Welcome to the ISL blogs and videos page, new for 2021

As we enter this year with remote working having become the norm for many people we feel it is important to find new ways of communicating with partners, colleagues people we support, carers and people with wider interest in the sector. Our new blogs and videos page will be one of the ways we do this. We will use this space to discuss, debate, campaign for change as well as share information and stories from services. This will include a mixture of written and video content from different contributors.

We begin this year facing significant challenges as a country and as a sector. There are though reasons for optimism, one being that with the COVID vaccine roll out now underway we can hopefully all look forward to spending more face to face time with family, friends, wider partners and colleagues later this year.

ISL begin this year with a growing number of services, creating independent living opportunities and enabling people to step down from hospital and higher support settings, at the same time creating local employment as we establish new staff teams in each location. We begin 2021 ready to mobilise a new mental health crisis service in partnership with Cheshire Wirral Partnership (CWP) to support winter pressures, an exciting pilot which we hope will help create further pathways for people to leave in patient settings. We are also looking forward to our next services opening in Leeds, Stratford and Macclesfield in the early part of this year, with others to announce for later in 2021/22.

We also look forward to supporting our charity partner Revitalise throughout this year, through fundraising initiatives and supporting campaigns. A huge congratulations to Revitalise for their recent success in campaigning for insurance for designated settings. This means that they can continue to provide much needed respite breaks for people with disabilities and carers.

Look forward to working with you all in 2021.