A Southdown client is sitting at a table and is looking at the camera.

It makes me feel very comfortable with my sister being there. It feels like a home.

“I think they are fantastic at what they do for her”

“When she first moved into her own flat, me and my mum were quite frightened. But being there has improved her. She’s her own person. She seems very happy there.

It’s like a hug going there. Everybody’s very friendly. You walk in the door and it doesn’t smell, it’s clean. They make me feel very welcome – they’re almost like a friend. It makes me feel very comfortable with my sister being there. It feels like a home.

I think they are fantastic at what they do for her. They seem like really caring people. They encourage her to do the normal things in a home which I think is important. They help her with preparing food and encourage her to wipe up after. And they encourage her to put her laundry in the washing machine. They take her shopping and she’s able to choose food and clothes that she’d like.

She’s very interested in doing crafty things. She likes her jigsaw puzzles and bead threading, and she helps create decorations for different occasions like Easter and Valentine’s Day.  

She’s more independent. She moves about more here, she’s got more to look at and do. They encourage activity. And I think she’s not quite as frustrated as she used to be – I don’t see it as much as I used to.

The service is very good at communicating with me and the Service Manager is excellent. Any little thing that happens, she’ll tell me about it so I’m aware. And if I have any concerns I can ring her up.

They bring her out to me once a month and I go to see her at the service. It’s very positive. What’s nice is that most of the staff are local.

My friends think it sounds brilliant from how I talk about it. She’s very very lucky – and so are we!”

Southdown manages supported living learning disability services across Sussex. Supported living is where an individual owns or rents their own home and has control over the support they get and how they live their lives.

Accommodation and support is provided separately. It can be very different for different people. For one person, supported living might be a few hours of support a week to enable them to live independently by themselves in a rented flat. For another it may be around the clock support in a shared house or self-contained flat.