Circles of Support
Everyone deserves to feel seen, heard and supported — especially when navigating big decisions or planning for the future. Circles of Support create a safe and empowering space around people with learning disabilities and autistic people, helping them live the life they choose, with the people they trust.
At Solihull Action through Advocacy, we believe support works best when it’s built around relationships, not just services. Our Circles of Support model brings together the key people in someone’s life friends, family, professionals and allies to help them feel more connected, more confident and more in control.
What Is a Circle of Support?
A Circle of Support is a group that forms around a person often someone with a learning disability or an autistic person — to help them achieve their goals, make decisions, and live as independently and confidently as possible.
The circle meets regularly to:
Explore the person’s wishes, needs and dreams.
Support decisions around things like housing, health, education and relationships.
Reduce isolation by building meaningful social connections.
Offer encouragement, problem-solving and long-term support.
The person is always in charge — we simply help build the right network around them.
Who is SAtA Circles for?
Circles of Support are ideal for:
Autistic people and people with learning disabilities who want to make life plans and decisions with support.
Adults looking to build independence, grow their support network or feel less isolated.
Families who want a more structured and shared way of supporting a loved one.
Adults living in Solihull or registered with a Solihull GP.
Whether you're planning for the future, dealing with change or simply want to feel more in control — Circles of Support can help.
What do we do?
Our service supports individuals to increase genuine social connections and friendships as a means of creating long-lasting, community-based networks.
To achieve this, our Circles Developers spend time getting to know the individual and building their trust then finding out about their current lives, interests and wishes for the future. The Circles Developer will then look for any new social opportunities in their local community to meet new people. Once the person has more people around then the Circles Developer will facilitate informal meetings with the individual and new contacts to all work together to support the individual.
The Circles service also uses volunteers to introduce to the individual and host a number of regular ‘Coffee and Catch Up’s’ where adults with a Learning disability and/or Autism can safely come together to make new friends.
Let’s Build a Circle Around You
Whether you're someone who needs support, a family member or a professional — we’re here to help you build a circle that truly works for you.
Complete a referral form today to find out how a Circle of Support could make a lasting difference in your life or in the life of someone you care about.
