What is Sheltered housing?

Sheltered housing normally comprises a group of flats, houses or bungalows specially designed to meet the needs of the elderly and which allows each resident to request the help of a designated housing and support officer or some other person through the link with a 24-hour control centre. The flats that are provided are self-contained with their own kitchen and bathroom and are usually bedsits, 1 bedroom or 2 bedrooms.

Management Arrangement

The Association has a number of sheltered schemes in the East and West Midlands and each scheme has a designated housing and support officer and in some schemes this staff member lives at the scheme. The housing support officer provides the support required to the tenant but not the individual personal care.

All schemes are connected to the Association's 24-hour emergency control centre where the operators can communicate in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Punjabi.

Communal Facilities

The number and level of communal facilities vary from scheme to scheme however some of the following are available in a typical large scheme of sheltered flats:

• Guest room
• Communal bathroom/shower
• Common room with TV/Video and Zee television
• Communal kitchen
• Communal telephone
• Laundry
• Communal gardens
• Lift

Location

The Association has the following areas where it has sheltered units of accommodation: