Helping care providers find supported housing for clients with learning disabilities

Right home, right place – working with care providers to procure the best supported housing solutions

Finding safe, long-term supported housing for clients with learning disabilities or autism can be a major challenge for care providers in today’s overheated housing market. It’s not easy to find a suitable home for a client, in the right location, to meet their individual needs.

Other housing organisations offer a possible solution, but only if a flat or house is available at the right time. And will it be in the right location, close enough to a client’s family and existing support networks? Or will the client have to build a life in a completely new area, which is never easy?

Zetetick’s approach, however, offers care providers a different, more flexible solution.

“Everybody wins, but especially the client.”

Zetetick opens up the private rented sector to clients with learning disabilities or autism, giving them more choice over where they live. It’s a completely bespoke solution, with Zetetick finding rented properties that meet the individual needs of each client, in the location that’s right for them. Crucially, it gives people more control over their lives.

Finding the right property for each care provider client’s individual supported housing needs

Over the past two years, we’ve worked with care providers such as Frontier, Focus, Venture, Seco and SPINC to find a range of private rented flats and houses for their clients with learning disabilities or autism. “It’s a fully responsive service,” says Suzie Van der Westhuizen, Zetetick’s Head of Business Development. “We don’t fit the client into an existing property, but find a private rental that is exactly right for each person, in the right location. And one they are completely happy with.”

Zetetick takes the risk out of a traditionally risky sector by negotiating long leases of up to five years with landlords. This means that clients have somewhere they feel is their long-term home. We also offer an intensive housing support service, which means we take care of everything to do with the property – from tenancy support to furnishing, utilities management, maintenance and 24/7 repairs. Landlords like the long-term security that Zetetick provides. “They know their property is in safe hands,” says Suzie. “And the care providers like it because they know that everything to do with supported housing taken care of by us. Everybody wins, but especially the client.”

A 17 year track record of finding personalised housing solutions for care providers’ clients

It can take a while to find the right home in the private rented sector – anywhere from two weeks to eight months – but the benefits of more choice and a personalised supported housing solution can make the wait worthwhile. “It takes time to find just the right place, but we have a lot of experience in getting it right and are determined to do our very best for each client,” adds Suzie.

“We work very hard with local authorities and care provider partners to find our beneficiaries the right home. And we can even adapt a property to make it even more suitable.”

To find out more about Zetetick’s private rented sector solution for clients with learning disabilities or autism, email Suzie Van der Westhuizen at [email protected].