On 27th October 2018 we held an event at Fairburn to discuss the move of a son/daughter from home and using short breaks to moving into a residential home.

One of our service users, B, recently stopped staying at Fairburn, after 20 years+ because she left her family home to live in a Milestones residential home. Her Mum felt this was the right time for B & the rest of the family, it also meant whilst the family are around, who obviously know B the best, they can support & have a say in all the decisions.

B’s mum spoke sympathetically to those who attended the talk of her experience. She explained how the process took a couple of years, the feelings of guilt, was she doing the right thing for her daughter? Mum visited several residential homes & finally came to Crantock Drive & felt that was the right one. The process of moving in was done very slowing & the sharing of information was done very thoroughly with all parties involved. This helped B to settle well & the staff team to know as much detailed information as possible to support B well. Getting to know the big things & the little things that are all very important to B, enabling her to have very person centred care.

The talk lasted a good few hours with lots chatting, sharing of experiences & stories & of course tea, coffee & biscuits!! After B’s Mum told of her experience with B, Dominic from The Hive spoke to the group of 12 people. Dominic runs monthly groups for parents/carers offering them support & help in a variety of topics. For example, considering alternatives to residential living, maybe supported living would be a more suitable option, not to assume siblings will e they the right person for their brother or sister? Dominic also covers educating parents in legal affairs, for example will writing, power of attorney and form filling. These topics are linked with leaving home and moving on, but there are also other topics available in other areas.