Do you have to be a severe case to be offered supported living?

[deborahcoxsuckle]

I'm trying to get my backwards son into supported living possible in a shared house with other backward people his own age (mid 50s) but it seems he's not backward enough for supported living? I have mentioned this to the community mental health team and he's not eligible for supposed housing at all, he has to go on the council list which being honest didn't work last time because people were taking advantage of him and cuckooing him. Now I think supported living would meet his needs and he'll have company and make friendship outside the delinquent people he socialises.. He can't live me with because I'm in a small one bedroom council bungalow, I'm in my late 70s now as well with declining health plus his leg ulcers leak and smell horrid, I don't even let him anywhere inside my bungalow (particularly my settees) but I do talk to him from the back door when he comes around begging for money for heroin which is every day now. I'm at a loss what I can do to help my son. I thought the CMHT would help but they are discharging him saying his needs are environmental and he needs little support with his MH.

[Jofisher]

contact the mencap helpline for advice because it sounds like pass the buck to me. He sounds at risk so is this a safeguarding or is he quite able to manage and he’s choosing these bad decisions and trying to drain money out of you for his drug habit. You need to know what the true situation is and then deal with it accordingly. It all sounds very sad and a dreadful situation for you as well.

[parasiticworm]

Maybe social services can't assist your son with supported living as he's an active heroin addict and placing him into a shared house with people with LD's would be a bad idea. I'm in supported living and I would not want to live with a druggy, if he's asking you for money all the time he'll be asking the other residents for drug money and possible stealing from them as well, it would be a recipe for disaster.

[Galwaybay2]

This is so difficult for you. Your son's desperate situation may be the outcome of his learning difficulties being overlooked when he went through school when he really relied on supportive adults stepping in in time to stop him finding his own solutions. 'Backward' is not a term used kindly and one that belongs to an age when such problems were shameful and misunderstood. The people who replied here are absolutely right, your son needs to be ready to tackle his addiction before anything else happens. Social services may well step in when he is clean, but they cannot fund his addiction.

[Chocolate-heals-all]

I’d agree with what others say. He should be eligible for support in maintaining his mental and physical health. I’m guessing that he needs support which is highly specialised: addiction help for a person with a learning disability and accompanying mental health problems. That kind of support is in very short supply on the NHS. But I believe that it’s a medical problem, and there may be a specialist service which will at least put him on a waiting-list. The ulcers aren’t just unpleasant but pose a serious risk to his health, and he won’t be able to manage the self-care, so there should be a case for getting him an NHS budget for supported living in a place of his own, only I’m guessing that they are really few and far between

You yourself could demand a carer assessment. Care Act 2014. You are taking responsibility for your son even though you can’t let him live with you. A carer assessment might open doors by equipping you to advocate for your son. Here’s a link to some information.

rethink.org/advice-and-info...