Moving out and Disabled?

[Jackie]

Have you tried to apply for social housing which can be adapted for your needs? In Leeds, we have something called Leeds Homes who send you a form you fill in so you can register and includes details of your health needs, then a medical assesor will visit you and decide which priority catagory you fit into and what kind of housing would match your needs best. Eventually a housing OT visited me who looked again at my needs and helped me find somewhere suitable and get it adapted. Beware, there is a wait which varies depending on waiting lists for your area and your perceived level of need. I waited 18 months for my flat but know of others who waited years. Your local council website should have information on applying for housing locally.

If you rent privately and are under 25, you will only be able to apply for Local Housing Allowance which is at the level of renting a room in a shared house. This may have changed, but you should be able to find out for sure on your council website.

Also, do you have a social worker? They would be able to give you advice, if they are good, and help you work out what kind of support you will need to help you live independently... and help you apply for payments which go to you to help you buy support you need. This could be help with cleaning, laundry, shopping, help getting out and about and the like.

If you have an OT they can help you source any equipment you may need to help you live independently.

If you do find somewhere and apply for housing benefit, beware of the wait for a decision to be made and money to come through, but you may well already know that as you already have some benefits.

If I think of anything else useful I will post again.