Habren launches at the University of Glamorgan

Grŵp Gwalia Cyf and the Faculty of Health, Sport and Science at the University of Glamorgan have recently come together to form 'Habren', a new company specifically aimed at providing improved support facilities for people with dementia.  The new company will focus on the development of integrated accommodation for people with dementia and their carers and will utilise the expertise already existing within both Gwalia and the University.

 Habren will aim to provide people with their own front door and an environment that allows individuals to remain independent for as long as possible, recognising the importance of enabling couples to remain together.  It will also provide accommodation with on-site support services and resource centre with outreach facilities for people suffering from dementia in the local community, but who still live in their own homes.

The formation of Habren will help to develop innovative alternatives to residential care. A key element of the partnership is to ensure the provision of high quality training and education programmes for Health Care Support Workers. It is anticipated that these programmes will be rolled out, over time, across the social care sector.

The definition of the term 'dementia' has always been a primary focus for the development of Habren because it is central to the type of support that will be provided for the developments.  Habren's aim is to focus on each person as an individual, with specific capabilities rather than defining them through medical terminology, thereby marking them with a 'loss' in abilities.  It marks the difference between medically defining people and recognising them as interactive human beings, with emotions.

As a leading provider of social housing and care in south and mid Wales, Grŵp Gwalia's experience of providing innovative forms of housing and its understanding of housing needs for vulnerable and dependent tenants has meant that it can bring this experience to the Habren partnership.  Gwalia has already developed Plas y Môr in Burry Port and Llys y Werin in Gorseinon.  As integrated extra care schemes for the elderly working towards supporting older people to live in the community, they have proved very popular, representing best practice in supporting older people to live active, independent lives.  So far this year, The Gwalia Housing Trust has already raised £50,000 towards funding Habren's work.

The Faculty of Health, Sport and Science at the University of Glamorgan is keen to contribute to innovative support models and is interested in the improvement of support given to vulnerable people and in developing therapeutic methods of managing dementia.  It has recently designed a support model called 'Supporting the Person with Dementia' that is underpinned by current research and will be updated as new evidence based knowledge is developed.  The model will enable participants to demonstrate good working practices in the provision of individualised holistic care for people with dementia and it is hoped that once established, this training programme could be made available to other Further Education institutions within Wales.

Habren's Mission Statement:

"Habren aims to meet the gaps in provision for people living with dementia and their families. Habren will work with like-minded partners and agencies to offer high quality, innovative support services, and to ensure that sound, robust research and service delivery are integral to all developments.  Appropriate education and training will be provided to all staff, ensuring that they provide skilled care and support.  Habren, partner agencies and service users will work together to provide choice and promote independence, enabling active participation in sustainable communities."

 
The primary objectives of the Habren partnership are to:

• Establish a shared philosophy for both the scheme and support services. 
• Improve the support of people with dementia. 
• Improve the training of staff involved in the supported housing sector. 
• Strengthen or create partnerships to deliver innovative, quality schemes.
• Improve the standards of education and training of support-givers by emphasising a multi-agency and multi-professional approach.
• Provide a rich arena for research and the continuous development of services, whilst recognising the underlining principles of respecting people as living in their own homes.
• Act as an ambassador of good practice.
• Habren is committed to ensuring that the support and service delivered to clients and their carers are of the highest possible quality. Integral to this is to ensure that staff are equipped with cutting edge skills and knowledge.

Habren is currently working with two partners, Carmarthenshire County Council and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, to develop residential accommodation to meet the needs of local residents.