Sober Reflections2025-11-10T17:21:32+00:00

One of our customers who lives independently in the community wanted to share some of his reflections with the wider Leading Lives Community.

He is someone who is slowly turning his life around with support from our Independent Lives service.

He wrote this reflection about himself and used AI to help him compose it before sharing it with his support worker who he’s built great rapport with.

He wants to remain anonymous, and of course we respect his desire for that, however he did send in a beautiful picture of his cat who stars in his reflection!

Reflection – 2 Months and 11 Days Sober

Before I got sober, I was in a rough place. I used to miss a couple nights of sleep every single week. I was hungover three days a week, constantly making my parents upset about my drinking. My anxiety was worse back then—more constant, harder to manage. I could barely focus long enough to read even two pages once a week. Most of my time was spent drinking, watching adult content, and smoking more than I do now.

Money just disappeared—on alcohol, on takeout. I got myself into debt, and it felt like I was digging a deeper hole with no way out.

Now, just 2 months and 11 days later, things are shifting. I’m reading again—really reading. I’ve been going through 2–3 books a month, and on some days I read 70 to 100 pages. I’ve been collecting books I’m excited to read, and I even bought myself the hardcover Harry Potter set—something I always wanted.

My flat is cleaner. My skin looks better. I’m spending more time with my cat. I’m spending money on better things. I’m paying off my debt. I still have anxiety, but it’s not as intense or chaotic as it was when I was drinking.

And even though I still sometimes feel like it’s not “good enough,” I know I’m not where I was. I’m building something better, piece by piece—even if it doesn’t always feel that way. This is progress, and I’m living proof of it.

We’d like to congratulate our customer, we recognise how difficult it can be to turn your life around and we are really proud of him for the progress he has made.

 

A Rock’n’Roll Birthday!2025-11-04T16:27:16+00:00

Our customer was very excited to be supported to throw a birthday party for herself. She invited friends old and new, and had Andy Ottley, her favourite Elvis singer, as her leading man!

She was up on the dance floor pretty much the whole time! The most memorable part of the day was when Andy held her hand and sang to her the song ‘You are always on my mind’.

Afterwards she said it was “the best day of my life, the best party I have ever had.”

She was really pleased with the support of her team who helped to organise her party, now, apart from still talking about it, she is looking forward to her Elvis weekend away which is booked for the end of the month, with her support worker.

Burgess House To Close2025-10-27T14:41:22+00:00

Official Announcement Regarding Burgess House

We are saddened to inform our community and stakeholders that Burgess House Short Break Unit, will be closing at the end of December 2025. This decision has been made following careful consideration and is in line with our ongoing commitment to ensuring the best outcomes for our organisation and those we serve.

We aim for our short break units to be suitable and accessible to all who use them, and we have been unable to progress plans to adapt Burgess House to into the accessible service required by so many of our guests.

We understand that Burgess House has played an important role in the lives of many people in Ipswich and the surrounding areas, and that its closure will have an impact on many individuals. Our team is working to ensure a smooth transition for everyone affected by this change. Further information, including guidance on next steps and support available, will be communicated directly to those impacted.

We would like to express our gratitude for the support and engagement shown by residents, families, staff, and partners throughout the years.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this period. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact us at your convenience.

Supporting Independent Holidays2025-07-07T10:51:39+00:00

Our customer has an Individual Support Fund (ISF) where a budget is arranged from the Local Authority to directly support the person’s choice, meaning he is in complete control of how his support is designed and delivered.

He wisely chose to use some of his hours to book a holiday. He wanted to go back to Caister-On-Sea and had a fantastic week.

He loves to swim, so swimming sessions were booked each day. He  also went to see the seals on the beach, painted pottery, played on the grabbing machines, and played bingo. He dined in the restaurants where he treated himself to a Smirnoff ice each evening and he enjoyed watching the entertainment.

As soon as he got home, he booked himself his trip next year.

His support team really enjoyed seeing him happy and enjoying his 2025 holiday.

Sudbury to Snowden!2025-05-29T13:09:28+00:00

Sudbury Support To Live at Home Climb Snowdon – A Weekend to Remember!

On the 10th May, customers and team members from Sudbury Support To Live at Home, embarked on an incredible challenge – climbing Mount Snowdon! It was a weekend filled with determination, resilience and team work, with everyone motivating one another the whole way.

It’s safe to say, the journey was tough, some made it all the way to the top, some didn’t, but every single person on the trip gave it absolutely everything and we are so proud of them all!

Although the most challenging part of the trip was coming down with already tired legs, there was no way anyone’s spirits could be dampened. With lots of breaks (with plenty of snacks), laughs and team work, everyone made it back down safely.

Most importantly, the customers loved the experience! As soon as they returned home, phones were out and calls were made to family and friends – everyone eager to share their achievement, and rightly so! The pride and joy on all of their faces was a powerful reminder of how special and meaningful these moments of adventure and accomplishment are, for everyone!

They managed to absolutely smash their donation goal and raised just under £3,000!

A massive well done to everyone on the trip, you’ve done yourself and Leading Lives proud!

 

 

 

 

 

Live on the air waves2025-05-28T14:28:43+00:00

Our CEO, Lucy Humphrey was live on Suffolk Sounds Radio on Wednesday 14th March, talking about her career, Leading Lives and all things social care.

Lucy joined Adam Storey on his morning DiscoverAbility show, live on Suffolk Sounds Radio, from 9am – 10am. She went into detail about her early career in care, 28 years ago and why she still has the same passion for social care now. She also spoke about the career progression opportunities in social care and how she developed from a support worker to CEO of Leading Lives and the mentoring she received along the way.

Lucy went on to speak about the history of Leading Lives and what makes Leading Lives different, touching on aspects like being a workers co-op, being a profit for purpose social enterprise and what these factors mean for the team members that make up Leading Lives. She also spoke about the benefits of working in the social care sector and the value, motivation and self-fulfillment when you get home at the end of the day and you’ve made a real difference.

Later on in the show Lucy spoke about Care Development East and the work that they do to make sure the health and social care sector is the best it possibly can be, as well as the support, training and career advice that they provide too.

Finally Lucy spoke about Leading Lives dipping their toe in to the world of dementia support and the new projects well under way within the organisation.

It’s well worth a listen as it’s a brilliant insight into Lucy, Leading Lives and the wider health and social care sector.

If you’d like to listen, click here.

DISCO Replacement & FAQs2025-02-07T14:07:52+00:00

As you know, we’ve been reviewing our digital systems and practices to find a care management solution that helps us provide better, safer services, improve quality and compliance, and work more effectively and efficiently.

People from all parts of Leading Lives have helped find and evaluate different options and systems to see what works best for our organisation and customers. We appreciate and thank everyone who has put in their time and effort to support this work.

On 30th January, the Leading Lives Board unanimously decided to adopt Care Control’s Digital Care Management System. This comprehensive software allows easy access to daily recording, reporting, and analysis of care plan information. Developed by a care professional, it offers 24/7 access to critical information, making it easy to review, edit, and create care plans, revolutionising our digital ways of working.

We have a lot of work ahead to set up the new system and will need to change how we work to make the most of it. The system is only as good as the data we put in and how well we use it. We are excited about this decision and believe it will allow us to spend more time providing better services to our customers and less time on administration.

Now that we’ve made this decision, we will work with Care Control to finalise contracts and plan the system’s implementation. We expect to start the implementation at the end of March, and it will take about 6-9 months to complete.

Once we have a clear plan, we will share the timeline and let you know how you will be involved and supported in adopting the new system and ways of working.

Until we fully transition to the digital care management system, we need to stay compliant and continue using DISCO according to our current policies and procedures. Please make sure all mandatory information is kept on DISCO and follow the guidance provided. If you want to know more, please see https://carecontrolsystems.co.uk/

We have provided some frequently asked questions which you can access below.

We will continue to share updates with you – we have asked that service managers discuss this communication in your team meetings. Please feedback any concerns.

DCMS-FAQs-07.02.2025v2
Leading The Life You Choose2025-11-07T15:42:38+00:00

One of our Supported Independence customers is a Individual Service Fund (ISF) customer. Which means he chooses how he uses his weekly funded hours.

He is a very keen football goer (as you can see by his Ipswich Town football shirt) and last season, regularly went to watch live games at Portman Road stadium. He is supported weekly to go swimming, go on shopping trips, visit old towns he has lived in, go to put flowers on his Mum’s grave and even trips out to London too.

He also books himself a spa day once a month, which our Supported Independence team support him to go to. This involves a lovely, relaxing time with use of the pools, sauna and jacuzzi!

On his September spa trip supported by his support worker, Ellen, he wanted to grab himself lunch beforehand. He then had his 2 hours in the spa suite followed by a beautiful 1 hour massage, before finishing the day with a lovely half pint of bitter, which went down a treat!

Leading Lives and our Supported Independence team are so proud to support him to lead the life he chooses.

Driving Assessment2024-10-14T08:13:24+00:00

One of our customers at our Support To Live at Home service in Bury really wanted to learn how to drive.

His key-worker, Michael, looked at all of the possible options for him and then supported him to go to Thetford to have a driving assessment to see if this was possible.

After the assessment, it was decided that he could have 10 driving lessons to see how he gets on. The assessment centre will then give feedback on how he is doing and if they think he could pass his test and get a car.

Below are some photos of the initial assessment…

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Training2024-09-24T12:24:08+00:00

We are pleased to be launching our new, in house, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training for all team members during National Inclusion week 2024.

As an employee-owned social enterprise, Leading Lives are a proud to be an inclusive employer. We recognise that everybody brings their own qualities, perceptions and experiences and want to welcome people of all different backgrounds, gender identities, romantic/sexual orientations, regardless of any obstacle or disability.

This training outlies what Equality, Diversity and Inclusion means and who it relates to, as well as the actions that Leading Lives are already taking, but also, areas that we feel we need to develop in the future.

We hope that this training will emphasize the importance of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion throughout the organisation and how we can all be advocates of treating everybody fairly, embracing our differences and welcoming everybody to Leading Lives.

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