The 1st October is Silver Sunday, a flagship event from the Sir Simon Milton Foundation and now a national day for celebrating older people. Across the country, local groups, volunteers and businesses organise activities to help older people make connections within their community.
Feeling connected to a community lessens isolation and offers real health benefits. Research from Bayes Business School showed that residents of Almshouses, such as the Printing Charity’s sheltered retirement homes, live as much as two and a half years longer than people from similar backgrounds living in poverty and isolation. This can be attributed to Almshouses’ strong community ethos, friendship and support networks.
Making connection a priority
In our sheltered retirement homes, Beaverbrook House in Bletchley and Southwood Court in Basildon, the in-house teams organise a range of social activities including breakfast clubs, fish and chip suppers, ‘knit & natter’ groups, quiz afternoons, entertainers and bingo. Everyone is invited to join in, as Beaverbrook House Manager Chris explains: “Residents are supported to live their lives how they want, joining in with social events as much or as little as they want to.”
This approach to socialising really appeals to resident Rose, who adds: “It’s very friendly here. You can have company if you want company, but there’s no pressure – it’s up to you. Everyone talks to you, and everyone is there to help if anything goes wrong.”
For resident Les, having access to a community of people helped him greatly when he was struggling with setting up technology in his apartment. He recalls: “Other residents who are more tech-savvy came and helped me out, which was fantastic.”
Staying part of the print community after retirement
The Printing Charity sheltered homes provide an additional sense of community as they are specifically for those retired from a career in print, paper, packaging, publishing or graphics. “If you want to stay close to the printing community in retirement, the homes are unique,” explains resident Bob. “They are designed for retired members of the printing and allied trades, and the families and dependents of people who worked in those trades, too, showing appreciation to people who made a big contribution to them.”
Our homes are affordable independent living communities for people who are retired and worked in print, packaging, paper, publishing or graphics for at least three years during their career, or who are dependents of someone who has. Help is on hand, if ever needed, through a small on-site team, and out-of-hours community alarm service. Learn more about our independent living options, or get in touch with the team on support@theprintingcharity.org.uk