Tribe is supporting people in local communities
27 Dec 2023
3 min read
Over the Christmas and New Year period we’re sharing some additional good news stories from the sector in 2023. This time we hear about how Tribe is supporting people in local communities.
Tribe is a virtual marketplace for people seeking care and support. It’s a mobile application that people can download to find all kinds of care and support available in their area.
It’s about connecting people who need care or support, with those who wish to offer or provide a service.
It aims to enable people to remain in their homes for longer by connecting them to support and volunteers in their communities. It harnesses the role of community and voluntary support as well as traditional models of care.
This could be a socially prescribed community walking group, voluntary support to collect medication or food, or they could need high-quality personalised care at home. Tribe contains a wide range of locally sourced support aimed at keeping people happy, healthy and independent in their own homes.
This year Tribe was awarded Quality Standards Framework Certification and was the only UK finalist at the Global Coalition on Ageing.
Individuals and councils can procure support on a one-off basis or set up a regular care package which could contain a mixture of ongoing paid and voluntary support.
Self-employed personal assistants on Tribe are screened and have had a basic DBS check. They can access online training in subject areas that enable them to provide tailored support.
By linking individuals to community-based support, Tribe can reduce the need for more intensive interventions reducing pressure on other parts of the system.
This is a pilot that Skills for Care are a consortium partner in to see how a model like this can work and have access to the learning in order to understand the future implications of this type of support.
Oonagh Smyth, CEO, Skills for Care says:
The Tribe project is unique and innovative with the potential to transform how social care is provided so we have better outcomes for people. Social care is a fundamental part of our infrastructure in every single community. From a workforce perspective the Tribe Project can support with the significant capacity issues that we have and the growing need for more people to work in social care, but in a way that also improves outcomes for individuals and gives choice and control over their support.
Share your good news stories with us by emailing marketing@skillsforcare.org.uk
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