Thank you so much Care Housing!!

In January 2011, Care helped Sam and Peter finally found a happy home for their son Jordan.  Here is their story…

When Jordan turned 16 we started thinking about his future and how he would cope when we were unable to look after him in the way in which he deserves. We thought supported housing would be the way forward.   We were put in touch with two families from West Lancashire who faced the same dilemma.  After discussions we all agreed to get the ball rolling to find a house for our boys in West Lancashire, where the two other families were from.  We got a house in Skelmersdale and thought ‘well this is what we have got and have no choice’.  It wasn’t an ideal location as it was isolated and not suitable for the boys but we gave it a chance.  The boys moved in and it became apparent that it was not suitable and the provider was not flexible in making it more suitable to the boys needs.   The housing provider was not responding to our very real health and safety and hygiene concerns at the property and didn’t seem interested in doing anything about it.

All 3 families felt that something needed doing so we went back and spoke to the social services commissioners.  They accepted there were shortcomings in the existing housing support and agreed to allow us to look elsewhere.  We were put in touch with Care HA and spoke to the development manager Tony.  He was absolutely fantastic!  Despite our initial reservations following our previous experiences, Tony took us round one of Care’s existing schemes and we were blown away with the exceptional standard of the house and the support staff.  It was a world away from our previous experience.

Over the coming weeks, Tony spent a lot of time with us viewing properties, giving advice and taking our comments on board.  He was very supportive, fair and clearly knew what he was talking about.  We quickly gained confidence from Tony as he did things when he said he was going to do them and communicated well with us.  After viewing many, many houses we found one we all agreed on and Tony very quickly got the architects and builders in and got to work.

The adaptations and improvements happened very quickly and on time.  The workmen were very, very good and involved us in the process.  They were really respectful and took time explaining to us what was happening.  During the work Tony involved us in the style and furnishings of the house – there was a choice in nearly anything that went in the house.  We were given a budget and told to go away and spend it wisely.  We didn’t need to be asked twice!!

The house looked fantastic when we got the keys! After moving all of Jordan’s belongings into the house, we took Jordan, eagerly anticipating his reaction.  He loved it! This was such a relief for us to see and we were overjoyed.  The other 2 lads were delighted and they took to their new home immediately.  We had a party, inviting the neighbours
round, as a way to introduce the lads to the neighbourhood and make sure all the neighbours were happy.  They were all lovely and have helped the boys settle in to their new surroundings.

We have had absolutely no problems at all during Jordan’s time there and can’t thank Care enough for the positive impact they have had on Jordan’s life. He is in the best possible place and he is very happy. Thank you Care Housing!!