Managing at Home

Support is available to help with day-to-day personal care and domestic activities so you can continue to live as independently as possible in your own home.

Do you have difficulty carrying out day-to-day activities? Do you sometimes feel unsafe in your own home or do you care for someone who does? Equipment is available which can help you live more independently and confidently at home and in your community. Here are just a few examples:

bigger control knobs for the cooker or gas fire
mobile or ceiling-mounted hoists
raised toilet seats and commodes
shower stools and bath seats
grab rails
wall to floor rails
alterations to taps

Find out more about equipment available from the Adult Social Care Team.

You can also view a list of independent suppliers of equipment and trades people able to make adaptations to your home on the Leeds Directory.

A Telecare service consists of equipment and services that support your safety and independence in your own home (including sheltered or extra care housing). The equipment can sense risks such as smoke, floods and gas, can remind you to take pills and even call for help if you fall. A help centre can be contacted automatically if any of these problems occur in your home.

Some Telecare services include a GPS location device that can be used outdoors to assist you if there is an emergency. It can tell where you are and alert the response centre if you leave an area that is familiar to you.

Find out more about Telecare services available from the Adult Social Care Team.

You can also view a list of independent Telecare service providers on the Leeds Directory.

If you’re finding it difficult to move around your home, you may be eligible for a Disabled Facility Grant to make changes to the property.

The Disabled Facility Grant is for disabled adults and children who:

own and live in their own home in Leeds
are private tenants
are housing association tenants

You can use the grant to help pay for adaptions to make it easier to move around and access your home. This can include:

installing ramps and widening doors
improving access to rooms with stair lifts or downstairs bathrooms
building wet floors or walk in showers

If you would like to apply for the grant, you will need to contact the Social Care team. They will arrange an assessment, which includes an Occupational Therapist visit to your home.

There are many types of day support in Leeds.

Leeds Directory Activities Calendar

Leeds Directory has relaunched the Activities Calendar.

You can you view a list of local activities on the Leeds Directory and filter results according to interest, time of day, format of event etc.

Older People

If you are an older person you can contact your nearest Neighbourhood Network Scheme.

The Neighbourhood Network Schemes are shown on a map so you can easily see which schemes are near you and you can view a list of Neighbourhood Network Schemes on the Leeds Directory.

Age UK Leeds offers a range of social care, health and wellbeing services and digital inclusion projects for older people across Leeds and Leeds Older People’s Forum promotes the well-being and gives a more powerful voice to older people in the city.

Volunteering

Volunteer Centre Leeds helps individuals to find suitable volunteering opportunities and provides advice and support to organisations to set up and manage a volunteering programme and to find suitable volunteers.

Have more control over who helps you at home

If you arrange your own support – either because you have a personal budget or because you’re paying for it yourself – you can choose your own support worker or find someone through a care agency. These workers are often known as personal assistants.

In Leeds, advice about employing a personal assistant is available from the Actively Seeking Independence Support Team (ASIST).

You can also find a list of home care and home support services listed on the Leeds Directory.

Last updated: 10/22/2020

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