More than a place to live

Social isolation carries a mortality risk comparable to well-established health risk factors. So it is not a nice-to-have. It is something we plan for as carefully as medication.

We think in terms of the things Simon Duffy's Keys to Citizenship names: purpose, freedom, money, home, help, life and love. Purpose sits at the centre. A support plan that cannot show how it moves at least one of those keys is not finished yet.

So alongside the support plan, we build a community plan. It starts with three questions:

• Who are your people?
• What do you want to be part of?
• What would you contribute if someone made it possible?

Support workers help build connections. Their role is to help you build relationships that are not paid for, rather than to be your only company. We also map what is already in the Inner West: groups, clubs, venues, volunteering, small businesses. Then we invest in those relationships so they are there when someone needs them.

People are supported to take part in the real tasks of their own home and their own life: the shopping, the cooking, the folding, the paying. With exactly as much help as success requires and not a fraction more. The international evidence for this is strong. It substantially lifts engagement, the quality of staff support, and people's exercise of choice.

The Disability Royal Commission made this explicit. It recommended strengthening how providers implement models of practice such as Active Support, so that people living in group homes are actively supported to have greater social interaction, community participation and inclusion. We treat that as the standard to work to, not a recommendation to file.

If you are looking at supported living for yourself or someone you love, ask us what the community plan would look like, not just the roster. Call 02 9556 9500 or get in touch.