THIS YEAR marks the 20th anniversary of the Scottish Housing and Support Conference. It will take place in the Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor Hotel on Thursday 7 October 2010 from 9.45 to 4pm. Our overall theme for the day is Choices, Cuts and Contradictions, which we feel is timely given the challenges we must now face.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

09.00 Conference registration and coffee

09.45 Welcome and Plenary: Choices, Cuts and Contradictions

What does the future hold for housing and support services? With the removal of Supporting People ringfencing, an ageing population and budget constraints, the need for wider thinking around the challenges we face will be vital.

• The service user experience — what it means for me: Lesley Smith.

• Ministerial address — Alex Neil MSP, Minister for Housing and Communities, Scottish Government.

• The local authority experience — John Mills, Senior Manager, Housing Management and Homelessness, Fife Council.

• Open forum for discussion.

11.35 and 14.00 Breakout sessions (most run twice; delegates attend one)

1 Hitting the brick walls of being housed: Can people continue their journey into work and sustain their supported accommodation? What's the next step once they're rehoused? What's the cost of not working, and can coming off welfare really work? Clare Archibald, Co-ordinator, Scottish Homelessness and Employability Network.

2 But what about my freedom? Telecare gives support for ordinary living, but people need to get out of the house too. Their view of risk may not be the same as the organisation's. Does the duty of care over-ride, and how can people make informed choices? Doreen Watson, Renfrewshire Care 24 Service Manager and Lesley Deane, Care Assessor, Renfrewshire Council.

3 Self-directed support: a genuine choice or cuts in disguise? Self-directed support should be about a fundamental shift of power where people make choices about how they spend the money they are entitled to, to get the life they want. It can also be seen as a way to save money. This session will explore the benefits and challenges in developing an effective, sustainable system that meets both these aspirations. Keith Etherington, Co-ordinator, In Control Scotland with a budget holder.

4 Service users' perception of risk: Learn more about innovative research which uses a theatre group to introduce scenarios to service user audiences who can then take part and develop storylines. By analysing video footage the researchers hope to identify the issues which participants believe involve risk and protection. Researchers from Altrum and Stirling University.

5 Housing and an ageing population — meeting needs: Our population is ageing, the financial envronment is more difficult, and we need to ensure people can live safely and independently for as long as possible. Wider planning for an Ageing Population, the housing and communities workstream, has identified five main outcomes for older people's housing over the next 20 years and a range of actions to achieve them. Find out more in this session. Stephen Sandham, Head of Homelessness, Housing Support, Advice and Standards, Scottish Government.

6 SROI accreditation — getting started: Social Return on Investment measures your project's social impact in relation to the funds invested. Accredited practitioners help develop strategies to increase social and environmental value, compare performance against forecasts, and communicate witrh funders and beneficiaries. Find out more and discuss the benefits for your service users, staff and projects. Helen Johnson, Housing Options Broker and Moira Bayne, Director, Ownership Options in Scotland.

7 Evaluating specialist services: Scottish Women's Aid has worked with its members to develop effective ways to evaluate specialist domestic abuse services. This session will outline their approach to outcome evaluation and provide the chance to exchange ideas about using evaluation to defend your own specialist services. Cheryl Sutherland Stewart, Information and Research Worker, Scottish Women's Aid.

8 A little goes a long way, and it'll have to — adaptations in an age of austerity: Find out the advantages of using housing OTs to co-ordinate major adaptations and involve them in service delivery - eg planned maintenance programmes, new build, allocations - to better meet needs and encourage inclusive design. Angela Gardiner, Senior Housing Occupational Therapist, East Lothian Council and steering group for the College of Occupational Therapists Specialist Section, Housing.

12.45 Buffet lunch and exhibition

14.00 Breakout sessions (most run twice; delegates attend one)

15.30 Plenary: Choices, cuts and contradictions — into the future: Professor Douglas Robertson, Head of Department, Applied Social Science, University of Stirling.

16.00 Close

COST: The standard booking fee is £120, but if you book by 31 July you pay only £95. We also have a number of free places for service users, thanks to Scottish Government grant aid. See booking form for details.

ABOUT SHASC: The Conference is a not-for-profit event which has now been running for 20 years. The conference programme is planned by representatives from CIH Scotland, Scottish Council for Single Homeless, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, SAY Women, Scottish Association for Mental Health, SACRO, Scottish Women's Aid, the Housing Support Enabling Unit, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Ownership Options in Scotland and Horizon Housing Association.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: The Conference attracts a wide range of participants from across the social sector in Scotland. It brings together policy makers and service users, providers and commissioners, staff and committee members from housing, support, health, social work and the voluntary sector.

SHASC actively encourages the participation of service users both as speakers and as delegates, and receives grant aid from Scottish Government to enable this. The active input of service users, carers and supporters sustains this Conference as a unique forum for views and ideas. Through active networking and promoting new ways of working SHASC aims to improve service delivery, policy and practice across Scotland. SHASC, bringing housing and support together!

***Download the 2010 booking form here***

You can see the speakers' presentations from last year's event here.