For individuals with enduring mental health problems, targeted support at the right level can be the vital difference between a successful journey back to independent living and going back to square one.
If the steps immediately taken upon leaving a 24-hour service are too big or too fast, there is a real risk of clients experiencing a relapse and being readmitted to a more restrictive style of care.
A gradual pathway to recovery, with continued support of a less intensive and intrusive nature is often a better solution. Medium support can be the perfect intermediary stepping stone on the path back to independent living.
The benefits of the right level of support and structure
Our medium support can provide targeted assistance for clients progressing from 24-hour support towards independent living. For those coming out of intensive 24-hour support, access to regular help is imperative, hand in hand with the comfort and reassurance provided by a little structure and routine.
This service can also be accessed by those who are experiencing increased levels of mental illness and need a more concentrated level of support to get back on track with their recovery journey.
Sometimes, flexible support in the client’s home is too little, and 24-hour support is unnecessarily restrictive. In these cases, our medium support service is exactly what is needed.
Our medium support offers onsite help from 9am to 9pm every day, with an on-call service also available throughout the night. It provides a wide range of supported sourced, high quality accommodation which doesn’t just promote independent living but also provides the opportunity for clients to learn or re-familiarise themselves with the necessary life skills they need. Living in a safe, well-maintined home can significantly contribute to an individual’s general sense of wellbeing and mental health.
The period of readjustment from a 24-hour service prior to returning to or establishing a new home offers the opportunity for a gradual re-entry into the community and independent living.
As with our other support services, individual bespoke Support Plans for every client are at the heart of what we do. Every client takes ownership of their own Support Plan and works in partnership with a dedicated support worker to agree identified and achievable recovery steps.
Providing a safe and supportive space for women
As part of our Medium Support service, we provide women only services that provide a safe space exclusively for women. Mental health conditions in some women can be further challenged by other issues in their personal history including homelessness and domestic violence. This can trigger certain feelings and create hurdles for some women when building trust with male support workers.
Our women only service provides a safe space for clients to focus on developing the skills and resilience needed to navigate back towards independent living.
Cost effective and proven pathway
After leaving 24 hour support, our medium support service is both cost effective and a successful pathway for those at this crucial stage in their recovery.
At Bridge, we are focused on achieving the best long-term outcomes for each of our clients. We firmly believe that providing access to the most appropriate level of support at each stage of their recovery journey gives clients the greatest chance of successfully reintegrating back into the community and living independently.
Typically, it takes less than 2 years for a client to move from medium support to a lower level of support with 50% of clients moving on to independent living within 24 months.
The cost per person to accommodate an individual in our medium support service is £10,000 per annum. This is 5 to 6 times less than accommodating them in a 24 hour community provision, but it is a staggering 17 to 18 times less than accommodating them in a secure hospital.
We are a trusted provider of cost-effective, flexible, long-term solutions that support clients along a path to independence, whatever stage they are at in their recovery journey.
Please help us raise awareness about this by sharing this post with your network. For more information about our medium support or any of our community mental health services, please visit our website, or contact us. Thank you for your support.
