Tenants from Derby Homes Sheltered Housing scheme have formed an action group called ‘Supported Housing offering Unity and Trust - SHOUT- to ensure the voices and opinions of the communities’ older members are heard.

Over recent years Derby Homes has faced reductions in its Supporting People funds. This funding pays for services that provide support to vulnerable groups, including older people. Residents from Derby Homes Sheltered Housing scheme, which offers accommodation to the over 60s, and disabled people, were concerned that this would result in the withdrawal of vital services. Derby Homes started work with the tenants to provide a forum to consult with staff about the changes necessary. The result was SHOUT, which formed in December 2005.

Terry Rogerson, Chair of SHOUT, said: “We are involved in the changes being made to the Sheltered Housing service, which is now to be called the Supported Living service. Our aim is to advise Derby Homes about how the changes affect us and assist with written and verbal communication, which outlines how the changes will affect tenants.

We are aware of the fact that some older Sheltered Housing schemes, namely Rodney House and Sancroft Court, are scheduled for closure due to the condition of the buildings and the fact that they have a lot of bed-sit flats which do not comply with what is essential for today’s older tenants. As a committee we support this decision, as tenants will eventually be re-housed to their needs wherever possible. We will give any help and assistance as necessary.”

Derby Homes is also changing its Sheltered Housing scheme to a ‘needs led’ service. All tenants will receive a needs assessment and services, such as number of visits per week or month, will be offered according to the tenant’s requirements.
 
Members of SHOUT meet with senior managers from Derby Homes at monthly meetings to seek ways to maintain their independence and improve services. Tenants are currently advising Derby Homes on their risk and needs assessments. Their input has been crucial in developing support programmes that identify and address the needs of Derby Homes’ elderly tenants within the available budget.

Dennis Rees, Chair of Derby Homes, said: “SHOUT came about when we started consulting the users of our Sheltered Housing service about changes we had to make. We wanted to provide an individual service tailored to our users needs rather than a one size fits all.”

There are approximately 1700 sheltered housing properties in over 40 schemes across Derby. The properties provide self-contained housing that are safe and secure and allow residents to retain their independence and privacy. All properties are linked to Care Link, an emergency call centre open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Anyone interested in joining SHOUT can contact Carl Willis, Tenant Participation Officer on: 01332 711046 or email: carl.willis@derbyhomes.org