055 - Alternative ways to support people with learning disabilities with Christine Fincham

In this episode Christine Fincham talks from a carers perspective about why she thinks commissioned larger services do not work and her vision for a better way of providing support for people with learning disabilities. Chris Fincham has a son with a learning and physical disability. She has had a lifelong career in care, starting at the age of 15 years old as a cadet nurse in a long stay hospital. As a qualified nurse she was seconded to do general nursing and worked there in various roles casualty sister, ward sister, District Nurse but came back to Learning Disability when her son was born. She was instrumental in setting up the Learning Disability Teams in Hertfordshire as well as resettling people from the long stay hospital and worked as a senior manager in Hillingdon Social Services. She gained an MBA and started a company called Caretech Community Services and then moved to manage her own company until she retired last year. Chris is now the founding director of Supporting Together Cooperative and is enjoying the challenge of using her skills and knowledge to support both her son and other carers in the challenge of finding suitable long term independent living options that will provide a good lifestyle for their children when they are no longer around. Lisa Brown became a property investor after a long nursing career. She initially developed heritage properties and then a chance encounter led her to discover supported living. She realized this was a powerful way to invest in property while creating homes for people with a support need. Lisa set about discovering why property investors struggle to let their properties to supported living providers and why providers struggle to find property to let. She has been educating people, raising awareness and working on solutions to this problem ever since. Lisa is the host of the Supported Living Property Podcast and YouTube channel and formed The Supported Living Property Facebook Group.    Lisa is founder of The Supported Living Property Network, a place for property investors and supported living providers to connect, build relationships and communicate about property they have available and/or need. Membership includes access to training courses, monthly training events and networking events and access to The Supported Living Property Network Conference. To find out how you can join The Supported Living Property Network please follow this link: ⁠https://www.supportedlivingproperty.uk/the-supported-living-property-network⁠ Lisa has written a free guide for you: If you are a property investor download this free guide to help you find providers to lease your property: ⁠https://www.supportedlivingproperty.uk/free-guide-for-property-investors⁠   If you are a provider who is looking for property to lease then download this free guide to help you find property: ⁠https://www.supportedlivingproperty.uk/free-guide-for-providers⁠  These interviews are also available as podcasts from your usual podcast provider, just search for The Supported Living Property Podcast. Please make sure you click the "subscribe" button so you don't miss an episode.