Residents and staff urge MPs to appreciate the value of sheltered housing

The MPs were encouraged to speak to residents to discover how living in sheltered housing has enhanced their lives, and to staff about the day-to-day running of the houses and how residents are encouraged to retain their independence and take advantage of the various services they provide.

In these difficult times, the challenges that ALS and other sheltered housing providers face nationwide were also highlighted, including issues such as inflexible funding models and meeting the complex needs of an ageing population, which are compounded by rising operating costs, inflation and challenges with staff recruitment and retention.

Abbeyfield’s involvement in Starts at Home Day follows their sponsorship of an inquiry into the regeneration of outdated sheltered housing, conducted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People, which recently published its report. The report found that much more investment is needed to ensure that sheltered housing is fit for purpose and can continue to fulfil the needs of residents. It appealed to the government, Homes England and the Greater London Authority to recognise the value of investing in the refurbishment of existing sheltered housing, and provided several recommendations on the best way forward. This report was subsequently used to inform another report published by the Older People’s Housing Taskforce, which made further recommendations to the government.

Sheltered housing is of great value to UK society as a whole, in the way that it reduces pressure on the NHS, promotes the health and wellbeing of residents and saves money. The National Housing Federation, which supports Starts at Home Day, estimates that without supported housing there would be 41,000 more homeless people, costing over £40,000 per person per year; a need for 14,000 more inpatient psychiatric places, costing £170,000 per person per year; a need for 2,500 more residential care places, each costing £45,000-£50,000 per year; and a need for 2,000 more prison places, each costing £32,700 per year.

ALS is proud to offer over 35 sheltered housing schemes across England for adults over the age of 55. Although each house has their own unique characteristics and facilities, all our houses come with private rooms, home-cooked meals in a shared dining room, on-site staff during the day and an out-of-hours care line, garden and household maintenance, and communal living spaces. All of this, as well as utilities and council tax, are normally included in the cost, and many of our houses also offer en-suite bathroom facilities and wet rooms, rooms for couples, kitchenettes shared between a few residents, and respite stays.

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