Housing for the elderly

Philip Barron reports on the Quaker contribution

Today there are over twenty active Quaker-run charities or Friendly Societies offering accommodation for elderly Friends (and others not in membership) with housing need in England. These schemes are entirely independent and autonomous, although a national body – the Quaker Housing Trust (QHT), offers access to a range of grants that allow providers to test the feasibility of plans and helps them to identify areas of growth. QHT also encourages providers to share good practice, and has a list of schemes for those seeking accommodation. At present, there appear to be no Quaker schemes in Scotland or Wales.

‘Few social housing funders think it is important to explain their motivating ethos to applicants,’ says Paula Harvey, secretary of the QHT, ‘but this is at the heart of how we work and who we are’.

Although Quaker housing initiatives and grants are not restricted to schemes for the elderly, I am writing here about Friends’ efforts to provide congenial places to live, not just for ‘our own’ but for any older people who are seeking a new home.

Many older people prefer to stay in their own home for as long as possible, while others are lonely and would like company. Some may prefer accommodation close to relatives, while others are prepared to move anywhere. It can be a mistake to put off a move, as most schemes have waiting lists and any delay may mean that an applicant misses the chance of a place of the kind they want, in the preferred area.

Subject to availability, several kinds of accommodation are offered by Quaker-inspired schemes. Independent living (self-care), for example, is at one end of the scale. Then there is sheltered housing, where one has a self-contained home with some degree of support. Further up the scale are residential care homes (with or without nursing).

First-hand experience

I can speak from personal experience. A year ago, I was fortunate enough to become a resident at the Bernhard Baron Cottage Homes in Polegate, East Sussex, founded by Quakers in 1945 (originally to re-house older people who had been bombed out during the war). Here there are twelve flint-stone cottages, each modernised to make two self-contained cottages (some suitable for couples). The hub is a main building consisting of self-contained bed-sitting rooms, with en-suite facilities, for people who need more care support than is provided in the cottages.

All the sixty or so members of the community lunch together in the main house. The cottage-dwellers have access to provisions for other meals, which they can prepare in their cottages. All this is set in very pleasant grounds but what I find most impressive is the community spirit that pervades the whole place. As in all well-run homes, there are a lot of optional activities (with residents providing many of the ideas) and regular outings. Quaker residents are currently a minority, but the friendly atmosphere is palpable. The ‘Quaker ethos’ may be difficult to explain, but you know it when you see and experience it.

Strengthening Quaker homes

My research suggests that while Friends continue to make a valuable contribution to the social housing movement, in some areas there are difficulties to overcome. There is a shortage of Friends with relevant skills willing to serve as trustees, and increasingly Friends tend to be a minority among residents in Quaker-run homes. The latter may, of course, simply reflect the fact that there is less need amongst Friends, and therefore less demand than there is in the general population. Wendy Cresswell, manager of the Reigate Quaker Housing Association, suggested to me that Meetings could perhaps do more to advertise that there is accommodation available around the country.

I also have the impression that Quaker-inspired homes would benefit by liaising more closely with each other. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which has been a pioneer in social housing since 1904, is currently carrying out extensive research to contribute to the debate about a fairer, more transparent system of funding long-term care. Among the several objectives of this work, one is to develop the evidence-base on housing with care for older people, focusing on outcomes and cost-effectiveness.

The wider picture

There is a national shortage of affordable retirement accommodation for people with limited financial resources. A recent report from the charity Age UK claims that out of two million older people in England with care-related needs, 800,000 receive no formal support from public or private sector agencies. Real spending on care will be £250 million lower in 2014 than in 2004. Over the same period, the number of people aged over eight-five is projected to rise by 630,000. As a result of cuts, the numbers receiving local authority care at home has been slashed from 489,000 in 2004 to 299,000 in 2009. Public sector commissioners are underpaying care homes, with a shortfall per resident of £60 per week (Age UK estimate) – much more in the south east. Older people and their relatives are then obliged to ‘top up’ their care fees with private money. This is unjust, says Age UK, as it ‘forces families to subsidise the state’s statutory duties’. Reforms are needed that strike a fair balance between generations and income groups.

The charity claims that society has a moral responsibility to adequately fund care for people on low incomes and to provide help to everyone to access the care they need, even if some pay for it themselves. The current system ‘creates a lottery for people with mid to high incomes and assets which many view as wildly unfair. People who die without needing to use care services end up paying nothing, while others who started out with the same amount of money but need expensive services for many years face the full costs.’

A recent survey found that a majority of people go along with the suggestion that ‘the government should only pay the whole cost of care for the least well off, and people with income or assets over a certain level should pay part of the cost of their care’.

Discussions about the future of social care tend to focus on how to transform support for people living independently in the community. But more than half of public spending on older people’s care still goes to care homes. Recently the care-home sector has done much to improve quality (as star ratings by inspectors have shown). But the sector faces growing pressures. The recent Southern Cross crisis may have been due mainly to an unsound business model, but if public-sector commissioners routinely under-pay care homes, risks of homes failing will increase.

To find out more about Quaker-run accommodation schemes for the elderly, please visit: http://bit.ly/vDY2Aq

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