Harry is one of our Resonance Supported Homes Fund tenants. He is being housed in a newly developed and specially adapted, shared home in Witney, Oxfordshire and is receiving individualised support from one of the fund’s expert housing partners, Golden Lane Housing.

He is determined in his pursuit of employment, and Harry’s new home and support network is assisting him in his ambition, by helping him to develop skills to become more independent in areas like cooking, cleaning, budgeting and managing his daily routines. To aid in his job search, Harry also attends weekly meetings with Oxfordshire employment. When he is not focusing on his job search, Harry enjoys going on bike rides and meeting his friends in town.

Watch Harry’s story as he explains how he went from living in social housing and experiencing lots of change, to his new home that is providing him - and his four housemates - with the stability to develop independence.

Homes for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, just like Harry’s home, can play a significant a role, alongside the right support, in enabling adults with mental health issues, learning disabilities and autistic people to live more independently within local communities. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for lots of adults in the UK:

• 1.5m people in the UK have a learning disability and 1 in 100 are autistic people 
• 23% of people with learning disabilities and 25% with autism live independently in supported housing
• 2,215 people with learning disabilities and autism are living in hospital inpatient facilities

With the number of adults with learning disabilities and autistic people requiring care and support estimated to increase by nearly 20,000 over the next 15 years, there is a significant need for people to be able to access suitable accommodation to support their needs.

The home Harry shares with his four flatmates in Witney is just the first of five homes being purchased and refurbished in the heart of local communities in Oxfordshire. The other properties will be bought in Banbury, Horspath, Bicester and Kidlington. In total, the properties will provide much-needed homes for 22 adults. This is all thanks to a £5m investment from Oxfordshire County Council.

ABOUT THE RESONANCE SUPPORTED HOMES FUND

Thousands of adults with learning disabilities, autistic people, and people with mental health issues are living in inappropriate housing or on lengthy waiting lists for housing due to the severe housing shortage. The Resonance Supported Homes Fund is a social impact investment property fund that is working to address this issue.

With the help of four investors through social impact investments, the fund has already bought twenty-one properties, a combination of shared and single-family homes. In order to ensure that they satisfy the complex requirements of each tenant, all of the purchased houses have undergone extensive refurbishments and renovations.

So far, Golden Lane Housing and United Response, two of the fund’s expert housing partners, have received eight properties and between them, six of these properties currently house fifteen people. And while the fund is continuing to deploy, there are renovations going on at other properties to ensure even more people can benefit from a home that is right for them and that can provide them with an opportunity to lead their lives with independence and choice.