ERoSH announces national competition shortlist

Fifteen different organisations make up the shortlist for the 2005 Take another LOOK at sheltered housing national competition, which ERoSH, the national consortium for sheltered and retirement housing, announces today.

ERoSH's annual competition seeks to highlight excellence, dedication and best practice in sheltered and retirement housing. Take another LOOK at sheltered housing is ERoSH's fifth annual competition and proved very popular with residents and tenants, scheme and estate managers, and other frontline staff who captured the essence of every day life on a sheltered scheme or retirement estate on DVDs and CDs. The result is an invaluable archive of material depicting people, services and life in sheltered and retirement housing today.

One organisation – Goldsborough Estates - completely dominates one particular category. The shortlisted entries for each category are:

A Healthy Vision

• Debbie Thomas, Scheme Manager, ‘Johnnie' Johnson Housing
• Peggy Jack, Scheme Manager, SPH Housing
• Sylvia Brims, Services Manager, SLFHA Ltd

Through the Ages

• Lesley Rattue, Lifestyle Promoter, Testway Housing
• Marion Gavin, Scheme Manager, Manor Court & Burgess Hill School for Girls
• Carol Birch, Head of Service - Older Persons, Orwell Housing Association

The Community Spirit, sponsored by Centre for Sheltered Housing Studies

• Janet Bufton, Scheme Manager, Gwerin Housing
• Tracey Alexander, Activity Co-ordinator, Orwell Housing Association
• Diane Chandler, Scheme Manager, Severnside Housing Trust

Support in focus

• Kirstie Jones, Housing Officer, Wales & West HA
• Pat Black, Scheme Manager, Sanctuary HA
• Mrs B Burnell, Scheme Manager, Teachers Housing Association

A day in the life

• Jo-Ann Bradley, Extra Care Estate Manager, Hanover Housing Association
• Christine Cooper, Head of Housing Management, Peerless Housing Group
• Mark Elliott, Policy Officer, Harvest Housing Group

Scheme Manager of the Year, sponsored by Association of Retirement Housing Managers

• Irene Cordingley, House Manager, Goldsborough Estates
• Rosemary Sheppard, House Manager, Goldsborough Estates
• Pauline Hanson, House Manager, Goldsborough Estates

The short-listed entrants have been invited to an awards ceremony, with special guest Stephen Burke, Chief Executive of Counsel and Care, at 1.00pm at St Stephen's Club, London on Wednesday 25 January 2006, where the winners of each category will be announced and each will pick up a cheque of £500 to spend on their estate or scheme.

Michele Hollywood, chair of ERoSH's marketing group, said: 'To compliment our work in the 20/20 Vision Project, which is about creating a future vision for older people's housing and care services, ERoSH's 2005 competition wanted to capture a visual perspective of the here and now of sheltered and retirement housing.

'Bearing in mind the busy workload of our frontline colleagues, we knew we were asking a lot of people to take time to record and video life on their schemes and estates. The response has been fantastic and the standard of entries excellent. Well done to everyone who has been short-listed, and a big thank you to everyone who entered, making this competition yet another resounding success.'

A numbers of entries have also been awarded a special commendation in recognition of their unique projects.  They are:

1. Linda Watson, Tavill Field Court, Gedling Borough Council, Nottingham, for the Victory in Japan (VJ) Street Party entered in the Community Spirit category
2. Martin Malia, Danes View Centre, Rotherham, for the 60th VJ Day celebrations entered in the Community Spirit category
3. Gill Newton, Rushcliffe Homes and Sue Lee, StepForward (MHT) for their collaborative video showing how Support Plans work and the benefit they give to tenants, entered in the Support in focus category.