Paul Holmes MP has visited Abbeyfield Court in Locks Heath, Southampton, to mark Starts at Home Day.
Starts at Home Day is a national celebration of the value of care and support services and the difference that having a safe and secure place to call home can make to people’s lives. It is an opportunity for sheltered housing providers such as Abbeyfield to raise awareness of what they do and build political support.
Mr Holmes, MP for Hamble Valley, visited Abbeyfield Court on 15th November. Following a tour of the facilities, he met with some of the residents to find out how living there has enriched their lives, and discussed with staff how the house supports the residents day-to-day.
Sheltered Housing Manager, Lucy Perry, explained how Abbeyfield Court engages with the local community and the difficulties faced by sheltered housing providers around the country. Issues such as inflexible funding models and meeting the complex needs of an ageing population are compounded by rising operating costs, inflation and challenges with staff recruitment and retention.
The MP said, “It was a privilege to visit Abbeyfield Court to find out more about the work they do and the valuable services that ALS provides for older people.
“I was able to hear first-hand from the residents about their experiences of the immeasurable benefits of sheltered housing as a safe and secure home, giving them the opportunity to engage socially with their fellow residents and others in the local community, and the value of retaining independence and choice in later life.
“The challenges that housing providers face were also made clear, and I look forward to seeing how I can support Abbeyfield Court in the future, so that they can continue to provide an excellent service to their residents in our community.”
Sheltered housing is also 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. 1
ALS involvement in Starts at Home Day follows our 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, the findings of which were used to inform the recently released report from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce, Our future homes: housing that promotes wellbeing and community for an ageing population.
1 https://startsathome.org.uk/2024/08/20/what-are-we-calling-for-during-starts-at-home-2024/
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