Community and individual:
4
Housing, care and support 5.2 May 2002 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Ltd
Two perspectives on inclusion and
vulnerability
Introduction
The Audit Commission chose
Home Alone as the title for its
1998 report on the role of
housing in community care. This
offers an interesting reflection
on the main thrust of
community care policy in the
1990s, which was to promote
independent living and to deliver
effective personal care and
practical assistance to people in
their own homes. While not
challenging the aims and ideals
behind the shift away from
institutional solutions to meeting
care and support needs, the
Audit Commission posed
questions about the capacity and
quality of the housing stock, the
role of specialised accommo-
dation and the focus on crisis
management, as opposed to
preventative services. These
issues were not framed, at the
time, in the context of
‘sustainable communities’ or
‘neighbourhood support and
inclusion’, but as concerns for
the quality of life experienced by
individuals and informal ‘carers’
and their opportunities to gain
access to adequate, reliable
services.
This paper produced for the
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
explores the connections
between different strands of
current social policy:
• support to strengthen and
stabilise communities and
neighbourhoods
• support and care for individuals
living or settling within
communities
• the potential and willingness of
communities to support and act
inclusively towards people who
are vulnerable or in need of
particular services.
RESEARCH
Abstract
This paper produced for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation explores the connections between different
strands of current social policy: support to strengthen and stabilise communities and neighbourhoods,
support and care for individuals living or settling in communities and the potential and willingness of
communities to support and act inclusively towards people who are vulnerable or in need of particular
services. It posits a central tension between ‘consumerist’ and ‘collective’ approaches to services which
may be inhibiting effective policy and practice. Is this actually the case?
LYNN WATSON
Pathways Research
Lynnwat7@aol.com