More Information

Housing

Threshold Edinburgh currently provides Housing Support and Care at Home to 21 service users.  All the service users have a “secure tenancy” agreement with a Housing Association or private landlord.  The service is currently offered in a number of locations in The City of Edinburgh and in Livingston, West Lothian.

Some of the service users have chosen to live in shared accommodation, the remainder having opted to live on their own, with support from the staff of Threshold Edinburgh.  Some share accommodation in houses that have a House of Multiple Occupancy licence.

Supported Living Services

In keeping with the National Care Standards, care at home and housing support services, staff strive to adopt the main principles: - dignity, privacy, choice, safety, realising potential and equality and diversity through offering a person centred approach.

Our Value Statement

We value all service users as individuals and as “people first” and recognise that everyone has the right to be safe and secure.  Each person deserves the opportunity and the right level of support to maximise their gifts and abilities and to exercise choice, citizenship, privileges and freedom.  We believe that a person's individuality and personality is a gift and is experienced most effectively through social inclusion. 

Aims and Objectives

• To provide Housing Support & Care at Home  within mainstream housing to adults with a learning difficulty and associated physical health needs.
• To provide support that is person centred. 
• To encourage independence, assist and support you to develop the living skills required to help you maintain your tenancy such as, budgeting, cooking, personal care, home and personal security, travel. 
• To support you to have opportunities to participate in your community and to develop friendships and relationships.
• To support you to pursue education, employment and holiday opportunities.
• To encourage and support service users to attend and express their views at local and national service user forum meetings.

Management & Staffing

Threshold Edinburgh is a service independently run and managed by the Church of Scotland Social Care Council in partnership with The City of Edinburgh Council. 
The Managing Co-ordinator is responsible for the overall management of Threshold Edinburgh and is accountable to the Head of Service.  There are 4 senior support workers who are responsible for a team of support workers offering support to a group of service users, and a full time Administrator.
Our 2 offices are based in Gorgie Park Close central to all service areas.  A call system and a Community Alarm system ensure that support can be accessed over 24 hours.  
In order to protect service users we seek to ensure our staff are carefully screened, selected and trained and receive supervision.  Service Users are involved  in interviews and selection of staff.
We believe that providing on-going training to staff and involving service users, meets the service  needs and the service aims towards delivering the following training:
Health and Safety - Food Hygiene, Moving and Handling, Fire Safety Awareness, Risk Assessment, First Aid, Non Violent Crisis Intervention (NUCI)
More specialised training includes Communication, Signing Workshops, Epilepsy Awareness, Autistic Spectrum, Values of Inclusion, Person Centred Planning, SVQ 3 & 4, Personal Professional and Development Plans.
Management Development Modules
 

Support Planning 

Staff are committed towards meeting the values, aims and objectives of Threshold Edinburgh and we believe that all people have the right to an opinion and we will respect their wishes.  We are also aware that individual opinions and priorities are expressed in a variety of ways and through person centred planning individual wishes will be developed.
Support is always person centred and support workers spend time each week with individual service users considering what their wishes, plans and requirements are for the coming days so that the service can be planned accordingly.  This will incorporate housing support tasks and community involvement.
 

Family Involvement

We are pleased to promote contact with family members, many of the service users have regular visits from family or invite their family to attend their service review where comments on the quality of the service are welcomed.  The service carries out regular surveys,  and produces newsletters to help maintain communication.  Also an annual strategic planning day is held involving service users, staff and families.
We recognise that a person's circle of support is not confined to family alone, but is built up through a range of activities.  We encourage service users in these and also to make use of personal advocacy services and organisations such as EVOC and befriending.