Short Term Support

If you are facing some difficulties and don't know where to turn, the Short-term Team may be able to give you the advice and support you need to point you in the right direction.

The service is free and is provided for people aged 18 and over, if you live in Manchester, and you are finding that your health and wellbeing are affected by problems in your life at present. If you need more support than we can provide, we will help you to contact a Care Manager for an assessment of your needs.

You might need a bit of extra support because you:

• feel your situation may get worse 
• don't know what help is available 
• have found it difficult to get help before 
• want to develop the skills and confidence to continue to live independently.

How long will our support last?

This will depend on your individual needs, but generally speaking it is a short-term service lasting up to six weeks. The service could end sooner than six weeks, depending on your situation and needs. The service may extend beyond six weeks in certain circumstances.

What kind of support can I get? 

• We will help you to explain your individual situation, interests and preferences. 
• We will help you to work out what community services will be of use to you. 
• This may be help with housing, benefits and tax credits, sorting out finances and debts, opportunities to socialise or volunteer in the community, access to employment or education, or accessing health services. 
• We will provide you with the support you need to get in touch with those services. 
• We can advocate on your behalf if you don't feel you are able to do this for yourself. For instance, we could talk to other people, such as your doctor or housing officer. 
• We can help you to explore what facilities are available for you in your area, such as local leisure centres, social clubs, transport, education, employment, voluntary work and support groups. 
• We can visit these places with you if you would like us to. 
• We can accompany you to appointments at health centres, hospitals and places such as housing offices and Jobcentres.

More importantly, we will always listen to what you want and how you would like us to support you best.

What happens next?

• We will make sure that the people you need help from are working with you. 
• We will make sure that you know how to contact people who may be able to help you in the future. 
• We will make sure that information given to you is in a format you can understand. 
• We can contact you again after three months just to check that everything is still going well if this would help.

Find out more by getting in touch with the Contact Service for Social Care.

You can access this information as a leaflet for printing if you need to.