Supported living at the Rossendale Trust

Here at the Trust, we provide individual care and support to adults with learning and physical disabilities to help them retain and increase their independence whilst integrating into society and their local community. But more than that, we provide people with homes where each tenant can take ownership of their own lives and futures to the best of their ability.

Supported living is a fresh approach giving a person the care and support they need to live as an individual, rather than one of a group of residents such as in nursing homes. Our role is to encourage and support our tenants to live as independently as possible, enabling them to grow in confidence and flourish.

Our accommodation comprises six sites in Sutton and Macclesfield and two in Buxton where over 70 tenants currently live, fully supported by over 200 members of staff.

Supported living is a major part of the transformation of care provision which has taken place since 2000. Mental capacity (the capacity of a person to take decisions for themselves) lies at the heart of this. The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005-2007 is designed to protect and empower individuals who may lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions. Before the MCA, many assumptions were made about people with a learning disability. Frequently, it would be assumed that because a person had a learning disability they did not have the capacity to make their own decisions. The effect of this was to exclude people from making choices in their own lives.

Our tenants have a wide spectrum of ability and disability. Some are able to attend college; to go on work placements in our ‘WorkTaste’ scheme; to engage directly in other day activities and take a full part in their domestic lives. Other tenants may need support with every aspect of their lives, 24 hours a day.