Changing Lives - Supporting People in Tameside
Changing Lives - Supporting People in Tameside
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The Supporting People Programme funds a wide range of housing related services in Tameside for a number of different client groups. Services are delivered in a variety of ways and by a diverse group of organisations.
The key aims and objectives of the Supporting People programme in Tameside are to:
- Equip people with skills and confidence to live independently in the community in any form of tenure without support.
- Enable people to continue to live independently in the community with ongoing support.
'Towards A Vision For Tameside Supporting People Programme'
This short film, 'Changing Lives', shows a cross section of users of Supporting People services talking about their support service and how it has benefited them.
For more information about the Supporting People programme in Tameside we advise you to read the 5-year strategy which explains in great detail how the Supporting People programme fits into the wider strategic objectives of Tameside MBC. This can be found on the Supporting People website.
Text Only Version
- Everybody gets on, it's just one happy community and it's a lovely place to live.
- It just all came at once, so glad that Nicola was there really.
- Without Bea's help I wouldn't be where I am now.
- It's a great place, it's just like home but better.
- It's bright, the care's very good.
- You definitely get involved because you meet new friends, you learn more different things and then you've always got someone to talk to.
Steve Goslyn - Director, Threshold Housing Project
There are hundreds of vulnerable people in Tameside who need help with their lives. Tameside Supporting People does just that mainly through housing related support.
Those groups can range from people with learning disabilities, people with mental health needs, teenage parents, people who are single and homeless or in fact families who are homeless who need a little bit of support to help them into independent accommodation.
It's important to reach out to find people who wouldn't normally get in touch with services so Tameside have done a lot of publicity about the programme. There are posters up in various parts of the Local Authority and there are websites and directories, a whole range of different ways of getting in touch.
Narrator
The Supporting People programme was established by the Government in April 2003. About seven million pounds a year is now spent in Tameside meeting a wide range of needs.
Winnie
Bert lives at number twenty-seven, Joan and Arthur live at number twenty-six, Barbara and Frank twenty-five.
Narrator
One of the biggest areas is Sheltered Accommodation. Here in Hyde forty-five residents live in thirty-eight bungalows supervised by a very, very watchful warden. Winnie moved here in 1996 and four years later lost her husband, Roy.
Winnie
It really is a nice place. We get looked after, we've got a good warden, we've got a good community spirit. We have trips out, we go on trips to the seaside. We have parties in the centre, we have bingo twice a week, we have a coffee morning. We have afternoon tea on a Monday and we have a dinner on a Friday which Jean the warden cooks herself for us. You're still in your own home and you know that there's always somebody there to help you if you need them. Jean's always there for everyone of us. She gives you advice, if you need a shoulder to cry on you can turn to Jean and she'll sit there and she's a very, very good listener and she's a very, very nice person, it's like having a sister.
Narrator
But much younger people need help too. Single parent Zahra has her hands full with four year old Macy and baby Maddy but problems with a private landlord led her to ask for tenancy support.
Zahra
He's quite aggressive, he's not easy to speak to, I've been quite frightened actually on a number of times the phone to him. That's where Nicola's really helped.
She's contacted my landlord for me, she's been able to make these appointments for me which I would have not been able to do, she's also attended them with me which I think I couldn't have been able to do it on my own. I've had a lot of damp which has caused by youngest daughter Madison she has asthma, which has caused her to have asthma attacks she's been hospitalised twice. We've just been to Shelter which is in town to get some more legal advice really. That was quite helpful; he's going to contact the landlord himself now and I think that Trading Standards are going to get involved as well.
Narrator
In Ashton we met Joan and James as they were preparing for a special day, their wedding. Joan has MS and James suffers from cerebral palsy. The couple refuse to let that get in the way of making the most of life, helped by housing support workers like Pat. (Knocking on door)
Hello. Hi James are you alright?
Fine thank you
Are you okay today?
Yes thank you.
Got any post that I need to look at for you?...
James
We've been friends for quite a little time now and I could feel it developing into a relationship to the point where I wanted to ask Joan to marry me and I did and she was so happy her face lit up.
Joan
He cleans up, mops the floor, Hoovers, helps with dinners, helps with dinners every day, he does my breakfast every day as well. If I ever need anything he just gets it. He goes shopping I can't go out.
James
I do it so that she can have an input into the jobs and into the decision-making process which I feel is quite important for the mind and the muscles. She's working her muscles in a small way to stop them deteriorating. As you probably heard the phrase ‘use it or lose it'
Joan
Tell them to come it's lovely that room we've got it's marvellous and the kitchen and the bedroom it's lovely it's a bit small for two of us.
Doorbell
Good morning Barry and how are you?
Good morning, good to see you and how are you?
Good. I'm okay thank you.
Narrator
Some people have a different form of disability and at this community house in Hyde, Barry and John are slowly getting on their own feet safe in the knowledge that should they have any problems support workers like Christine are close at hand.
Christine
Right what they're saying Barry is that they didn't take your first payment out for last month……
Barry
I wanted to live on my own to see if I can try and live on my own. I like the staff, they help me to do my rent and to do the post and just check to see if we're all alright. I can do what I want when I want and I haven't got anybody to answer to. I'm alright I'm happy I really am happy.
Narrator
The young people in Tameside can have other problems. This group are homeless but are learning new skills and getting fresh confidence by simply getting their hands dirty. They're creating a garden to display at Tatton Park's Annual Horticultural Show. They've won Silver and Bronze in previous years. Let's hope they go one better and strike Gold this time.
Emma
Coming here it's like different things, different environment. Most people they have their like the background that we come from like we wouldn't normally get a choice to do this.
Simon
It's been very good for my own self esteem, confidence. These are issues that I've had problems with in the past so getting involved with this has definitely helped me in that respect.
You meet new friends, you learn more different things and then you've always got somebody to talk to.
Narrator
And at this women's project a protective arm is thrown around teenagers like Louise and Tanita. Problems at home with violence or with drugs or alcohol can lead to serious situations. This project gives them the time and space to rebuild their lives.
Louise
When I came here I'd just left school and I was a gob on legs really so I chilled out a lot. You get your support plan and then anything absolutely anything you could need like if you're not very assertive that's one of my things you work on that with your key worker or the manager Ann if you want.
Tanita
The staff here are really supportive, they understand what situation you're in. They are really helpful in budgeting and life skills individually really. I've gone off the drugs, I don't drink as much as I used to and I seem more happier and I seem to be able to budget more my money.
Louise
I've chilled out a lot, got to get my head down now I'm getting a flat soon so I'm quite happy.
Steve Goslyn
I think it's a very rewarding area of work to be involved in. I do feel that as the programme has developed it's become much more concentrated on thinking about what we can achieve with people. We tend to use a little bit of jargon it's called an outcome but it's actually about someone feeling better, being happy and having a better quality of life and moving if you like from A to B moving on a journey, so I think if you're involved in working in a programme or even going through the programme it's a very satisfying place to be, it's actually doing something that makes a real difference to people's lives.
Other service users say their lives have been transformed by the help they've received. It's a carefully thought out formula. Everyone likes their bit of independence but they also need varying degrees of support.
Stuart
If she wasn't here I'd be stuck and I'd be in square one and I think without Bea's help I wouldn't be where I am now because I might get thrown out and go back to my mum's.
Matthew
If I'm stuck she helps me like read and stuff and if I'm absolutely stuck she's like I give her, she sorts stuff out like if I need like money for like dyslexic stuff trying to get my dyslexic stuff up.
John
Need more understanding
Narrator
And have they helped you get organised for moving away one day
John
Yeah
Narrator
Yeah how did they do that?
John
Just sit down and talk.
Narrator
There's a comprehensive network of support workers dealing with more than a dozen service users all with different types and levels of needs, it's challenging but rewarding.
Nicola Dawson, Tenancy Support Worker
If you feel like you need any sort of help whatsoever in terms of sort of managing and maintaining your tenancy you know if you're struggling with anything, then it's worth just at least sort of giving us a ring and seeing if there's actually anything that we can do to help you because it can be really quite small or it can be quite sort of major things you know that we can help people with.
Louise Campbell, NACRO
It's been great fun. Sometimes we'll get somebody saying I really don't want to come today but once they're down here and they getting stuck in it works wonders and they go home saying I really enjoyed that, really really you know got a lot out of it today I'm glad I came.
Bea Downes, Young People's Tenancy Worker
The support workers and it's all done with them you work out a support plan with them, you do when I come to visit if you like tasks that we do together, some that I might do, some things that I might have to go back to the office and deal with and some that they have to deal with. It's all about joint working, all about empowering people and helping them to keep in the tenancies and prevent them from getting into debt, getting into arrears and becoming homeless.
Ann Cooney, WISH
I think it'd be a big problem in Tameside if we weren't here because where would these people go if we weren't here, if the Government funding wasn't here I think it would be a major problem for the single women in Tameside.
Christine Featherstone
You can prove that you've done your job that's what we're here for is to get them from A to B successfully you know because we don't want anybody to go out and fail.
Jean Bullock, New Charter
It's more of a community here and they love it, they're very proud of the garden, very proud of their homes, got beautiful homes and it's a nice area.
Steve Goslyn
There are greater needs out there which are not being met at the moment but we also appreciate that the budget that the Local Authority has is limited, but we would always be keen to press for more funding and I'm sure the Local Authority itself having identified the needs will always be keen to see those needs being met.
Music
I think watch out for the Supporting People programme, support it, it's a very, very important programme for the Local Authority. It doesn't actually cost a huge amount of money when you look at some of the other budgets around but it can make a real difference and really turn people's lives around.
Music