The Home Straight - Independent living solutions for older people

Age in Place

Identifying any alteration and equipment to adapt your current home to your changing needs.

Ageing in place means living in your own home for as long as possible using products, services, and conveniences which allow you to remain at home safely and independently.

Using our expertise in Occupational Therapy and our ‘Home for Life’ toolkit we can:

• Help you identify whether, and if so how, redesigning your kitchen and bathroom and adding simple items of adaptive equipment will help you enjoy living in your own home for longer
• Advise you on how other parts of your home, both inside and outside, could be made more accessible through installing stair lifts and handrails
• Help you de-clutter to make way for any new adaptations to your home
• Help you source appropriate products
• Signpost you to designers who specialise in this kind of work
• Signpost you to trusted tradespeople to undertake the adaptations and installations
• Organise and manage any work you decide to have done to completion

Paying attention to your wellbeing in later life enhances your quality of life and gives you a heightened sense of self-value and connection. It is as important as keeping physically healthy.

In addition to helping you with all the practical aspects of ageing in place, we also want to help you make sure that if you are staying put you are taking full advantage of all the connections and activities around you which will enable you to thrive and live life to the full.

We understand that your wellbeing is nurtured through relationships, social contacts, feelings of belonging and being valued and that your independence is fostered through having choice and control over how you live your life. With this is mind we can give you advice on ensuring and improving your wellbeing and maintaining your independence including information which:

• helps you connect and get involved in local community and voluntary groups, arts and faith groups which you might not know about or which you may have lost touch with
• helps you connect to local health and fitness activities relevant to you, your interests and your capacities which might be new to you or which you may have not previously considered
• signposts you to Holiday accommodation that is suitable for the less able
• explains how you can access relevant health and social care services or identify private home help
• tells you about local amenities and produce suppliers

We have experience of accessing Self Directed Support in Scotland and can give practical help with all aspects of applying for and co-ordinating an Individual Budget or Direct Payment.

You can also join The Home Straight Community and receive regular e-bulletins keeping you in touch with issues relating to older people’s health and wellbeing. We live in an ageing society where people are living longer and the balance of life is changing, by 2020 it is estimated that a quarter of Scotland’s population will be over 65 so you can rest assured that there will be more and more focus on these topics!