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Supporting People is a Government grant programme which pays for housing related support services to enable vulnerable adults to live independently.
Supporting People services support a wide range of vulnerable people including:
- Asylum seekers or refugees
- Black and Minority ethnic groups
- Ex-offenders and those at risk of offending or re-offending
- Older people
- People experiencing homelessness
- People with HIV and AIDS
- People with learning disabilities
- People with mental health problems
- People with sensory or physical disabilities
- Substance mis-users
- Teenage parents
- Travellers
- Vulnerable young people
- Women fleeing domestic violence
There are two types of Supporting People service:
- Accommodation based - where the support is linked to the accommodation, for example sheltered housing and homeless hostels.
- Floating support - where the support is linked to the individual
Support services are either 'short-term' or 'long-term'. Short term schemes last for up to two years, with the intention of moving an individual on to independent living or increasing their ability to live independently. These services are free. Examples of short term services include homeless hostels and women's refuges.
Long-term services provide support on a continuous basis and are often characterised as open-ended. A community alarm service is an example of a long term service. If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit you can claim a subsidy towards the cost of the service.
If you are not in receipt of Housing Benefit you may still be able to get help towards the cost of the support charge. Through the Fairer Charging scheme if you are not in receipt of Housing Benefit and have less than £21,500 in savings you can ask for a financial assessment. This will determine if financial help can be given.
Once the application form has been received you will be contacted by a Financial Assessment Officer who can arrange to visit you in your home to carry out the assessment. This will involve checking information such as income, capital and savings. You can have a relative or friend present when the assessment is carried out. Following the assessment you will be sent a letter confirming whether or not you are eligible for any financial help and what this means.
The Supporting People Service Directory is a list of support services that are funded by the Supporting People grant. The directory contains information about the provider, the service, the type of support provided and information on how to get the service. You can download a copy of the directory here.
You can also search for support services in Cheshire using our online directory. The National Supporting People directory allows you to search for services across England.
The main routes to access Supporting People services are through:
 
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