Hagar is from a Turkish Cypriot background and came to England with her family when she was five years old. She attended a special school due to her learning disability. She was also diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. Hagar has very limited speech and was not taught to use sign language.

When Hagar came to Advance in 1993 she could not cope with a service which involved her living in a flat in a supported living scheme with one staff member supporting her. Due to an eating disorder there were huge risks around food preparation including the risk of Hagar choking. Hagar was excluded not only from mainstream services but also specialist learning disability services. Initially, Advance staff turnover and sickness levels were very high dur to Hagar's many challenging behaviours.

Involvement by the Tizard Centre, University of Kent was requested, to support staff around positive behaviour support for Hagar. This resulted in a functional assessment being completed and guidelines put in place to support staff around working with Hagar. Strategies were developed with input from the behaviour specialist in terms of supporting Hagar to manage her behaviour more effectively. Staff training was provided with input from the Tizard centre to enable staff to become more knowledgeable and confident in supporting Hagar.

Behaviour support plans were put in place to ensure that Hagar was provided with structured community based activities each day, throughout the day to give her greater opportunities to participate in community activities and interact with people in the community. Her behaviour was monitored and recorded which generated data for the behaviour specialist and other professionals to access.

She had regular appointments with her GP and psychiatrist and her medication was regularly reviewed. Hagar was allocated keyworkers to ensure that her various needs were being met. Hagar took part in a sponsored walk for charity. Hagar participated in community activities such as swimming, going for walks in the park, going to the theatre and going on holiday. Challenging behaviours diminished. Hagar had open access to the kitchen and fridge.

Advance recruited and trained a team of staff who can support Hagar effectively. They work with our specialist Complex Needs Team to regularly review and update support plans, ensuring that Hagar has a busy and interesting range of activities throughout each day such as, swimming, delivering business cards, going for walks in the park, having massages, going to a sensory session, attending Boccia and eating out regularly.

Hagar goes on holiday twice a year. She does her own shopping including clothes shopping. She regularly eats including having meals at the West End. Her sleeping pattern is much improved. She now often sleeps for 8 hours a night whereas prior to 2006 she struggled to sleep for two or more hours. She is now able to access mainstream primary health care services which means that her health issues are addressed much more effectively. She now uses buses and other forms of public transport without staff bringing fruit or crisps to help divert her attention and behaviour from other passengers.

Hagar has friends in the community. She has been to the Hackney Empire to see an Elvis show Hagar’s staff rarely go off sick and the same staff have been working with her for many years.

After living in her own flat for a number of years in the community, Hagar moved into a flat in a supported living scheme where she has access to a large garden and a staff team on site 24 hours a day.

Marc is an Advance housing and support customer who lives in a supported living scheme in Ferndown, Dorset.

Marc loves animals, having studied for an NVQ in animal care and previously owned rabbits and guinea pigs. He also enjoys helping in the community and meeting new people and is currently a Volunteer Ambassador for Volunteer Centre Dorset.

Marc joined Advance’s supported living scheme in Christchurch in 2014, after experiencing an abusive relationship in his previous supported living. He has lived in his current home in Ferndown since 2017.

Advance has been helping Marc to manage his anxieties and Marc is doing really well, enabling his support hours to be reduced from 20 to 11 hours a week.

Staff have also assisted Marc in learning how to manage his finances, an area he was particularly anxious about. When his Dad passed away, Marc inherited some money but did not have the capacity to manage it at that time. Marc struggled with the fact that money carers needed to look after his money on his behalf as he felt this was his money and he had lost all control. His support worker has worked hard with Marc to learn more about money and the value of items and in March 2021 Marc passed a financial capacity assessment. He has now successfully regained control of his own money and is able to look after it himself– something Marc could not be happier about!

In addition, Marc has been supported to reconnect with his family through writing emails and seeing them occasionally. This is a huge improvement for all as Marc has always had a difficult relationship with his family, largely because they have not understood his disabilities and how they affect him. Marc is now in a much happier new relationship with his girlfriend who is also an Advance customer. They have been together for 3 years and ‘are going strong!’

Marc is currently chairman of the ‘Let’s get together group’, a customer-led meet up group of Advance members from different services across Dorset. The group plan outings and activities together each month including trips to the beach, the park and Bournemouth air show (a huge favourite of Marc’s).

In the future, Marc would love a paid job and staff have been helping him create a CV to send to local employers. A big aviation fan, he is also being supported to join the Local Air cadets as a volunteer.

Ryan lives at Hope House, an Advance scheme opened in Oxford in 2017. The purpose built development sits within a mixed development of general needs home owners.

The scheme consists of 10 flats accommodating 15 people in total, six self-contained 1 bed flats, three 2 bed flats and one 3 bed flat. In addition there are communal facilities and a small staff sleepover/office. Hope House is designed to accommodate a wide range of needs for people with learning disabilities and consequently it is flexible and spacious throughout. The flats cater for people with more complex needs as they are built to lifetime homes standards, they incorporate under floor heating , the pipework is concealed and additional sound insulation is provided – all these measures increase the potential of who can choose to live there.

Although he has learning disabilities Ryan needs very little support. He regularly helps his grandmother, visiting her on a regular basis and taking her dog for walks. Prior to moving in to Hope House, Ryan lived in shared housing at another Advance property. He made the move to his own flat when he felt ready to develop his independent living skills supported by his Regional Housing Officer.

Ryan said: " I’ve got a lot more independence like managing my own bills and maintaining my flat and following my tenancy agreement. I’ve made loads of new friends with my neighbours, some I knew before and some I didn’t. It’s been great having my own flat and getting involved in the activities like birthdays, BBQs and parties."

Now working part-time in a local shop Ryan’s confidence has grown and, having received support to understand and maintain a tenancy, he feels ready to move to a fully independent home with his girlfriend.

Gayle lives in her own home in West Oxfordshire, shared with two other people, and close to her parents.

After studying at the local comprehensive, Gayle moved on to college to learn independent living skills. As her brothers grew up and left home, Gayle's parents, Ian and Mary, worried that she would not be able to develop an independent life by continuing to live with them.

Through discussions with Advance's hared ownership team they realised there was a possibility, through the HOLD (home ownership for people with long term disabilities) scheme, that Gayle could part-own her own home.

In 2002 a four bedroom house close to Ian and Mary's home was identified by Advance as a suitable purchase. Two other families were also interested in this option. The families, Advance and their care teams worked together to move the three shared owners into their new home in January 2003 where they receive 24/7 support.

Ian and Mary said that they were guided every step of the way in the purchase process by Advance. They have had to deal with changes in benefits and Support for Mortgage Interest over the years but the three families have supported each other to resolve any issues.

Gayle helped to choose how her room was decorated and her independent living skills blossomed when she moved into the house. She also enjoyed volunteering at the local college for a number of years. Gayle meets her Mum for tea on a Friday and comes each week to their house for Sunday lunch. They go on holiday each year and she also visits her brothers in London.

Part owning her own home has brought Gayle’s parents peace of mind knowing that she has somewhere to live in the long-term and that she is settled, happy and living as independently as is possible, with others. It also gives them confidence, because Advance is the other partner in the shared ownership agreement, as they help to maintain the property over time.