Evidence and impact

An illustration of the head of a man in a blue top

Evidence and impact

We make a difference for people and communities.

Don't just take our word for it. Read reports and case studies about our work.

An illustration of the head of a woman in a purple top

An infographic. The title is “The KeyRing Way. Saving money and changing lives”. Underneath it says that the cost avoidance and cashable savings of 3 networks supporting 30 people is £131 per annum. Below that is says that there are £278k additional preventative savings from the following: 30% of Members avoiding psychiatric patient admission. 25% of Members no longer needing weekly social worker/care coordinator visits. 30% of Members who were at risk of homelessness avoiding eviction. 10% of Members no longer needing weekly visits from the Learning Disability Nurse. 25% of Members no longer needing visits from the Community Psychiatric Nurse. 20% of Members no longer needing weekly drug/substance misuse visits. The source for this information is Housing LIN.

Value for money

The Financial Case for KeyRing is an independent study from Housing Lin. It illustrates how KeyRing networks achieve a net financial benefit of £130k per annum across 30 people

Mental health support

A globe

We are one of only three UK based organisations to feature in the World Health Organisation’s report on rights-based approaches to mental health services in the community.

The Supported Living services section of the report features four services from across the world. An extract of the report says:

‘The (KeyRing) service also emphasizes that Members (people supported by KeyRing) are the experts and decide what happens; they choose where and with whom they live, and the housing contract is held in their name. This creates a sense of responsibility and agency for the Members. The asset-based approach also creates an atmosphere of encouragement and positivity by focusing on people’s strengths. Encouraging Members to grow their skills helps them to become more autonomous.’

The full report is called World Health Organisation: 'Guidance and technical packages on community mental health services: Promoting person-centred and rights based approaches'.

Housing

A report produced by the Local Government Association to inform councils about process for creating a housing with support pipeline for people with a learning disability and autistic people. It was informed by expert advice and case studies from local councils. As one of the housing models featured in the report it says:

‘Wherever people live, and however far apart, the KeyRing network model is about connecting people and building resilience so that they can live as independently as possible. The predominant message being that connected people have support far beyond that provided through service delivery.’

Innovation

If we are being honest, it surprises us that we are still able to claim that what we do is innovative. We’ve been doing it for over 30 years and although the model has evolved to fit with local areas, funding challenges and technological advancements the core has stayed the same. We connect people, we build independence and we see beyond services. Some studies that evidence that this is still an innovative way of thinking:

Social Care Future have featured us in their glimpses of the future section. We work closely with this movement as it ties in so well with how we speak and think. ‘KeyRing recognises that life is about more than a support provider and values mutual support and community involvement.’

Local Government Association Case Study - a case study on our Oldham services that forms part of the LGA's health inequalities hub. ‘Flexible support is key to independent living’.

We are part of the Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) Directory of Innovations, sharing our creative approaches to supporting people in the community. ‘Our support is flexible, and so is our service design. We support?local authorities?to consider services that focus on their own challenges, embrace the strengths of the community and explore life beyond support.’

Governance International showcases case studies of good practice, showing how organisations and communities can achieve better outcomes and efficiency savings. ‘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.’

In the archives

KeyRing has been around for more than 30 years and the principles are just as strong and effective as they were in 1990 when we started out.

These reports are still relevant and useful but they are not the most recent.

The CSED Case Study?is a 2009 case study from the Department of Health. Although the figures in the report are out of date, the assertions made about the nature of savings, and the scope of use for networks are still relevant.

Evaluation of our Recovery Network - A partnership approach with Addicts4Addicts, this report shows the success of our pilot working with recovering substance misusers.