The home design appeal brochure

The Home Design Appeal

Supporter Services 50 Scrutton Street London EC2A 4XQ T: 020 7452 2121 E: supporterservices@livability.org.uk

The Home Design Appeal

Patron: HRH The Princess Royal Registered Charity No: 1116530 12

www.livability.org.uk

The Home Design Appeal

Livability

Standards of design in residential homes are always changing. Better ways of utilising space with more accessible equipment are becoming available. Each new development opens up new avenues of opportunity for us and for the disabled people we support.

Livability’s homes transform lives Four out of every ten disabled people in the UK are trapped in unsuitable housing with little or no choice over where they live. For too many, it can mean lives of everyday frustration and limitation.

My colleagues and I at Livability want to change that.

We want to provide high quality accommodation, care and support for disabled people. We want to offer living environments that enhance, not restrict, the potential of disabled people. We want to help disabled people live as independently as possible.

2

In everything we do, we are working towards our vision of a transformed society where disabled people can live life to the full.

However, there is still so much more we want to do. With your help, we can make our vision a reality. Please join us, and help transform the lives of disabled people today.

Yet, at the same time, it means that, to realise these benefits, we need to raise more funds. We urgently need to update and modify our homes to make sure we are offering our residents the very best in care and facilities.

By helping to improve our residents’ bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and living areas, you can help them enjoy more independence and freedom of choice than ever before.

easier-to-use facilities for wheelchair users and people with limited movement.

To achieve this, and provide the best possible equipment and facilities, we need your support. That is precisely why we have launched The Home Design Appeal.

With your help, we can carry out vital renovations and upgrades, and implement new interior design solutions that make the most of the space available in six of our residential To put it simply, you could help homes. It will mean better access and transform people’s lives.

The Home Design Appeal – Livability homes

Liz Mell Director of Operations

1 2 3 4 5 6

Bradbury Court, Harrow New Court Place, Borehamwood Brookside, Edgware Dolphin Court, Southend-on-Sea Treetops, Colchester John Grooms Court, Norwich

6 2 1 3

5 4

3

The Home Design Appeal

Livability

Beds with controls designed for comfort Having to rely on someone else to get you in and out of bed can be a major cause of frustration. Height-adjustable beds allow residents with limited movement to do more for themselves.

It means more dignity and self-respect for residents – and a lot less physical strain on the staff caring for them.

Everyone needs a place of their own Many of our homes offer each resident a self-contained flat with their own front door, bathroom and kitchen facilities. It’s a crucial part of making sure our residents are able to enjoy as much privacy and independence as possible.

Innovative interior design holds the key to greater independence.

Beds can be adjusted to enable residents to sit up. It means, if a resident wants to read or watch TV in bed, they can do so easily, without having to ask for help. Some of our disabled residents benefit from raising their legs higher while lying down.

Adjustable beds also enable them to do this for themselves.

A bedroom is a very personal place.

That is why bedrooms in Livability’s homes are designed with our residents in mind. We consult with them every step of the way to try and make sure they have the facilities that will suit them best.

Every year we buy new equipment for residents’ bedrooms. However, like every electrical item, height-adjustable beds only last so long. Motors wear out, pieces need replacing, items simply stop meeting people’s needs. We need more funds to make sure our residents’ bedrooms are equipped with the newest and best technology available.

Specialist beds and hoists mean more privacy and comfort.

Of course, not everyone wants to be alone all the time. That is why our residents also have access to shared lounge and dining areas where they Each flat is specially designed to meet can meet, talk and spend some time the needs of disabled people. We together. make sure that rooms and corridors are wide and spacious enough to Across all our homes, we want to make accommodate wheelchair users – sure that wheelchair users and people without sacrificing the cosy comforts with limited mobility have the facilities of a private home. Every resident is that will enable them to live independent free to decorate their flat to their own and dignified lives, without having to individual tastes and colours. rely on the help of others.

4

5

The Home Design Appeal

Livability

Pull-down baskets

Fridge freezer

Rise and fall system with manual handle

2 x Pull-out baskets

Tower unit Pull-out worktop New kitchen layout

Specially designed kitchens will enable residents to do more for themselves.

Making kitchens accessible Unless you have experienced it, it is difficult to understand how frustrating an unsuitable kitchen can be for a disabled person. It can be hard to reach worktops and sinks from a wheelchair. Cupboards and drawers can be inaccessible, making it impossible to reach ingredients and tools. It can be unsafe to use conventional cookers unsupervised.

Through all these design innovations, we can help disabled people enjoy more freedom and independence in their own kitchens. Now we urgently want to upgrade and improve the kitchens in several of our residential homes.

to enjoy the simple joys of cooking.

Specially designed kitchens can change that. Our kitchens have been designed to incorporate the latest innovations, which will allow disabled people to move freely and safely in their own kitchens.

Height adjustable units can be raised or lowered to meet residents’ individual needs. Kitchen sinks As a result, too many disabled people inset with a shallow bowl provide are dependent on help in the kitchen – a person in a wheelchair with easy and many more are completely unable access to the sink and greater knee 6

space underneath. Specially adapted drawers give residents easy access to all their ingredients and equipment.

Combination microwave ovens are easy to clean, save space in the kitchen and make cooking safer and easier. They are the perfect solution to enable residents to finally start cooking all their favourite meals, cakes and snacks again.

Completely renovated kitchens will transform lives.

7

The Home Design Appeal

Livability

A fresh new approach to bathrooms Of all the rooms in a home, the bathroom is the place where privacy is most important. That is why we offer accessible en suite facilities to as many of our residents as possible. It is a simple but essential way of helping people to enjoy as much dignity and independence as possible in their daily lives.

“ All our bathrooms are designed with residents’ needs in mind. It’s a crucial part of providing the dignity and independence they really need.”

need shower curtains, which can get in the way and make it difficult to move around. It all adds up to an easier, more independent experience for our residents.

Wet rooms We are currently aiming to put new wet rooms into residents’ flats. These are spacious areas, designed to be big enough to enable wheelchair access and including a range of special features such as shallow basins, grab rails and showerheads set at a level suitable for wheelchair users. Moreover, wet rooms do not

Livability Service Manager

Shallow basins with grab rails enable independence.

Bathrooms In some of our homes, where there is space, we also provide a bathroom with specialist, accessible baths. These baths have features which can create a Jacuzzi effect, providing therapeutic benefits which can help ease daily aches and pains.

For many of our residents with multiple and complex needs, this specialist equipment can make having a bath far more enjoyable and relaxing.

8

Many of our current bathrooms are functional, first and foremost.

However, through innovative interior design, we can transform them into attractive spaces where residents will be able to enjoy an even more relaxing and therapeutic experience.

We want to provide more of our residents with access to bathrooms with specialist therapeutic baths, and where atmosphere and ambience are every bit as important as everyday practicalities.

9

The Home Design Appeal

“I’m really excited about getting a new kitchen, having more accessible cupboards, being more independent and just doing more for myself in general. It really will be a whole new adventure!”

Resident, Dolphin Court

10

“It’s a great community and I love living here but the building and facilities are mostly twenty years old, which is a problem. Living here has really changed my life for the better but there are things that I am capable of doing, that some of the older facilities stop me from doing”.

Resident, John Grooms Court

Making real change in local communities Livability is the UK’s largest Christian disability charity. We provide support and opportunities that give disabled and disadvantaged people real choice about how they live their lives.

We are proud to be involved in improving the lives of 1,000 disabled people and their families every day.

We run a wide and diverse range of services for disabled adults and children, helping them to reach their full potential and develop their independence. This complements our Community Engagement work, which helps churches to make their communities a better place to live.

Created by the merger of the Shaftesbury Society and John Grooms in 2007, Livability combines a strong heritage as social reformers with a will to innovate and an ambition to put an end to social exclusion.

Every single day, we are helping to transform people’s lives.

You can help us do this today by supporting The Home Design Appeal.

11