2005 - a year of opportunity

Lucy Cooper, newly-appointed chair of ERoSH, says 2005 is a year of opportunity. This article originally appeared in Property People magazine, the independent voice of housing. Visit http://www.ppmagazine.co.uk

Sheltered and retirement housing has evolved slowly for over 30 years until Supporting People. We must now seize the moment, to make the most of the current opportunities, to work cooperatively with other agencies, to achieve complementary strategic partnerships. We need to build on the best and empower elders to influence the development of services that they value and that will meet their needs for the next 25 years.

The 1998 Audit Commission report on the role of housing in community care (Home Alone) and Quality and Choice for Older Peoples' Housing (DoH/DETR 2001) paved the way for the Supporting People regime. The October 2001 DTLR Guidance ran to hundreds of pages demonstrating an understanding of the potential of sheltered housing, (along with Almshouses and Abbeyfield provision), as well as recognising the role of social alarms.

The potential of sheltered housing to promote and support independence is slowly being more clearly understood. Sheltered housing is becoming better integrated within the wider agenda for older peoples' services. The National Service Framework for Older People (NSF) commends us to deliver joined up thinking. Within this context, sheltered housing is a potential community resource; for those who live in it and other elders in the surrounding community.

Past ERoSH campaigns have publicised many examples of good practice where sheltered housing is being used as a location for healthy living activities. Sheltered housing has a key role to play in the implementation of the NSF for Older People. What is the potential role of sheltered housing providers to help authorities meet the needs of the 70 per cent of the older population who live in their own property, or the 20 per cent who rent from the social or private sector? How can sheltered schemes be used as a base for new service provision to be developed for the benefit of the wider communities in which they are located? (A great many communities have a sheltered housing scheme located in their midst.) How can we ensure there is adequate diversity and choice of services to meet the needs of BME elders in our communities?

Visionaries in the sector have always known that sheltered housing was an under-recognised and under-utilised resource. Supporting People provides the platform and the opportunity for providers to make the most of the potential of sheltered housing. It has never been a better time to:

• Work collaboratively with other agencies and professionals at both strategic and operational levels
• Appraise the quality of existing provision, ensuring schemes and services meet local strategic objectives and the needs of future generations of elders
• Encourage the development of new services to meet the present and future needs of local elders, ensuring their views are sought and acted upon in service design.

We must make the most of the current opportunities to working intelligently with health and social care agencies to achieve complimentary strategic partnerships. The ERoSH charity is committed to building on the best, empowering elders to influence the development of services that they value that will meet their needs for the next 25 years.