About us

Homelife is a social care organisation that is regulated by the CQC. We provide supported living for Deaf adults with learning disabilities to enable them to live independently; with the support they need to live a normal life as part of the local community and wider Deaf community. Our sister organisation is called Openspace, it is a day centre which supports people through learning, conversation, activities and art/crafts.


Homelife is proud to be a Deaf company! Deaf owned with Deaf and Hearing staff who are fluent in BSL supporting Deaf people (we do have a couple of hearing folks to answer the phones and provide communication support but they can all sign fluently). 

Our Care Director, Edward Pollard originally worked in care supporting people with learning disabilities and mental health needs for over 20 years.  He saw the struggle that deaf people in care face without access to communication. Having staff who couldn’t communicate with them left people more vulnerable and isolated than ever and at risk of worsening mental health. This gave him the idea to set up a home specially for deaf people, so he linked up with a local businessman and the first home Manor Lodge was born. It opened in 2003 as a residential care home and grew to support ten people in a fully Deaf environment.


The company changed direction in 2008 to become a supported living provider to encourage choice, control and community inclusion. We became a limited company in 2010 and changed our name to Homelife (Leeds) Ltd.


In 2012 we created Openspace, Our day service is a creative environment with sign language at the heart of everything we do. We support individuals in Leeds and wider Yorkshire region.


In 2018 we re-located our head office and Openspace to the Deaf Centre in Leeds to be more integrated with the Deaf community in Leeds. 


History

Our Values

Respect



Treat people fairly in a way that we would expect to be treated.





Equality &

Inclusion

This requires us to respect the rights of others who are different from ourselves. 




Rights & Responsibilities

Be aware of our rights/responsibilities and support others to be aware of theirs.



Communication & Confidentiality

Effective communication is vital to the success and consistency in our work. We must always be aware of the boundaries set by confidentiality and abide by the law.