Our approach
Updated: 23 May 2012
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The main aim of the Supporting People strategy is to develop housing support services that enable vulnerable people to access accommodation suitable to their needs and help them fulfil their capacity to live as independently as possible.
In doing so, services need to mirror and complement other strategies that seek to develop and deliver community based services.
Key strategic documents
The three main strategic documents that inform the Supporting People Strategy are:
- Our Homeless Strategy
- Community Care agenda (People First)
- Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) Accommodation Strategy
All of these documents highlight the need for preventative services and service models that help people with particular needs to remain or reintegrate back into their communities.
Other strategies that have an influence are those that seek to protect vulnerable people. Examples are:
- Community Safety Strategies
- Northern Ireland Domestic Violence Strategy
The Supporting People Strategy also seeks to meet the objectives of the Northern Ireland Programme for Government.
How the strategy works
In order to support the delivery of its objectives the Supporting People Strategy focuses on developing good quality services that maximise the housing choices available to its main client populations. It also promotes safety whilst helping people to be as independent as possible, and enables them to access other mainstream services.
One of the most significant changes brought about by the introduction of the Supporting People strategy is the separation of services from accommodation. This has allowed us to develop a broader range of innovative, flexible services.
We regularly critically review the planned capital programme to ensure that this resource is being appropriately targeted to meet the needs of groups who require special needs housing.
We also ensure that proposals for accommodation based services do not hinder the development of more peripatetic models that will enable vulnerable people to live in “ordinary” homes.
