Home Improvme Agencies
How we can assist Home Improvement Agencies
What is a Home Improvement Agency (HIA)?
Home Improvement Agencies are local, trusted organisations that help older, disabled and vulnerable people to live a good life for longer. They offer reliable information and advice and support people to make modifications to their homes as their health and needs change through later years especially.
There are nearly 200 HIAs in England, sometimes known as Care & Repair or Staying Put schemes, covering 82% of local authorities.
Their services include the following:
- Housing options – impartial advice and information, supporting older people achieve the outcome best suited to their needs, whether they need help adapting their own home or finding a new one.
- Disabled adaptations – (includes Disabled Facilities Grants – financial help towards the cost of providing adaptations and facilities to enable a disabled person to continue to live in their home). The HIA may help with any work you decide to have carried out on your home, for example, drawing up plans, getting estimates and liaising with others involved in the work, such as council grants officers and occupational therapists
- Home repairs/handyperson – these services cover ‘odd jobs’ such as putting up curtains or moving furniture, minor adaptations, falls prevention measures etc. The handyperson may also be able to identify further needs and can refer to other services (such as benefit checking) or occupational therapists
- Hospital discharge and re-ablement – A number of HIAs are working closely with discharge teams to arrange rapid-response adaptations for those patients waiting to return home after a stay in hospital. The schemes facilitate a swift and safe discharge from hospital for older people by ensuring their home environment is safe and ready for their return (grab rails, ramps, widening a doorway, etc.)
- Making homes more energy efficient - this often includes installing insulation, energy efficient light bulbs and other measures to keep fuel and electricity costs down
- Welfare and benefits advice - checking whether you are entitled to any financial help (for example, disability benefits, or money to help you repair or adapt your home)
Source: Find my HIA - About Home Improvement Agencies -
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Automated Spaces solutions for the Home Improvement Agencies
Automated Spaces unique ‘Independent Living Smart Spaces’ solution, which combines smart home technologies with an activity monitoring solution, means that we can offer home improvement agencies the following advantages, benefits and opportunities:
Continual Professional Development:
- Knowledge; Learn about the latest developments in relation to the 'art of the possible' with regards to the evolution of independent living technologies.
- Experience; Visit our show house to experience in person the latest independent living technologies.
Solutions for your Service Users:
- Wide Range of Solutions; We can provide your Service Users with a wide range of independent living technology solutions.
- Free of Charge Advice; We can offer your teams free of charge advice with regards to what independent living technology solutions might be suitable for specific Service User requirements.
Professional Services:
- Design & Planning Services; Our design and planning services ensure that your Service User’s specific requirements are fully accommodated. They also ensure that the project is accurately estimated, and all relevant construction and technical interdependencies are identified prior to installation commencing. This creates an optimal project timeline and minimises the disruption to the Service User from the installation services to least amount of time possible.
- Installation Services; Our installation services will be carried out by our own in-house team members to our award-winning standards, ensuring the best possible experience for your Service User.
- Support & Maintenance Services; You can rest assured that upon completion of the installation services Automated Spaces will provide your Service User with a comprehensive support and maintenance service. This helps the Service User achieve the maximum benefits from the independent living technologies as is possible for many years after their initial installation.
Our experience so date, helping Home Improvement Agencies
Automated Spaces, over the last several years, has helped Home Improvements Agencies (HIA) in many ways.
Below is a summary of some of the examples of this help:
- Foundation's website; Home Automation section
- Speaking at Foundation's events:
- DFG Roadshows
- DFG Children Summit
- Hosting HIAs at our show house
- Webinars with specific content for HIAs
- Speaking at HIA's learning days
Foundation's website; Home Automation section
Foundations is the national body for Home Improvement Agencies, Handyperson Services and Disabled Facilities Grants.
Automated Spaces worked, as part of a CEDIA initiative, to create a dedicated guide about Home Automation on the Foundation’s website.
This guidance has been prepared by CEDIA, on behalf of Foundations to provide an understanding of the options available for automating a home and how to access professional expertise to design an integrated system. It is for organisations and personnel involved in Home Adaptations.
Link to website: https://www.foundations.uk.com/guides/home-automation
Speaking at Foundation's events
Automated Spaces has been honoured to have been invited to speak at several Foundations events over the last several years.
We have spoken at the following Foundation’s events:
- DFG Champions Roadshow Leicester 2023
- DFG Champions Roadshow Norwich 2023
- DFG Children Summit Birmingham 2024
Hosting HIA staff at our show house
Automated Spaces has had the pleasure to host several Home Improvement Agencies for a tour of our independent living technology show house.
In the photograph you can see Paul Smith, Director of Foundations, during a visit to our show house.
If you work for a Home Improvement Agency and would like to visit us for a dedicated tour of our Hosting HIA staff at our independent living technology show house, feel free to call us directly using the button below.
Speaking at HIA's learning days/sessions
If you are a Home Improvement Agency and have a forthcoming department learning day/session, Automated Spaces could bring along our ‘Independent Living Smart Spaces’ mobile demonstration.
We can also provide a comprehensive briefing to your team members about the evolution of assistive technology.
In the photograph you can see our Automated Spaces' ‘Independent Living Smart Spaces’ mobile demonstration.
