8th October 2024
Sanctuary Supported Living
Amanda Ellwood-Roberts talks about the effects of a new perspective on retirement communities
Amanda Ellwood-Roberts is Deputy Head of Service for Sanctuary Supported Living, a national, not-for-profit organisation, delivering a range of supported housing, retirement communities, and tailored care and support services to over 10,000 people each year. Here, she talks about Sanctuary Supported Living’s new vision for retirement communities and how it’s reshaping our approach to supporting people in later life.
“At Sanctuary Supported Living, we believe that taking a holistic approach to our customers’ mental, emotional and physical health and wellbeing is key to supporting people to live well. With this in mind, we have rolled out a new service model across all our retirement communities, redefining supporting people in later life, and taking a fresh approach to what it means to live or work in a retirement community.
We’ve introduced several new roles, with Retirement Communities Manager leading the way, Deputies to support them, and Customer Supporters who are experts in providing tailored support for every individual. Customers can still access onsite care from high-quality care staff, but these new roles enable our in-house teams to prioritise creating meaningful opportunities and fulfilling experiences to ensure residents can live their best lives. Our customers have a great mix of personalities and life experiences, and now our teams can enjoy spending more time with them and getting to know them better, all while knowing that they’re making a difference to people’s lives through their work.
We understand the impact that ageing can have on both physical and mental wellbeing, and how this can change and progress over time. That’s why we focus on creating customer-informed services, which put customers at the heart of everything we do. Every day, our teams work closely with residents, family, friends, healthcare agencies, and a whole range of community partners, to develop services which support later life changes and support our customers’ wants and needs.
We’ve also formed intergenerational relationships between our retirement communities and local primary schools and playgroups - building community connections, enriching people’s lives, and making our services vibrant and lively places to be.
"We focus on creating customer-informed services, which put customers at the heart of everything we do"
We encourage our services to build strong local connections, creating a resource for the community to enjoy, and reflecting our commitment to meeting the expectations of both our customers and the wider community, where everyone can thrive. Staff focus on fostering meaningful relationships and community connections, creating a positive atmosphere, enhancing residents' lives and especially reaching out to those at risk of being isolated or lonely. We are also maintaining consistency throughout our retirement communities, regardless of location, ensuring that customers can trust in the quality of service we’re providing.
Our use of innovative tools like Person Centred Software’s ‘Oomph! on Demand’ wellbeing and activities platform further enhances our ability to support our customers. By streamlining our Customer Supporters’ activity planning and administrative tasks, it empowers them to devote more of their time to proactively and creatively improving the lives of the people they support.
Our new approach is gaining recognition within our industry. Earlier this year, Liz Jones, Retirement Communities Manager at Jazz Court in Scarborough and one of the Champions for our new vision, won the ‘Retirement Communities Hero’ category at the national Housing With Care awards.
We’re also seeing the positive effects of our new vision on our customers, such as Beverley, who felt isolated and unsafe in her previous home. Since moving to our retirement community in Telford, she has the support she needs to maintain her independence, she has experienced better mental health, thanks to the friendships and community links she has made there, and she can now live the lifestyle she chooses, filled with interesting opportunities and uplifting experiences.
As we enhance our current retirement communities portfolio, we're also looking to the future with the development of a brand-new retirement community service in Lichfield. Blackberry Court represents the next step in our journey to redefining retirement living. It’s not just about providing high-quality housing; it’s about creating places where residents can live fulfilled, safe, and happy lives; places where they can have new and exciting experiences, and be included and supported in a vibrant community.”
As well as retirement communities for people over 55 or with long-term care needs, Sanctuary Supported Living also provides accommodation with personalised support for people with learning or physical disabilities, mental health needs, and homeless young people and adults. To find out more about Sanctuary Supported Living’s services, see the latest news or find a service near you.
This blog was originally shared on the Housing LIN website to mark International Day of Older Persons 2024.
