Services / Supporting Independence
Empowering young adults
At Stepping Stones, we want to empower young adults to live life to the full by increasing independence and choice. We believe that with the right support, there is no reason that the majority of people with a learning disability cannot lead a full, independent life with their own home, a job and a social life.
Barriers to Independence
Unfortunately, people with learning disabilities face prejudice and discrimination and inconsistent treatment, whether in their everyday lives, education or employment.
Only around 6% of people with a learning disability are in paid employment, despite 60% being willing and able.
With the right support, there is no reason that the majority of people with a learning disability cannot lead a full, independent life with their own home, a job and a social life.
How We Help Support Independence
Every person we support will have the right to an allocated keyworker, who will regularly meet up with them to support with any issues in a two-way process. This will enable each individual to work towards their goals and achieve greater independence.
As part of our support, we will provide our young people and adults with a range of new skills in order to support their independence. These include:
- Supporting our service users to attend appointments, education, training, work and volunteering opportunities, understanding their rights and claiming benefits they are entitled to.
- Supporting each person to develop his/her interests, hobbies and aspirations
- Developing age-appropriate independent–living and self-care skills, including money management, shopping, cooking, use of public transport, and community living and social skills.
- Encouraging and enabling each person to find and use relevant educational and vocational training opportunities.
We offer a wide variety of support for every individual we look after, based on their wants and needs. We can help with work experience, training, skills development, mental wellbeing and general support. This can help our young adults to live enjoyable, independent lives whilst becoming contributing members of the community, living independently or with minimal support.
Once a keyworker has been assigned, they will work with each individual to tailor a support plan around their needs and schedules. This includes working around commitments such as school, training or employment.
The support we offer includes:
- Giving each individual the freedom to choose where they live and who with.
- Helping with mock applications for housing registers, housing benefits and help them to support the options in their area.
- Packages of support for individuals who live alone.
- Support for individual tenants in multi-occupancy houses.
- Varying support levels from one hour to 24-hours.
- Flexible support to meet people’s rapidly changing needs.
- Manging finances, the cost of living and how to effectively run a household.
Why Choose Stepping Stones?
We support young adults to access their local community and engage in leisure interests to pursue their hobbies and interests. Our aim is to help the people we support to live their lives to the fullest, while becoming included, contributing members of the community living completely independently or with minimal support.
Emerald House
Emerald House is the multi-occupancy residential home we manage, located in Coombe, Kingston Upon Thames. Emerald House is a residential home providing personal care for up six people with a learning disability, autism and/or mental health needs across two separate units, each of which have separate adapted facilities.
Our supported living is person-centred and works within the current Health and Social Care 2008 Act and CQC Regulations 2009.