Anchor

Congratulations to Rolando Jr Legaspi, Care Assistant at Blackbrook House and Heman Kiyanga, Care Assistant at Godiva Lodge who both won awards at The Great British Care Awards 👏. Rolando won the Care Home Worker Award at the East of England regional final, and Heman won the Care Home Worker Award at the West Midlands regional final. Judges concluded that Rolando engages residents through artistic exhibitions and meaningful activities, fostering connection and involvement. They added that his warmth, consistency, and energy make him an invaluable presence at Blackbrook House. In the West Midlands regional final, judges said that Heman displayed all the qualities of the type of carer that is required within the care industry, showing empathy and compassion and working closely with the residents at Godiva Lodge. Congratulations Rolando and Heman. https://lnkd.in/erAyQNxR

Living Wage Week is here, and we're proud to be a Living Wage Employer! 🎉 We're standing with thousands of employers across the UK who are committed to going a step beyond and paying employees a real Living Wage. We commit to pay our colleagues at or above the Living Wage Foundation’s Real Living Wage. And being proudly not-for-profit ensures every penny we make is reinvested into our services, so we create rewarding careers for the people who work for us. #LivingWageWeek

We'd like to wish good luck to our colleagues in the West Midlands regional final of the The Great British Care Awards on Saturday 2 November. Well done to everyone who reached the regional final 👏. For more details on our regional finalists, click below. https://lnkd.in/gzVBAdPZ

We'd like to wish good luck to our colleagues in the East of England regional final of the The Great British Care Awards on November 1. Well done to everyone who reached the regional final 👏.

Kiran has worked at Anchor for just over five years and is an Admin Assistant at Sutherland Court. In her blog, she talks about celebrating Diwali, inclusivity at Anchor and sharing experiences through our embRACE colleague network. "Being Sikh myself, I celebrated Diwali growing up. It’s a Festival of Lights, so I remember dressing up to go to the Gurdwara (our place of worship) and being totally mesmerised by all the candles!" https://lnkd.in/egbdj5sm

In response to the absence of any announcement on funding for adult social care in today’s Budget, our Chief Executive Sarah Jones (she/her) says: “We were disappointed to see social care funding reform overlooked once again and urge the Government to bring forward details of its plans for the sector as soon as possible. With an ageing population, funding reform is key to futureproofing both social care and the NHS. Addressing this issue will benefit not only the older people of today but those of tomorrow.” Read the response in full here: https://lnkd.in/enAhQjfc

In response to the housing measures announced in today’s Budget, our Chief Executive Sarah Jones (she/her) says: "Housing is rightly a key priority for the Government; we welcome the additional funding for the Affordable Homes Programme and look forward to hearing more about the long-term plan in the new year. We believe that 10% of Homes England’s capital funding budgets should be for homes for older people, as this would support the 35% of older people who our research shows would consider downsizing, supporting them and freeing up housing capacity. We welcome the consultation on a new long-term social housing rent settlement. A settlement of more than five years is essential so that we can plan our investment in our existing properties and building more. Housing policy should underpin everything else that is important: health, employment, education, care, and community. The provision of age-appropriate housing and support has significant health and wellbeing benefits. At Anchor, we are committed to meeting demand and increasing housing options for people in later life through our strong development programme, delivering an average of at least 500 homes a year over a rolling 10-year period, with at least 70% of those homes being for social rent. This benefits the whole of society as it helps people to live healthier and independent lives for longer, decreases pressure on public services, as well as freeing up family homes for the next generation.” Read the response in full here: https://lnkd.in/enAhQjfc

Peter Ashan is an Anchor resident. He grew up in London and his parents came to the UK from Barbados in the 1960s. Through his profession as a college lecturer, he identified points in history we are not always taught, and so decided to do Freedom Walks which teach people about how London came to be the diverse place it is today. On this year's Black History Month theme of Reclaiming Narratives, Peter says: "To me, this year’s theme of ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ means the Black community uncovering our histories for a wider audience. At school, history was “done to us,” so now it’s about uncovering our viewpoint, and discovering stories unheard before." Read more of Peter's story here: https://lnkd.in/dSSeCJxD #BlackHistoryMonth #ReclaimingNarratives

“Housing in the UK has been seen through a gradually more and more reductive lens. It’s just not one pillar of policy that government needs to look at, it is the policy that underpins everything else that is important, be it employment, education or health” Our Chief Executive Sarah Jones (she/her) shares her insights on how housing associations can help solve the UK’s housing crisis, and what it means to lead a not-for-profit organisation, in a fascinating roundtable discussion hosted by Business Leader. She was joined by Patrick Franco from Notting Hill Genesis, Andy Hulme from The Hyde Group and Greg Reed from Places for People. Read more, and tune into the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/esD37ijg

Guiide’s mission is to provide better retirement outcomes for as many people as possible. So we are delighted to announce a partnership with the National Care Forum to provide their not-for-profit organisational members with Guiide’s retirement planning tool as a new membership benefit. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Guiide to enable 145,000 staff working in the care and support sector access to simple and jargon-free retirement guidance, along with signposting to high-quality financial advice, should they need it” says Liz Jones , Policy Director at National Care Forum.  National Care Forum members Anchor - England’s largest not-for-profit provider of specialist housing and care for people in later life - and Wyggestons & Trinity Almshouses – a well-established provider of sheltered housing and housing related care services for vulnerable older people - are already benefiting from Guiide in their organisations.