Benefits of KeyRing

"KeyRing have been exceptionally flexible... arranging things at short notice when necessary such as visits to facilitate phone calls with other professionals.”

Benefits for people we support

Benefits for commissioners

Benefits for local communities

Benefits for public health

Benefits for housing providers

Benefits for people we support

"Having KeyRing support in my life has really made a difference, as they’ve always been there for me. Even if I’ve been feeling upset and needed a friendly chat. It’s been nice popping round to see Andrea, our volunteer, when I get home."

- Thomas B

A group of men smiling and holding a sign that says 'Friends'

We know that everyone who joins KeyRing is looking for some support and we are happy to offer this. People can get help with things like looking after their home, budgeting, making appointments, taking care of their mental and physical health and many other things.

Some people tell us they are homeless, fleeing domestic abuse, looking for help to keep safe in their community or dealing with addiction. Many different people come to us with different plans for their future. We can help them to work towards these goals.

KeyRing support is flexible which means that we can change the support that we provide to fit in with the person. It is personalised to the individual and their local community. We get to know the people we work with and understand the challenges they are facing. We give them the skills and tools to overcome these challenges.

Unlike many other support providers, we support people to connect with other people and to share their skills. This is called peer or mutual support.

We also connect people with their local community, so that they can be more involved and even better connected.

People who are connected are less lonely and healthier.

The best thing about being connected with friends, neighbours and other people in your community is that you have lots of different people in your life who can support you when you need it. This really helps people on their journey to independence.

Benefits for commissioners

KeyRing deliver models of support that build independence and connection.

Peer support, co-production and community links support people to increase their independence. This reduces reliance on services and sustainably decreases costs for the funder. People who are connected also have fewer mental health issues, a longer lifespan and improved physical health.¹

Support is adaptive whether in response to a crisis or to celebrate a move to independence.

A close up of someone's hands signing paperwork

We also offer access to support for people who have moved on from KeyRing. People we have supported are welcomed to our hubs and encouraged to keep in touch. This is great for one off queries and questions. If we notice something more serious, we can work with them to look at support options for them, this may be a temporary move back to KeyRing support. This is great for preventing crisis and cost escalation.

A study by Housing LIN demonstrates a net financial benefit of £131,142 per annum across 30 people using the KeyRing model. In addition, KeyRing support generates wider preventative financial benefits from the avoidance of crisis and non-crisis outcomes of £278,347 per annum.

The community is our network: KeyRing support builds more interdependence and offers people alternatives to traditional support. By linking in with existing community resources people become active citizens. This asset-based community development approach means that we unlock sustainable community development and ensure that people live the life they choose.

We work with other providers to reduce the support packages that people receive and challenge people to take steps towards independence that they didn’t think possible.

With a tenancy maintenance rate of more than 98%, we have a strong track record of working with people who are at risk of losing their home.

We are experts at mediating and supporting people to work through complex situations. One of the Focused Care Teams that we work with said: "Examples for me have been working with a homeless patient who refused to work with the Council, and so you worked with him, until he was actually on both Universal Credit benefit and housing lists with the council and now has a house and is off benefits as he is working.

Another is a family who have substance abuse, mental health and housing issues: you were patient with them and helped them holistically with food parcels, electricity vouchers for cooking, clothing, counselling and help with moving and managing the move. You offer a very personal approach to those more on the fringe of society including the rough sleepers."

¹ Campaign to End Loneliness

Benefits for local communities

Our local communities have so much to offer the people we support. The people we support have so much to offer their local communities. We have lots of stories where the people we support have helped out their neighbours or made changes in their local community.

KeyRing make great use of the resources in the community. There are hubs held in the community where anyone is welcome. We signpost people to local services and activities. We also invite local members of the community to speak with the people we support. We regularly welcome local Police, fitness specialists, community group leaders to our hub sessions.

You can see all the communities that we work in in our ‘where we work’ section.

Read about what our Members have been doing in their communities in the KeyRing News.

We support people to be good neighbours and to use their skills to help others.

Benefits for public health

The Local Government Association (LGA)’s Social Determinants of Health and the Role of Local Government (July 2020) states:

“Vulnerable adults may have some of the poorest health outcomes in the community. For example, women with a learning disability have a life expectancy 18 years lower than women without a learning disability. This gap can be reduced through support for housing, educational, employment and social opportunities.”

People who are connected have fewer mental health issues, a longer lifespan and improved physical health.¹

Mental health pressures continue to create significant demand in public health services and KeyRing’s uninterrupted and adaptable support helps prevent crisis in a person’s mental wellbeing.

People are supported to use health and care services appropriately. Support can include:

Supporting people to engage with medical professionals
Encouraging people to use emergency services appropriately and providing alternatives such as use of our dedicated out of hours line
Supporting people to take responsibility for their medication and setting up monitoring systems

"KeyRing can reach those patients who struggle to work with statutory services. I see you as a much needed complement and addition for those patients who are invisible to the system because they struggle to fit in and access services."

- Ruth C, Focused Care Lead

¹ Campaign to End Loneliness

Robert*

Robert's financial difficulties were overwhelming him.

Smiling man

Robert had become very anxious during lockdown and this was increased by his sister and her partner asking him for money.

After one of these times, Robert had a breakdown and called us. He said he was thinking of throwing himself into the river.

We worked together, called the ambulance and spoke with them about Robert’s situation. Robert was fine and safe and we provided some, carefully risk assessed face-to-face support. We contacted the Safer Neighbourhood’s Police Team and an officer came to explain to Robert how to protect himself from fraud and financial crime.

Robert was very glad with this meeting and his mood has improved a lot. He is now better able to avoid fraud and financial abuse.

Ben*

Ben had seizures and often presented at A&E.

Smiling man

Ben had frequent seizures and asthma attacks. He often went to his local accident and emergency department. KeyRing supported Ben to find a new GP that he liked and trusted. KeyRing supported him to understand his medication and to attend his appointments. Ben now has a good relationship with his doctor and attends regular planned appointments. He takes his medication and no longer needs to attend A&E.

Ben was also supported with his mental health. He had previously isolated himself when he felt depressed. He was referred for counselling and supported to increase his social circle. He has since started volunteering for a local charity.

Move on - Ben does not receive a funded place within the KeyRing Network now but does come along to our weekly hub where he can discuss any issues.

Benefits for housing providers

KeyRing's model of support is designed to build independence and reduce reliance on support. People have their own tenancies or own their own properties just like everyone else.

For housing providers there are many benefits to working with KeyRing. One key benefit is a 98% tenancy maintenance rate.

We often work with people who are at risk of homelessness. We ensure that the people we support understand their responsibility as a tenant.

As a local presence in the area, we work closely with housing providers and provide an early warning of any concerns. Whether or not this involves someone that we support directly.

We address a range of ambitions that are supportive to local communities and housing providers alike. For example:

support with move on following the death of a parent/carer, to help free up multi-bedroom accommodation
support with anti-social behaviours and neighbour disputes
bespoke tenancy related support
benefit maximization
local knowledge and use of community resources

Jane*

Jane was hoarding and at risk of losing her tenancy.

Woman with long hair

Jane was referred to KeyRing so that she could receive support with her tenancy. She was at risk of eviction due to the state of her flat. When we met her we couldn’t even get into her flat due to the levels of hoarding. There was pressure from the environmental health services, her housing provider and her neighbours.

We met with Jane in the community and developed a relationship with her until she felt comfortable enough to let us into her flat. Jane was sleeping in a chair in the hallway. She had bags from floor to ceiling and was urinating in empty bottles as she couldn’t get through to the bathroom.

A multi-agency meeting was pulled together involving Jane, the local authority, the housing provider environmental health and the fire service.

KeyRing supported Jane to find her own ways to own the next steps. This involved building a relationship with a cleaning company that Jane contracted to complete a clean.

We supported Jane with her mental health throughout the process and supported her to build community connections. This meant that Jane’s life expanded beyond the walls of her flat and weas a welcome distraction especially while the clean was ongoing.

Jane has been supported to attend a local hoarding support group and has been very happy to share her story so that it can help others.

Jane says she has never felt better and couldn’t believe that she was living in such a state.