In the 1970s, an innovative house share between students and people with disabilities in Cardiff led to the birth of supported living and heralded the end of institutionalised care for the disabled. Housemates, a play being staged by the city’s Sherman Theatre, tells the little-known story of how 19-year-old student Jim Mansell invited a person with Down’s syndrome to live in his student digs. The success of the project saw another four patients also relocate to the property, which paved the way for contemporary care arrangements and allowed disabled people to enjoy the freedom of normal lives.The play tells the story and the legacy of Mansell and his housemates.
The ground-breaking accommodation, located in Ruthin Gardens, inspired Jim to found Cardiff University Social Services (CUSS) in 1974. After the success of the house share, funding from the Welsh Office allowed the group to create more homes with support from paid staff and volunteers providing support. Welsh policy directive the All Wales Strategy then cited CUSS as an example of how best to support people with disabilities.
The strategy of moving disabled residents out of institutions and into normal, living arrangements directly led to the closure of many long-stay institutions in Wales and the UK. Nowadays, CUSS is called Innovate Trust. CEO Nick French said what the organisation created gave people “real opportunities to live a normal life
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