When preparing to live independently in your own home (this doesn’t mean living on your own), getting as much advice and guidance as possible to help you make the right choice is crucial. It’s also important to understand what all the housing options are and choose the right one for you. We’ve listed the different options here for young people who need extra help and support, it’s called supported living.

Supported living is where a person with a disability gets the support they need to live in a home they own or are a tenant in. They can live alone or with friends or in a community. The support people receive is personalised and centred on their needs. We’ve included more information about the options in the drop downs below.

We've made a video for people with additional needs and their carers, about the different housing options available in Worcestershire.

You can read more information about housing options in our Housing Options Guide. This guide is for people with additional needs and their carers, who live in Worcestershire, and who are looking at supported living options.

The following video features a number of different people talking about how supported living helps them live more independently.

Supported Living for people with disabilities - YouTube

Here in Worcestershire the main choices are:

• supported living in your own home, or one rented from a council, housing association or privately
• supported living schemes, such as cluster flats or a shared house
• Shared Lives scheme
• residential care

It is not a good idea to look for supported living until you have received a completed assessment. You may not be eligible for support to live in the home you want.  An assessment will tell what support you can get.  It will avoid you being disappointed. You will also need to complete a financial assessment to see how much you will have to contribute towards your support. 

You may want to consider the following things before looking at places to live:

• why do you want to move?
• where do you want to live?
• do you want to live alone or with other people?
• what do you want to do with your time?
• what support and care will you need?

For young people with a care and support plan from adult social care, Worcestershire County Council (WCC) has a ‘Choice of Accommodation’ policy, which provides guidance on supporting people with a choice of accommodation. It also contains essential information on the legislation related to WCC’s responsibilities for people entering specified types of care accommodation. This can be found, along with a ‘Choosing Accommodation factsheet’ on the WCC website here: Professionals, providers and policies in Adult Social Care under the Policies and strategies heading.