Save our Supported Housing
At Abbeyfield, we believe a house becomes a home when it’s a place of safety, happiness, and community. This is especially true for the thousands of people who rely on supported housing to live well. This Starts at Home Day, we're celebrating the impact of supported housing and highlighting why it’s so important to #SaveOurSupportedHousing.
Supported housing is about providing a stable foundation from which people can build their lives. For us, it’s about creating a warm, supportive community where our residents can thrive.
Independence is the essence for Sue
Take Sue, resident at Girton Green, for example. Sue values her independent lifestyle within a vibrant community. She and her late husband, Joe, were among the first residents to move into the independent living complex over a decade ago.
After Joe's passing, Sue found the community support incredible. She is a very active member of the community, chairing the Residents' Committee and running several clubs. She is especially proud of the resident-run shop and its community fund, which allows fellow residents to plan their own social events and activities.
For Sue, this is the perfect balance: an independent life where she is never truly alone.
The benefits extend far beyond individual residents. Supported housing is a crucial part of British society, playing a key role in alleviating pressure on essential services, including the NHS, care services, and emergency services. Without it, the NHS would face 110,000 more days of delayed discharge, and 41,000 more people would face homelessness. Additionally, an estimated 2,500 more residential care places, each costing £45,000-£50,000 per year, would be needed without our provision.
This year, we are delighted to be welcoming MPs to our homes on the day and beyond, to mark the occasion. Their visit is a chance to not only highlight the benefits our residents and their families enjoy but also to underscore the current crisis facing the sector. Years of funding cuts have put our vital services at risk, with one in three supported housing providers closing schemes last year due to financial pressures.
As we back the National Housing Federation's (NHF) Save Our Supported Housing campaign, we will be using this opportunity to urge the government to:
- Commit to long-term, sustainable funding for sheltered housing.
- Create an emergency fund for supported housing schemes in the Autumn Budget.
- Allocate enough of the new Affordable Homes Programme funding to the building of new supported and older persons' housing and improve conditions for small organisations to bid.
Starts at Home Day is a crucial opportunity for us to show MPs the tremendous value of, and the existential crisis facing, sheltered housing. Our engagement on this day complements our ongoing work with the APPG on Housing and Care for Older People, as we continue to help influence government policy to secure the future of supported housing for generations to come.
Head of Development & Growth, Abdul Ravat, on our support of Starts at Home Day
"Abbeyfield Living Society's (ALS) participation in Starts at Home Day represents a continuation of its efforts to engage more widely in politically aligned activity and public affairs.
"The organisation is an active contributor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Housing and Care for Older People and sponsored its 2024 inquiry into the regeneration of outdated sheltered housing, with a focus on how schemes can be modernised to meet 21st century expectations.
"Alongside organisations such as the NHF, ALS aims to influence government policy to secure the future of sheltered housing and prepare for an increasingly ageing and diverse population."
Join us in celebrating Starts at Home Day by sharing this message and using the hashtag #StartsAtHome, #SOSHousing #SaveOurSupportedHousing. Together, we can show decision-makers the real value of supported housing and ensure that everyone has the stable foundation they need to live a healthy, safe, and happy life.
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