikki point out the sun and teach the sign for it on YouTube
reasonably high support needs who was
living in a flat on her own without a emotional and physical reserves, and It makes me wonder whether views are
tenancy, funded by the local authority, not wondering when things are ever going to so ingrained that we have reached a stage
paying rent and supported by staff in a get better. where we’ll never recognise unconscious
nearby care home. Business as usual has become a wistful bias against these people exists.
The local authority had been paying for memory and many functions have been Do many still expect so little of this group
this arrangement for years, assuming but lost, most notably quality assurance. that the general view is that equality for
not checking that it was a supported living The absence of visitors, high sickness people with a learning disability just means
arrangement. She had had three reviews levels and general chaos have put internal the right to be safe and survive, rather than
and not one of them had picked this up. and external checks of services on the to be put on an equal footing to thrive?
When this was finally unearthed, no one back burner. Reviews have been
knew what to do. The local authority, the completed remotely, area managers have Loving Lucinda
provider and the family all assumed that had to give oversight online and the Care I’m often embarrassed about how little
this move to supported living had been a Quality Commission has visited only the Makaton I know. I once went to a
positive one but, actually, it put the person services that were most likely to fail. Makaton evening class but it was taught
in a position of enormous vulnerability. Much has, no doubt, been covered up very badly by a rather dull teacher and I
by the big Covid blanket and I’m dreading gave up after a few weeks.
what we will find when it’s finally lifted. I now have the joy of Lucinda and her
I was recently unfortunate family teaching me on their YouTube
enough to sit through a Unconscious bias training is biased channel (https://tinyurl.com/3syvkacm).
I was recently unfortunate enough to sit
I’d highly recommend seeking them out if
three-hour training session through a three-hour training session on you haven’t yet found them.
Makaton with Lucinda is both
on unconscious bias unconscious bias. For the umpteenth educational and incredibly entertaining.
time, I saw people assume that a surgeon
must be a man and not a woman, and Lucinda is, of course, leading the show.
She’s definitely no one’s puppet and this
that black people are assumed to be
Makaton with Lucinda/YouTube I worry about what we’re going to find but there was little if any discussion in the mood, randomly wishes everyone a
criminals rather than lawyers.
is made particularly clear when she’s not
Hidden under the big Covid blanket
In no way am I denying this is important
when we lift what I’m starting to call the
happy new year, followed by “See you
soon” and wanders off.
around the unconscious bias towards
“Covid blanket”.
Without doubt, the last year has been
If you’re reading this, Lucinda, please
people with a learning disability. Why is it
dreadful for everyone, with endless
don’t give up on your teaching career yet
that this group, despite being recognised
firefighting, working on depleted
www.cl-initiatives.co.uk in equality law, continues to be ignored? – there’s still so much for me to learn. n
Community Living Vol 34 No 4 | Summer 2021 11