The Network is the Key: How KeyRing supports vulnerable adults in the community
Introduction
The charity KeyRing has developed an asset-based network approach to improve the quality of life of vulnerable adults. When it was set up in 1990 it focussed on adults with learning disabilities but it has now expanded its membership to other groups of people. KeyRing Living Support Networks are networks of vulnerable adults who need some support to live safely in the community. The purpose of each Network is to enable Members to take control and responsibility for their lives, live successfully in a place of their own and make a contribution to their local community. Typically a Living Support Network comprises ten people living within walking distance of each other. Nine of these people are vulnerable adults and the tenth is a Community Living Volunteer (CLV) who lives rent-free in the Network area. The CLV provides at least 12 hours of their time each week to help Members with issues such as bills and budgeting, getting into education, employment or volunteering. They also promote mutual support between Network Members and help Members build links with neighbours, community organisations and local organisations. Each CLV is supported by a Support Manager who manages a cluster of Networks. Members also get direct support from their Support Manager and access to the KeyRing “out of hours” service. Network Members can also draw on additional one-to-one support through trained KeyRing staff when needed. In a number of local areas, KeyRing also runs Community Hubs where Members can drop in for one-to-one support, socialise, plan events or get information and advice.
ObjectivesKeyRing was initially set up to develop and provide an alternative housing and care model to a group of people with learning disabilities who were in institutional care and wanted to be able to live in a home of their own. This model uses an asset-based approach which grows the capacities and skills of Network Members. KeyRing also promotes an understanding that citizenship involves everyone and provides members with the opportunity to contribute their talents to their community. By enabling people to develop support networks where they help each other and become skilled good neighbours, KeyRing seeks to:
Change managementKeyRing Members have often previously experienced more traditional types of social care in which they have been disempowered in terms of their own life choices and marginalised within their local community. Membership of a KeyRing Living Support Network turns this on its head by restoring personal autonomy and opening up opportunities for the person to receive from and contribute to the Network, develop good neighbour relationships and sustainable community connections and access paid or voluntary work. Personal change and growth is supported through an individual planning process. The development of the Network is supported through a process of local community planning which enables KeyRing Members to identify what works well in their Network and their community and use this to co-design the activities of their Network. Members are encouraged to apply to the Small Sparks fund which provides small grants to resource people, either individually or collectively, to take forward an idea that enhances their community. Examples include a community allotment, a football team and a drama project. As co-production between paid staff and Network Members is at the heart of the KeyRing model, this results in KeyRing Network Members being involved in the running of the organisation to a much greater extent than in other social care organisations. There is a range of initiatives and structures that support this, including:
LeadershipFundamental to KeyRing’s approach is taking an asset-based approach to all aspects of its work. This includes focusing on the assets of the people we support and other people in the communities in which they live. Fundamental to this is that Community Living Volunteers (CLVs) are active members of the communities where KeyRing Networks are present. Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) uses the assets which people in a community bring and the resources in the community as the basis for development; it empowers the people of the community by encouraging them to utilise what they already possess. Principles that guide ABCD include:
CLVs are in an ideal position, as active and supported community members to lead on this. CLVs know their communities inside out. Their approach as leaders is to involve others - KeyRing Members and other citizens - in what will help all; more, their approach is to empower others to take a lead to ensure greater effectiveness, wider ownership and improved sustainability. As leaders, their role is to develop autonomy in people and communities, not to create dependency in them. Therefore, CLVs connect people to each other and to wider community assets. This is empowering; they listen, and ask, and encourage Members to show local leadership. ObstaclesKeyRing joined a corporate group as a subsidiary in 2014. In 2017 KeyRing left that corporate group, following a detailed review and assessment of the viability of meeting our charitable purpose whilst remaining part of the group. The challenges we faced were
KeyRing overcame those challenges by:
Clarity in relation to our purpose meant that we were able to make objective decisions about our contracts. In the past 18 months we have remodelled, closed or expanded services to fit better with our purpose. In 2017/18 we supported 2001 people during the year compared to 1622 people in 2016/17 , despite income in 2017/18 being £389,000 less. OutcomesMembers are very proud of their achievements and each person has their own “outcome” story:
Performance IndicatorsKeyRing operates over 100 Networks across England and Wales. In 2017/18 it supported 2001 people in a range of services in 35 local authorities with a staff and volunteer team of 209. KeyRing Members typically give and receive 2 hours mutual support per person per week. 99.9 % of KeyRing Members successfully sustain their own tenancy. Costs and SavingsIn 2018 Housing LIN conducted an independent assessment of the KeyRing model. Their report is based on an analysis of KeyRing Networks in 4 local authority areas. From this analysis, they calculated the financial benefits of a ‘typical’ cluster of three Networks, supporting 30 people. This showed each investment of £1 resulted in a saving of £2.19, which was a net gain of £1.19, a 120% return on the original investment of the local authority. This implied overall cashable savings of £187,168 per year. The report also emphasises the outcomes that are linked to these savings. It defines our mission and values, demonstrating that financial savings can be made by adhering to these values, not compromising on them. It does so by focusing on outcomes that enable people to:
In 2013 the work of KeyRing in Walsall was independently evaluated by Alder (2013) to follow-up an initial evaluation of an adapted KeyRing model. This model aims to enable people currently inappropriately placed in residential care placements (often out of their own area) or at risk of escalating into residential care, to move into community-based living within Walsall with a tailored support package. The difference is the addition of “transitional step down” floating support for Members of the Network who have relocated from a residential placement, which is provided by a Network Link Worker. This is called the “Network Plus” model. The evaluation showed a saving to the local authority of £69,360 in the first year. However, two years later, while the financial case remained strong, it was not as strong as the initial evaluation, which concluded that the “Network Plus” model in Walsall was, at least, self-financing. The KeyRing “Networks Plus” model now appears to be costing the local authority around £79,000 p.a. because the proportion of members with the potential to be supported at much lower cost has reduced. Consequently, the savings generated can no longer cover the full costs of the ten networks. In 2015 another external evaluation took place to evaluate a pilot project in Oldham, which combined trauma therapy with abstinence-based recovery when supporting individuals to live independently. The Recovery Network was born from a fusion of ideas between A4A and KeyRing (Emerging Horizons, 2015:5). The evaluation showed positive outcomes, without exception, for all members who participated. The findings demonstrated improvements in health and psychological wellbeing and suggested that the model could be effectively replicated in other contexts. Lessons learnt and next steps
Further informationSee www.keyring.org Housing LIN (2018), The Financial Case for KeyRing, http://www.keyring.org/research/the-financial-case-for-keyring Alder (2013), Summary of the updated Evaluation of KeyRing Networks Plus in Walsall, http://www.keyring.org/uploaded_files/1101/images/KeyRing%20Network%20Plus%20Evaluation%20Summary%20-%20Alder.pdf Emerging Horizons (2015), Addicts4Addicts & Keyring Recovery Network: Final Report, http://www.keyring.org/uploaded_files/1101/images/Recovery%20Network%20evaluation%20-%20Emerging%20Horizons.pdf |
About this case study
Main Contact
Sarah Hatch phone: 07507 786 018 Sarah Hatch updated this case study in February 2019 based on previous versions by Jane Urmson and Jill Parker. |