This International Day of Older People, we are celebrating the positive impact that our older customers have on our schemes and communities.
Moving into an Independent Living scheme is just another chapter to help you live your life as freely as anyone else with a helping hand should you need it.
Your front door is your own and you can live as privately as you wish, with the added advantage of having a community on your doorstep.
Here are a few examples of how the residents in our Independent Living Schemes are playing a full and active part in their community.
Pullman Close
Pullman Close Independent Living Scheme in Levenshulme, wouldn’t be the Pullman Close it is today without the kind and caring resident Jeffrey Halfpenny.
Whether he is making cups of tea or coffee for the customers, jet washing the paths or tending to the flower beds, he is always on hand to help in anyway he can, looking after the older customers or looking after the building.
Jeffrey has been a customer at Pullman Close since 2018, he says he absolutely loves living at there, he feels safe, happy, content and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
He sees the other customers as his extended family, and is never far away to help any of the customers in any way he can, whether it’s getting the daily milk for our 95 year old customer Keith, or recycling the customers rubbish.
In the last week alone Jeff has sanded and stained a garden bench, been topping up the bird feeders, and held a coffee afternoon.
Jeff loves gardening and takes great pleasure in the greenhouse funded by Community Investment.
Thanks again Jeff, your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.
Tulloch Court, Blackpool
The Blackpool scheme has a vibrant community who are active in Tulloch Court but also in the wider community.
The scheme has a vibrant committee, who organise events and trips out and provide welcome packs to new customers who move in.
The scheme’s Chit Chat Café is run by a group of customers – called the “Café Crew” – who have created a vibrant social hub at the Blackpool scheme
Elsewhere, many customers volunteer at local charities and charity shops to make an impact in such difficult economic times.
These include:
Two customers volunteer at a local charity.
One customer volunteers four days a week at a charity shop which raises money for the local cat sanctuary.
One customer volunteers weekly at N-Vision – a charity who supports people experiencing sight loss.
One resident collects newspapers from the local shop – whatever the weather – for anyone who asks and two others who work hard in the garden to ensure they can be enjoyed by everyone.
One customer is a local school governor and another is a local parish council member.
We also have customers who are full-time carers either to their partners, parents or children.
As you can see, older people can still play a significant role in their communities.
St George Court, Blackpool
Another Blackpool scheme also has its fair share of community champions.
One customer uses his lived experience of recovery to volunteer in the local recovery community by attending walk and talk groups for the Blackpool Football Community Trust. He also volunteers at the local foodbank three mornings a week.
Another resident at St George Court is an artist and he runs an art club here at the scheme and also volunteers at Blackpool Library giving art classes to two women Syrian refugees once a week.
