The Supported Living Property Podcast

In this episode, I am delighted to welcome Janette Spiering, who is the founder of the Dementia Village in the Netherlands. Janette shares how she bought her vision to life, the challenges she had and the impact this revolutionary way of supporting people with dementia has had on individuals but also on the way people with dementia are supported worldwide. I ask her if this model be used for peopl...

In this episode Henry Davies talks about how he developed and leased a large HMO to a supported living provider. He talks about how he found a the provider and how he developed the property. He explains why supported living appeals to him and why he is now developing more properties for supported living. Henry Davis is a property trader, developer, and landlord, and he purchased his first property...

In this episode Robert Mellors explains how his own experience of homelessness inspired him to set up a housing association. He shares the lessons he has learned in setting it up and running a service to provide housing for homeless people. Robert talks about good and bad experiences with landlords, the issues around rent to rent in supported living and shares some great advice for those looking t...

In this episode Sian Wilson talks about the housing needs of people with autism, she shares insights from her extensive career supporting children and young people with autism to help you. She explains a range of sensory issues in property that you may not have considered before and gives some advice about how to move forward. Sian Wilson has been working as a Highly Specialist Paediatric Occupati...

In this episode Sam Sly shares how she helps people plan for hospital discharge, she explains why so many people with autism and/or a learning a disability are in hospital . Sam draws on her experience to give examples of planning for transition from a hospital or treatment unit to a home in the community. She gives some great advice about managing neighbors and why things can go wrong. ‌ Sam is a...

In this episode Lisa Kelly-Tonge talks about her journey from being in the RAF to becoming a property investor. Lisa explains how she creates homes for veterans and helps us understand some of the challenges veterans face. She gives some advice for property investors who are interested in creating these much needed homes for veterans. ‌ Lisa Kelly-Tonge is founder of Kelton Homes Ltd. After 16 yea...

In this episode well known researcher Imogen Blood discusses her recent research into the impact of social housing. They looked at a wide range of services and tenant groups and studied the interaction between health and supported housing services. They examined the impact of supported housing on health and found how complex tenants support needs actually are, with many tenants experiencing one or...

In this episode Jayne Knight talks about the many different ways housing for people with a support need can be set up. She explains the importance of respite housing to prevent hospital admission. She draws on her experience to share some examples of housing that has worked well in the past and describes some creative housing solutions that can be used today. Jayne Knight has worked in the field o...

In this episode Sarah Davis, senior policy and practice officer at Chartered Institute of Housing, talks about collaboration between health and housing to improve outcomes for tenants as well as improved outcomes for health and housing partners. She discusses some sites where this collaboration is taking place and shares examples and learning from working in this way. Sarah talks about the importa...

In this episode Suzanne Gale shares her experience of being a local authority commissioner and working with many commissioners. She explains who commissioners are, how they work, the role they perform, and what decisions they can and cannot make. She explains what to do if you have a property available and want to approach a commissioner and what to do if you are a provider who wants to work in a...

In this episode Jackie Collier shares her experience of developing and leasing property to housing associations. She and her husband Steve have been helping creating homes for people experiencing and at risk of homelessness. She talks about the benefits and challenges of letting property in this way and shares some great advice for any property investors interested in letting their property to hou...

In this Episode Caroline Marsh explains how, in lockdown, she went from being a property investor to setting up a service to support young people in care. She talks about the reality of setting up a service, the impact a service like this can have and gives some great advice for anyone looking to set up a support service of their own. ‌ Caroline Marsh is Operations Director at Kingdom Youth Servic...

In this episode Brian Smith talks about the proposed changes to supported accommodation for 16-18 year old's. He talks about current practice, how things may change in the future and what this means for support providers and property investors. Brian Smith has experience of over 37 years in social care to work with service providers to improve services to children. What drives Brian is a conti...

In this episode Kristy Brown and Sue Clark share their experience of setting up a supported housing CIC to support people experiencing mental health challenges. They talk about doing things differently with a focus on person centered quality support. They share the challenges and the reality of setting up a new service, and offer some great advice for those looking to get into supported housing or...

In this episode Anthony Wallace explains how frameworks and referrals work in supported living. He shares some great advice about getting onto frameworks and some different routes to getting referrals. This will be useful for those starting out in supported living but also for property investors to understand how this works. Anthony Wallace has worked in Housing for over 10 years. During Covid he...

In this episode Peter Licourinos and Rob Sherwood explain how and why they started developing children's' homes. They talk about their motivation, how they are doing things differently and are creating "Homes to be proud of". They share some great advice for those who are interested in getting started in children's homes and supported accommodation. Peter Licourinos has over...

In this episode Jonathan Spencer, CEO of Zetetick a housing charity, talks about how being a charity enables Zetetick to work in a different way to support their tenants. He discusses exempt rents, poor practice in the sector and gives advice on how to ensure you are working with the right housing organisation. Jonathan Spencer is the CEO of Zetetick Housing Charity and has been with the organizat...

In this episode Vicky Chittock shares how she drew on her past experience combined it with her property investing knowledge and set up a supported living service to support vulnerable women in Wolverhampton. She shares her experience of developing and delivering this service and the talks about the direct impact they are having on the lives of the people they support. I am a full-time business own...

In this episode Paul Smith talks about providing accommodation for the gypsy and traveler community. He talks about the demand, the challenges, the kind of sites and the kinds of support needed and why Elim Housing Association are getting involved to meet this need. Paul Smith is the Chief Executive of Elim Housing Association and a Non-Executive Director of Connexus Housing Group. Paul has a degr...

In this episode Jess Dunne talks about how to work with occupational therapists to develop a property specification, she shares her experience of designing property to meet peoples needs and explains how occupational therapists are pivotal in accessing grants in funding adaptations. Being an Occupational Therapist is at its core about empowering and enabling individuals to maximize their independe...

In this episode Julie Fadden explains how, during Covid, she pulled together a range of different agencies to house 2000 people experiencing homelessness into long term furnished tenancies. To this date, only 18 of these 2000 people have not maintained their tenancy. Julie shares how working in a different way enabled this amazing success. She talks about learning points from experience and has so...

Suzi Carter is a Chartered Surveyor with 25 years’ experience in the commercial and residential property sectors. She has worked for some of the UK’s largest property and development companies and agents including CBRE, B&Q and Chartwell Land. Suzi’s last role in the corporate world was as Director at Land Sec PLC, the UK’s largest property company and REIT, responsible for a shopping centre p...

In this episode Carolyn Howell talks about the challenges of delivering supported accommodation in a rural area. Carolyn is CEO of Solo Housing Association who specialize in providing accommodation for single people with a range of support needs. Carolyn talks about some of the new and innovative ways they have developed to deliver support and how they are working with landlords to be able to supp...

In this episode Toby Wilde explains how he is working with institutional lenders to develop supported and social housing. He shares his experience of developing supported living property in London and gives great practical advice for property investors about developing and investing in property for supported living. Toby is the Founder of The Oparo Group which was the first algorithm driven real e...

In this episode Richard Kennedy talks about the model they have developed at Cornerstone Place where supported accommodation is eventually owned by the charity leasing the property. We discuss the importance of sustainable rent setting and how their approach of being impact led makes a difference. Richard’s mission is to use the power of business models and capital to create sustainable, positive...