Supporting All Involved in The
Provision of Sheltered and Supported Housing
ENCOURAGING INDEPENDENCE AND EMPOWERING THE OLDER CLIENT
Giving older people the right to decide and the
right to say no is not always an easy task. Participants will consider how
to support clients in a way that encourages decision making from them
without making them feel pressurised.
General Information
This training will provide participants with essential
knowledge of the skills required to offer the best professional approach in
supporting service users to retain their independence and empower them to
make decisions about their preferred lifestyle. It is applicable for those
who are working with older clients / service users within
sheltered/supported housing to develop their skills and understanding of
their role in empowering service users and promoting independence. The
course is also equally valuable for housing officers, care support staff who
work within a sheltered/supported housing environment and volunteers who
wish to develop their understanding of this subject matter.
A
range of training methods will be used in delivering the course content.
This will assist in ensuring effective input of course material.
Participants will be encouraged to take an active part in each session.
Aims
The
principal aim of this training event is to explore ways that participants
can promote and encourage a positive attitude towards empowerment and
retaining the independence of service users. Participants will develop
their skills, attitudes and knowledge in the areas of:
¨Increasing a greater understanding of how
to empower older people to be independent
¨Awareness of the challenges faced when
promoting independence and user-directed support
¨Their role in the promotion of independence
and empowering user-directed decision making
¨Using effective helping skills that
encourage and promote independence
Objectives
By the end
of the course participants should be able to:
¨Describe what independence and empowerment
means
¨Develop a strategy to promote independence
and empower user-directed decision making
¨Identify different ways of helping service
users that encourage and promote independence
¨Suggest realistic approaches to support and
empower service users to take responsibility for their lifestyle choices
¨Examine issues and dilemmas facing
professional workers when promoting independence
Summary
The course
is designed to be flexible and the content and setting can be varied to meet
the particular requirements of individual groups.
Participants
will be encouraged to adopt a supportive and positive approach to the group
as a whole. It is hoped that this will allow individuals to achieve greater
proficiency and confidence through taking part in a stimulating and
enjoyable learning programme.
Participants
attending this training can also progress onto the Level 2 Foundation in
Sheltered Housing Studies or the Level 3 National Certificate of
Professional Practice in Sheltered/Supported Housing.
