Members are being encouraged to join us in our campaign to champion the role of sheltered housing as a valuable community resource whilst helping cut Government spending and meet the needs of the ‘Big Society’.
We have launched our 2011 major campaign Reaching out – sheltered housing, a community resource and the campaign information pack is now available on our website for members to download.
The campaign pack has everything that you will need to get involved. It gives you step-by-step instructions on the events and activities you can organise as well as giving you the resources to promote these to wider audiences as well as publicising existing best practice.
Throughout the campaign ERoSH will work with its 200 members across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to demonstrate how sheltered housing can be used as a community resource to benefit the wider community.
Campaign activities will include highlighting best practice in sheltered and retirement housing provision, national awareness events for housing schemes to use to promote schemes as community hubs, as well as community activities where schemes ‘buddy’ up with local organisations such as clubs, colleges, schools, businesses and charities.
The aim of the campaign is to encourage local people, young and old, into sheltered schemes to use and benefit from the services available, as well as the outreach support services based at sheltered schemes benefiting other older people living in the community.
The campaign also highlights how sheltered housing and housing related support services services can help the Government meet its localism and ‘Big Society’ agendas through public sector organisations, individuals, charities, social enterprises, and private companies using sheltered housing resources in innovative ways to deliver public services.
We launched the campaign at the House of Commons in January at an event sponsored by Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Speaking at the campaign launch on behalf of Iain Duncan Smith MP, Minister of State Department for Work and Pensions Chris Grayling MP, said: “There are some great examples of projects which are helping promote sheltered housing as a hub for wider community activity and I’m sure ERoSH will help drive many other initiatives in the year to come.
“In doing so let us hope you can start to redefine the role of sheltered housing, so that it comes to be seen not just as vital provision for the elderly and disabled, but as a resource for the entire community.
“I would urge everyone here to get behind this new campaign. Get involved, give it the impetus it deserves, and help to make this vision into a reality.”
Find out more information as details of the campaign are announced at our Reaching Out webpage
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