Today in the Guardian, journalist Amelia Hill explores almshouses and the impact they are having on their residents.
āAffordable and stress freeā: how almshouses are the unsung heroes of UK social housing
She writes:
Garry Heircock in the grounds of his Almshouse at Lancaster House in Leicester where he has been a resident for 12 months.Ā Photograph: Fabio de Paola/The Guardian
Every morning after he gets up, Gary Hiercock presses a green button outside his bedroom. Thatās how the warden of his Leicester almshouse knows heās up and about ā that he hasnāt had a fall or become ill overnight.
āItās just one example of how everything is thought of here: nothing is left to chance: everyone is safe at every moment of the day,ā said the 71-year-old former department store manager. āI have absolutely no worries at all here. Iām completely content.ā
Hiercock has lived in the Wyggestons Almshouses in Leicester for just over a year, since his partner of 53 years had to go into a care home with advanced Alzheimerās.
āI start every day feeling happy and grateful to be here,ā he said. āI was very isolated where I lived before but here, everyone is so friendly. If Iām ever feeling a bit lonely, I just need to go for a stroll and Iāll come across someone to do something with.ā
To read the article in full, please click on the link here:
[Top photo: Kim and Terry Baxter at the second viewing of their new almshouse flat in Southwark, London.Ā Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian]
posted 22 May 2023