Short Break Outreach

The aims of the Westminster Society Short Break Outreach Service are:

To enable people with high support needs to pursue activities which open up a wide range of opportunities to them, that they will value and enjoy.
To provide respite for families and carers.

The Short Break Outreach service works in partnership with Alison House (managed by Westminster Primary Care Trust). Alison House provides a bed-based respite service for people with high support needs.

We organise introductory visits to Alison House. Both services work together to ensure that people receive the best possible support.

Who can apply

There are a range of different respite services for people with learning disabilities. The Westminster Society Short Break Outreach service offers a service to:

People with high support needs and their parents/carers
People who are residents of the City of Westminster or the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
People referred to the service by their Care Manager

We may be able to help you if:

You need a break on a regular basis.
A person you care for would benefit from spending one-to-one time with a worker, undertaking social and leisure activities, planning for the future and developing their interests.

You need to be referred to get this service. To find out if you are eligible for the service and how to get a referral follow the information on the referral page.

How it works

If you are referred to this service you will receive an allocation of nights. This is the number of nights that you can stay at Alison House. If you wish to receive a service from the Westminster Society Short Break Outreach you need to trade in nights for hours.

You will need to decide how you want to use your allocation. We can help you do this.

We think it is important to offer consistency and stability so we try to ensure that there is a named person to work with you. The sessions begin with getting to know each other; information gathering; visiting the day service etc. We think it is important to work at a pace you are comfortable with and ensure you are happy with what we are doing.

Find Out More

To find out more about the sessions and what activities we offer, please contact the Short Break Outreach Service on 020 8968 2684 or e-mail Anne-Laure Guillo.