About Services for Independent Living

SIL is a user led organisation providing services that enable disabled and older people to live independent lives in their own homes within their own community. We work in partnership with Local Authorities, the Health Service and other voluntary and local organisations and individuals in a common effort to improve the lives of disabled and older people and their family carers, and to facilitate their participation in and full integration into society.

SIL Vision

Disabled people, older people and family carers are equally valued members of our society

SIL Mission Statement

To provide individual care and support  services empowering people to lead an independent life at home.

SIL Guiding Principles

• Everyone is respected and has equality of opportunity

• Responding pro-actively to change through innovation & creativity

• Strengthening communities by developing and using the skills of disabled and older people and family carers

SIL Services

SIL’s focus is on meeting the needs of disabled and older people who need support to live in their own home. Our services are available to people of all ages and all impairments. For example older people, parents of disabled children, people with mental health needs and people with physical impairments or learning difficulties. Our strength is in creating carefully structured services with people to meet their individual needs.

Our Independent Living Service (3* excellent rated home support agency) provides support for people with high and complex support needs, who select their own team of staff supported by a Team Co-ordinator. Over 30 people are supported, many of whom might otherwise be in nursing or residential care, thus demonstrating our commitment to disabled people remaining within their own community.
Service users value the service highly for the independent and quality of life they have.

We are proud of our low staff turnover which we feel is due to the high level of job satisfaction that comes with being well inducted, trained and supported. 

The Direct Payments Support Service (DPSS) provides comprehensive support, information and advice to disabled employers employing their own support workers. Disabled people appreciate the control and choice this gives them over their support arrangements, but being an employer also presents new challenges to people who, by definition, are experiencing issues that make life more difficult anyway. The role of the DPSS is to enable disabled employers to employ legally and safely and to minimise the administrative burden of being an employer.

Service development activity has focused on innovative ways of meeting support needs effectively. Our website now contains many resources, including downloadable templates, enabling employers to access the information they need independently as and when they need it. Job applicants for personal assistant posts can complete an online application form.

SIL also runs a Payroll Service which meets the needs of disabled employers regarding all HMRC compliance. In addition, we also offer a Financial Administration Service  where we can hold an individual’s personal budget in a dedicated client account, pay their bills and do their accounts for them.

Active User Participation is encouraged and supported by SIL and Service users regularly volunteer for us in the following ways:

• Making short films
• Service User Forum / Task Group
• Trustees
• New trustee induction
• Meeting quality assessors
• Peer support
• Peer mentoring
• Interview panel member
• Writing articles for our newsletter
• Training delivery

Peer Mentoring can be a very effective way for disabled employers to share their problems and find solutions from others' experience. Experienced employers find it increases their confidence too, as they appreciate just how much knowledge they have acquired and the new skills they have developed.

Future plans

Our joint work with Age UK and Herefordshire Carers Support has been valuable for reaching new service users and, together, improving our services to older people and family carers. We have been able to achieve more together for service users by offering complementary activities, extend our reach, and / or be more efficient.
We are continually exploring the potential of technology to improve efficiency across the organisation and at service level.