Local Offer for young people
My Home
What type of home would you like?
There are lots of choices you will need to make about where you would like to live. This could include continuing to live with your family, the chance to live independently or to share with friends
Wrekin Housing Trust
The Wrekin Housing Trust has properties that are available to rent, they are social housing. Housing has to be applied for and is given out based on need and priority. It is generally more secure than private renting and the cost of rent is cheaper. Normally the demand for housing is higher than the houses that are available.
Private Renting
Private landlords (or the owner of the house) own the property but don’t live there, they let someone live in the house (called renting), they charge a rent (or payment monthly or weekly basis) the landlord is normally responsible for any maintenance on the house. Private rents can be expensive and some landlords will not rent to people on housing benefits.
Shared Ownership
Some properties can be brought through a shared ownership, this means that you own a percentage of the property and you will have to pay rent on the rest of the percentage (for example: you would own 50% of the house, and then pay rent on the other 50%). More information about this is available at HOLD Home Ownership for People with Long Term Disabilities and the Help to Buy Scheme
Owning your own home
You may be able to purchase your own home, or you can take out a Mortgage (a special type of loan to buy property) to buy your own house. There are government schemes that can help you to save money towards a deposit for your own home like the Help to Buy scheme.
Shared Lives
Telford Shared Lives provides an alternative approach to care and supported accommodation, they help people to live more independently. It works by placing you with a Shared Lives Carer who welcomes you into their home and helps you with independent living skills.
Take a look at Shared Lives website for more information
Supported Living
This provides help and support for you to live independently, it makes sure that you have a choice about where you would like to live and how you would like support to be offered. For more information about this take a look at Mencap’s information on Golden Lane Housing.
How to pay for your home
Whatever type of housing that you choose, it will need to be paid for! Payments would be for either weekly or monthly rent or a mortgage payment if you own your own home.
The money that you use to pay for your home may come from your wages (if you have a job) or it may come from benefits that you are entitled to such as, Universal Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments or Job Seekers allowance.
For more information about where money comes from take a look in the My Money section.
Skills you need to live independently
There are some skills that you may need to learn to live independently, some are fun and some are hard work…
Cleaning – you will need to keep your house clean and tidy! This could include hoovering, dusting, making your bed and washing up. It’s a good idea to keep your house clean as it prevents germs from spreading.
Cooking – You will need to think about how to cook your food safely and what you would like to eat. Lots of recipes are available, you can borrow cookbooks from your local Library or take a look at recipes online.
Food Hygiene – don’t forget that you need to make sure that the food you eat is safe and that it won’t make you ill. Take a look at the top tips to stay safe…
How to store food and leftovers
Are there any other skills that you think you may need to live independently, why don’t you write a list and tick them off as you learn them!