ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

A week in the life of… an area manager in learning disabilities and complex needs

Rilwan Bello is area service manager for Look Ahead’s east London learning disabilities and complex needs services. He talks us through a week of helping people transition into secure tenancies

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Sharelines

Rilwan Bello is area service manager for Look Ahead’s east London learning disabilities and complex needs services. He talks us through a week of helping people transition into secure tenancies #UKhousing

Monday

Although every week is different, I often start my day on Monday by catching up on referrals to our services. My team supports people with a learning disability and autistic people. The people who live in these services will need support with challenges to enable them to live fulfilled and safe lives in their community of choice.

At Look Ahead, we specialise in providing accommodation and support to people who have spent, sometimes, upwards of 10 years in secure hospitals and institutions, and who need a really well-planned and well-delivered transition into their own homes with Look Ahead.

We design individualised support services and properties that will provide a home for life. Sometimes these will be within Look Ahead’s own accommodation, and sometimes we’ll work with other housing providers to locate a flat that is going to give the customer the environment they’re going to need to thrive and be supported safely within the community.

Our referrals may come via NHS or social care commissioners or, occasionally, directly from customers’ families who are looking for placements in community settings. I receive between five and eight referrals a week, but only a very small number progress as we are so careful about compatibility with other people in our services and ensuring we can provide the right type of support.


READ MORE

‘Wherever you see rough sleeping, you need to think about autism’‘Wherever you see rough sleeping, you need to think about autism’
Older people can help shape the levelling-up agendaOlder people can help shape the levelling-up agenda
Reducing agency staff has helped make our care homes saferReducing agency staff has helped make our care homes safer

Tuesday

I manage a team of 47 members of support staff who work with our customers on a three-to-one, two-to-one or one-to-one basis, 24 hours a day. Whatever else I have going on, I’m always supervising and motivating the members of my team, who do an extremely challenging but life-changing job.

Together, we’ll meet the individuals who’ve been referred to us to work out if we can help. When we identify a suitable person and the commissioner agrees to the placement, the transition from a hospital setting to a community-based placement with Look Ahead can take anywhere between three and six months, and involves various site visits, risk audits, and appointments with individuals and their families.

Our service focuses on helping to fulfil the aims of NHS England’s programme, which sets out to get individuals out of secure settings and into placements nearer to their families.

However, it can sometimes be family members who are most concerned about how their loved one’s needs will be met within the community. It’s our job to demonstrate that they will be safely supported and cared for, while also having a better quality of life outside of an institution.

Wednesday

Throughout my week, I’ll travel to inspect potential properties for people to live in. I need to see them for myself to ensure that they are of a high standard, and that the space is suitable for a specific customer’s needs. The property itself forms a huge part of our risk management plan for anyone who is referred to us. Much of my day is also about ensuring our properties are fully compliant in terms of health and safety.

To give an example of how we adapt properties: one of our customers bangs his head on walls. When he came to live in his new home, he had a big wound on his forehead. We found a flat that we could adapt to prevent him from sustaining further injury. While he has stopped harming himself quite so much now, this adaptation has been the bedrock of his placement with us, which is now in its fifth year.

Thursday

Once a customer moves in with us, we have weekly meetings with their family members, clinicians and other professionals to talk about how they are settling into their new home.

My team and I carry out daily observations with each customer. This is vital in order for us to be able to understand how best to support each person and translate that into a person-centred support plan.

We use a tool to map behaviours so we can identify triggers, which can be anything from cats or dogs to traffic lights or specific things on the TV or radio. We use a positive behavioural support model, and by getting to know individuals extremely well, we can reduce the number of incidents and help them to live more fulfilling lives.

Friday

Training is a crucial part of my job, so I’m constantly making sure I’m up to date with my own learning and development. Friday is often the best day for this.

I’m very proud to work for an organisation that values training and upskilling so highly, and I think it’s particularly important when working with customers with such acute needs. My team must understand what Look Ahead is trying to achieve and why, which is why we spend so much time training those who join us and refreshing more experienced individuals’ skills and knowledge.

As a result of being in their new homes, many of our customers are often far closer to their loved ones, so they get much more contact with them. With our support, they are also able to spend more time in their local communities taking part in local activities and groups. Seeing the joy this brings, and watching individuals thrive, makes our work worthwhile.

A week in the life series

A week in the life series

Our ‘A week in the life’ series features housing professionals talking through what they do in their job on a day-to-day basis.

Find out about the different challenges housing workers in a variety of roles face in a given week. 

We aim to feature staff from housing associations, ALMOs, local authorities and more.

Click here to nominate yourself or a colleague for inclusion

A week in the life of… a damp, mould and condensation officer – featuring Andy Sherritt at South Yorkshire Housing Association

A week in the life of… Kensington and Chelsea’s Rough Sleeper Dual Diagnosis Service – featuring Gavin Stewart and Charlotte Northall

A week in the life of… a money guidance officer – featuring Debbie Woodcock at Clarion

A week in the life of… a part-time social prescribing link worker – featuring Dawn Perry at WHG

A week in the life of… a transitions and implementation lead – featuring James Brown at Places for People Living Plus

A week in the life of… a tenancy support manager – featuring Jackie Bird at Community Gateway Association

A week in the life of… a head of asset management – featuring Zoe Carmichael at Alpha Living

A week in the life of… an environmental sustainability manager – featuring Alice Lovatt at Sanctuary 

A week in the life of… a housing support manager – featuring Sara Dunnet at ForHousing

A week in the life of… a place-shaping manager – featuring Sarah Smith at Vivid Plus

A week in the life of… a part-time work planner – featuring Siwan Hammond at WHG

A week in the life of… a marketing communications customer lead – featuring Leah Thompson at Thrive

A week in the life of… a housing co-ordinator – featuring Sharon Chambers at Sovereign

A week in the life of… a senior community partnerships manager – featuring Brian Hamlin at The Guinness Partnership

A week in the life of… an asset compliance team leader – featuring Emily Elsworth at Longhurst Group

A week in the life of… a business continuity manager – featuring Chloe Fox at Abri

A week in the life of… an employment advisor – featuring Vanessa Loveridge at A2Dominion

A week in the life of… a housing association surveyor – featuring Andy Davies at Thrive Homes
A week in the life of… a youth support worker – featuring Treaser Jassal at Poplar Harca

A week in the life of… a head of community and housing-related support – featuring Daniel Revell-Wiseman at Longhurst

A week in the life of… a building safety manager – featuring Lisa Leather at Trafford Housing Trust

A week in the life of… a forensic mental health service manager – featuring Camille Lapaix at Look Ahead

A week in the life of… a communities apprentice – featuring Alex Perrin at Clarion Futures

A week in the life of… a supported housing officer – featuring Tamara Suppria at Housing Solutions 

A week in the life of… a senior occupational therapist – featuring Gemma Carr at Grand Union Housing Group

A week in the life of… a concierge officer – featuring Tyrone Wilson at Citizen

A week in the life of… a policy and practice officer – featuring Hannah Keilloh at the Chartered Institute of Housing

A week in the life of... a delivery manager – featuring Rebecca Bewick at Gentoo

A week in the life of… a fire safety project officer – featuring Victor Liburd at BPHA

A week in the life of… a ‘HomelessWise’ information co-ordinator – featuring Fiona McCarthy at St Mungo’s

A week in the life of… a national property development manager – featuring Heidi Fisher at Housing 21

A week in the life of… an apprentice electrician – featuring Selda Ponari at Bournville Village Trust

Sign up for our care and support newsletter

Sign up for our care and support newsletter
Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.