“Just Enough Support”
Bolton June 2010

• Thinking Day with John O’Brien
• Need to go deeper
• 2 follow on days
• Support that goes beyond paid staff
• Why = A Given
• How = The Challenge

Collectively figuring out how to develop alternatives to just paid support
• Money’s Too Tight To Mention
• Contenders

• Larger Group Homes
• Reduced Funding
• Pay even lower salaries

- Reasonably Well Funded Services??
 A tendency to over support people
 A lack of experimentation as it’s kind of working
 Insufficient dissatisfaction to generate change

Describe the story in one paragraph
In terms of informal/ community/ technology support, what was the contribution to the person’s support
How did you go about getting/developing the informal/community support
Describe the paid support in the arrangement; how did it change with informal support
What is your key learning in terms of things worth doing again
Outline the costs of the support
What is your key learning in terms of things to avoid doing

• 30 + years of unsuitable living arrangements
• Individually designed support V compliance strategy
• 2 bed bungalow in development for older people
• Became regular at Working Men’s Club
• Other members included couple of staff  OK by association
• Accident – dealt with, no fuss

• Severe reputation
• Inappropriate place in Group Home & severe reputation
• Family equally concerned & desperate to find solution, use of I. B.
• P. C. Review  Flat for 2
• Collective figuring it out to I. D. barriers to own place
• Use of technology, belief in capacity & resourcefulness, and family involvement

• Different ways of people receiving the right support: - Reduction
- Replacement
- New models
• Gaining the trust of families and people supported
• Looking to your community
• Working together to flourish

• From the outset, explore how paid formal support can complement/supplement support from family and friends.
Figure things out together.
• Celebrate good attempts. Create a culture of experimentation
• There is a danger that community members see little or no need to become involved in the lives of disabled people because ‘staff are there to do that’
• We all grow and develop when we receive the right level of support. Over protection can be as harmful as under support
• Employ local people for their local knowledge and connections

• Need exists, regardless of funding pressures, to seriously reflect on how services are commissioned and provided
• Our attempts to develop alternatives to just paid support and to assist people to connect / contribute have lacked urgency
• The harsh reality is here and danger of ill thought out, simplistic solutions if we don’t take the initiative
• The paper is a contribution to the need to stop and think. It’s work in progress

SOMEBODY HAS
TO DO SOMETHING
AND IT’S JUST
INCREDIBLY
PATHETIC IT HAS
TO BE US
GERRY GARCIA