Dear Members
I am not sure what is more astonishing – the strange state of the world today or the way that we have all adapted so quickly and created a ‘new norm’.
Stories of growing community relationships and the tireless, dedicated work of trustees and staff are proving invaluable, and many almshouses are finding they now have a manageable “normal” with great positive spirit amongst staff and residents. I can sense, though, that it is getting harder to hold onto as the weeks tick by.
The immediate lack of PPE and testing is a big concern for some, whilst financial, mental health and relationship issues are priorities for others. This period of lockdown is putting trustees, staff and residents alike through a testing time, but we are beginning to see increasing enquiries about completely non-Covid related issues – maintenance, safety checks, new buildings, fund raising, extending, refurbishing, mergers etc. In short, the old business of running an almshouse is slowly returning.
We are working hard to get recognition for our members in terms of appropriate equipment and support. We have been encouraged by the response of some MPs and ministers but we have a way to go. We continue to update our online information regularly and have added 3 new short online training courses to our website – Legionella Awareness, Health and Safety Basics and Essentials and Fire Awareness. We are also exploring other ways of supporting trustees for when we start to get back to ‘normalish’.
Your flexibility, resilience and innovation in running your charities is becoming obvious as the time goes on as you explore new ways to keep your residents positive under such trying conditions. As the rest of the world starts to open up, lets hope we are not far behind. Until then, however hard it is, if it is possible for us to do so, it seems that the most important thing we can do is stay positive, stay home and stay safe – just a bit longer.
Do continue to contact us by email or phone. We are here to help.
Best regards
Nick Phillips
CEO | The Almshouse Association
Posted 29 April 2020