My life, my support, my choice
You are the expert about your situation - you know the difficulties you are having and what help you need to overcome them.
We can advise you about support that could work for you. This might be anything from equipment you can buy from the high street, through joining a club to social care services.
Watch the videos or read the stories of Salford citizens talking about the support they use and how their lives have improved. If you have a story to tell other people, let us know and we can publish it here.
This page is about how we may be able to support you. The links on this page more details about the process.
Assessing your situation
An assessment is when we discuss with you what you can do for yourself and what things are causing you difficulties. The assessment will show if you are eligible for social care support from the council:
- If you are not eligible, we can still help you find solutions to the problems you are having, and advise you about buying your own support
- If you are eligible, we may recommend a free reablement service to help you learn new skills, build up confidence and regain your independence. If you still need support after this, the assessment will give you an indicative amount (an estimate of the cost of the support you need)
Support planning
Use your indicative amount as a guide to help you think about:
- what aspects of your life you want to improve
- what goals you would like to achieve
You can then create your own support plan, which shows how you can improve your life and achieve your goals. You will have a personal budget (actual money available to provide support) based on your support plan. Your personal budget is made up of money from the city council and your own money.
You can choose to:
- Manage your personal budget yourself to buy support - see our case studies to find out how people are spending their budgets
- Ask us to spend your personal budget on your behalf - we will usually buy services such as day care and home care
- Ask another organisation to manage your personal budget and buy support for you
Ask family, friends or your social worker for advice or we can put you in touch with an independent advocacy organisation.
Paying for services
The amount you have to pay towards the cost of your support depends on your income and savings. Most people will have to pay something. To work out how much of your personal budget we will pay and how much you will have to pay, we will need to ask you about your finances.
This page was last updated on 7 September 2011
