One of the roles of The Almshouse Association is to come to the aid of almshouse charities which are in difficulty. This can be through lack of trustees and/or when the buildings are in a poor state of repair and trustees lack the experience or motivation to undertake a large project to bring them back to a good state of repair.
The Leonard Hackett Memorial Trust (LHMT) was established as a memorial to the late Leonard Hackett, the first General Secretary of the Almshouse Association. The purpose of the Trust is to act as sole trustee of almshouse charities where it has been impossible to secure independent local trustees to undertake satisfactory administration or essential improvements.
Day to day management of the charities held within LHMT is carried out by the directors of the Association with the assistance of a locally appointed managing agent. The ultimate aim is to bring the charities concerned into good order in all respects and then to attempt to find new, local trustees to take over trusteeship.