Barnet Independent Living Service
Barnet Independent Living Service is owned by Your Choice (Barnet) Ltd, and offers a range of support for Barnet residents with a physical or sensory impairment.
The service forms a partnership between Your Choice staff (Barnet Independent Living Team) and the user led organisation BDISC (Barnet Disabled for Independence with Support in the Community). It provides a wide range of services from peer support to preparation for getting paid employment, which aims to improve peoples’ quality of life and enable them to maximise their potential to live independently.
How to contact the service:
Barnet Independent Living Service, Grahame Park, Colindale NW9 5UX Map
Tel: 020 8359 3750
Email: bils@yourchoicebarnet.org
What services are available?
Support from the Barnet Independent Living Team
The Barnet Independent Living Team staff (from Your Choice Barnet) provide support under three broad categories:
- Employment and Training -including support to access training or college, vocational skills assessment and support to remain in work, IT skills training, CV preparation and support to apply for jobs- paid or voluntary.
- Rehabilitation and Enablement - including advice and information on specific health conditions, access to Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy assessment treatment programmes, NHS Expert patients programme for condition management, access to Telecare equipment for the home.
- Promoting independence - including support to access sports and leisure services such as swimming and gym, wheelchair servicing and repairs, support with Dial A Ride and Taxicard applications, support to move home, improving daily living skills and applying for Personal Budgets.
The list above is not exhaustive, as the focus for the service is to support people based on their individual needs wherever possible, or refer on to a more appropriate service.
Support from the Barnet Disabled for Independence with Support in the Community (BDISC)
BDISC is an independent user-led charitable association (Registered Charity No. 1141480) that arrange a variety of activities for their members both at the Barnet Independent Living Service and in the community.
These include:
- Art and Pottery Groups
- Flower arranging group
- Gym and swimming sessions
- Yoga group
- Disability Awareness trainer group
- ‘Our Life’ Newsletter
- Spanish language group
- Deaf social club
- Friendship groups
For further information about BDISC please contact:
Paul Baldwin at Barnet Independent Living Service.
Tel: 020 8359 3750
Email: info@barnetdisc.org.uk
Barnet Centre for Independent Living (BCIL)
Barnet Centre for Independent Living is a new, independent, user led organisation that promotes independence and choice for disabled people (including those with learning difficulties and mental health issues). The Centre is currently based at the Barnet Independent Living Service building in Grahame Park.
Developing as a multi-service facility for people with any form of disability, living or working in the London Borough of Barnet, BCIL provides a neutral access point for individuals seeking information and support from their peers.
Barnet's role as one of the eight Right to Control Trailblazers is intrinsically linked to the services provided by BCIL through its team of Right to Control peep support brokers, who provide support planning and brokerage for Right to Control eligible clients who would prefer to take the independent, peer support route.
Other services being planned by BCIL include:
- Information
- Advice
- Peer mentoring
- Disability awareness training
- Advocacy
Tel: 020 8359 6450
Email: info@barnetcil.org.uk
Other support available
The centre also provides a base for other projects whose services are also available:
- Middlesex Association for the Blind provide a resource centre for people with a visual impairments which offers information and advice on a variety of pieces of equipment and adaptations that are available. This service gives people the opportunity to try out the equipment for themselves and the aim is to help people with a visual impairment to live more independent lives.
- Barnet Borough Sight Impaired is a support group for the blind and visually impaired, which is run by people who themselves have a visual impairment.
- Dimensions provide a catering project for disabled people
How do I access the service?
If you simply need some advice or information, or want to access some of BDISC's social activities, please contact the centre directly:
- Tel: 020 8359 3750
- Email: bils@yourchoicebarnet.org
Support from the Independent Living Team
Referrals for support from the Independent Living Team can be made by anyone, including:
- The person requiring support or information
- Adult Social Care and Health staff
- Family members or home support staff
To make a referral for this support, please contact the centre, who wil provide you with a referral form:
- Tel: 020 8359 3750
- Email: bils@yourchoicebarnet.org
If you need support from the Independent Living Team, this can be funded privately from your own money, or can be funded through your Personal Budget if you are eligible for social care support form Barnet Council. To access funding through Barnet Council, you will need to have been assessed by a Care manager under the Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) criteria to qualify for the service. If your assessment shows that you are at substantial or critical risk if you do not receive some support, you will be eligible to use the service. This is worked out by social care staff using the Eligibility Criteria Matrix 
(PDF: 38KB).
What happens next?
You will be contacted by someone from the service who will discuss with you which areas of your life you require support with, and which service or services appear to be most appropriate for your needs.
Where you require individualised support, a support plan will be drawn up with you by your allocated key worker which describes:
- The goals you wish to achieve
- The support you will be given to achieve those goals
- When support will be provided and for how long
These support plans will be reviewed every 3 months and amended or extended if required.
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Email this pageLast modified by: Neha Shah on 03/02/2012