Lobby your politicians with ERoSH manifesto
With a new Government now in place, it's a perfect time to continue raising awareness of how older people's housing and support can help save wider social and health care costs.
With newly elected MPs and councilors getting to know their areas better, now is the perfect time to build relationships with them, and encourage them to promote the ways sheltered housing can help local authorities, and health and social care providers cut costs.
In our 2010 election manifesto we explain how an ageing population will place unprecedented demands on public services, especially health and social care. The manifesto goes on to explain how these can be alleviated by maximising the use and potential of sheltered housing.
We want our members to play an important part in representing the housing, support and health care needs of our ageing population.
You can use our manifesto to raise the profile of sheltered and retirement housing, by lobbying MPs and councillors, as well as local authorities, central and local agencies and social care, health care and housing providers.
We hope you will find the manifesto inspiring as it raises issues which need to be addressed to support the evolution of older people's services.
How can you use the Manifesto?
1. Contact your local MP and councillors to raise their awareness of the benefits of sheltered and retirement housing. You can download and send the Manifesto with the covering letter.
You can find out who your MP is by visiting the parliament website and local councillors by visiting your local authority's website.
2. You could invite your local MP to visit a scheme so they can see examples of best practice at work and talk to older people who value sheltered housing, extra care and/or floating support services.
3. Contact your Supporting People funders and local councillors, for example cabinet members for housing and social care. The Manifesto explains how retaining Supporting People allocations for older people can help manage wider local authority pressures, such as social care costs.
You can find contact details of local councillors on the authority's website.
