"SHOULD I STAY OR
SHOULD I GO?"
NEWS - March 2005

The Future of Housing Options Services for Older People

On 23rd February at the Palace of Westminster, Community Care Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman MP launched the findings of the 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?' national initiative. Eight pilot local housing options services have been contributing to the national programme. These local information, advice and practical support services offer older people much needed help when they are faced with the difficult choice of whether to continue living in a home which may no longer meet their needs or move to alternative housing where they can continue to maintain their independence.

The projects are located in:

Bristol - Bristol Care & Repair 'Move On' Advisory Service
Burnley - Anchor Staying Put
Derbyshire Dales - Age Concern Derby & Derbyshire
East Riding - East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Staying Put Agency
Enfield - Enfield Council, Care & Repair Scheme
Hackney - Anchor Staying Put
Leeds - Care & Repair Leeds
Warwickshire - Age Concern Warwickshire, Care & Repair Service

The national Should I Stay or Should I Go? programme has been supporting, monitoring and evaluating these services. A set of succinct briefing reports have been published by Care & Repair England summarising the main findings based on work with the local projects and the evaluation undertaken by Sheffield Hallam University. The reports contain lessons, conclusions and recommendations for the future, which will be interest to commissioners and planners of health, housing and social care services for older people. The reports cover the following topics:

• General Overview
• Housing Options Services
• Issues for Black and Minority Ethnic Elders
• Issues for the Social Rented Sector
• Issues for Rural Areas

Copies of the reports and also the full evaluation report from Sheffield Hallam University can be downloaded from this website, select Evaluation Findings from the menu on the left.

For contact details of the local housing options projects linked to the Should I Stay or Should I Go? national programme, select Local Projects from the menu on the left.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Report

The need for older people's housing options services was explored in a report published by Care & Repair England in 2003. The report gives an overview of the policy background against which housing options services for older people operate. The report also outlines the role of Care & Repair England's Should I Stay or Should I Go? national programme and highlights the resources available from Care & Repair England. The report (in pdf format) can be downloaded here.

Training for Housing, Health and Social Care Staff

Training events on housing options for older people were held in various parts of England during 2003 and 2004 to help inform the work of housing, health and social care practitioners and managers across a mix of agencies. Designed as interactive training, each event aimed to help participants consider the housing choices currently available for older people and also develop an understanding of the wider policy issues which impact on the reality of local options.

Feedback from participants to date has been very positive and encouraging, so we are keen to extend and adapt the training to meet local needs. Anyone interested in helping to promote a housing options training day in their area, or wanting some bespoke training on housing options issues for a group of staff and/or agencies is invited to contact Sue Adams, Director of Care & Repair England. Telephone: 0115 950 6500 Email: sueadams@freenetname.co.uk

Training Resources

A comprehensive self-help training pack on housing options issues is available and has been designed for use by individuals involved in:

• New housing options projects - as part of a staff induction, training and development process
• Advice and information services - to help staff and volunteers consider the implications of providing a housing options service
• Home improvement agencies - to stimulate ideas about service diversification to include housing options advice & practical support
• Housing, health and social care - to raise awareness about housing options issues.

Listed as the Housing Options Self-Help Tutorial Pack, these training resources can be downloaded in word or pdf format from the Should I Stay or Should I Go? TOOLKIT.

The tutorial pack aims to stimulate its users to set out on a self-learning journey about housing options issues for older people. Throughout the pack, a number of key points are highlighted, some useful signposts to further learning and information are provided, and a range of questions are raised to provide a self-learning framework. The tutorial is divided into three sections so that users can self-select their starting point.

Part A - Setting up and Operating a "Housing Options" Project
Part B - Housing Options for Older People: Staying Put and Moving On
Part C - Case Studies

Watch out for other resources in the TOOLKIT including a Power Point presentation suitable for use with groups of health, housing and social care practitioners. All materials will be downloadable from the Should I Stay or Should I Go? TOOLKIT.

What is Happening in Your Area?

We want to build a comprehensive picture of developments across the country in terms of projects and agencies diversifying their services to include information and/or advice for older people needing help to explore their housing options. You can share information and views on housing options issues by participating in our email debating forum, see Join the Debate on the menu on the left. You are also welcome to email us at Care & Repair England. Email: info@careandrepair-england.org.uk

• Tell us about your local service and what is being developed in relation to housing options information and advice for older people.

• What difficulties are faced by local older people in exercising real choice to meet their housing needs? What are older people saying about this issue?

• Tell us about any problems caused by local lettings policies. Or perhaps local policies are flexible and innovative - tell us about these.

• Is there any information or advice you would welcome from other projects?

• Would you be interested in attending a Housing Options networking event?

Housing Options for Older People Online

Care & Repair England is one a number of partners supporting the website www.HousingCare.org. developed by the Elderly Accommodation Counsel with funding support primarily from the Housing Corporation.

The website aims to help older people with their decisions about where to live and any support or care they may need. Information is provided to help older people wanting to adapt or improve their home, to find care or home help services, or to move to retirement housing, extra care housing or to a care home. The website caters for three audiences - individuals, advisors and service providers.

Amongst the services offered is access to fact sheets and other information materials. A housing options appraisal tool (HOOP) provides a question and answer framework aimed at helping older people explore their housing situation and identify what information they need in order to sort out any problems.

Directory of Housing Advice and Information Services for Older People

This booklet provides a summary of the housing advice and information services available across England for older people. The Directory aims to provide a starting point for older people and their families who want advice on housing issues. An A-Z guide of services gives contact details and website links.

A copy of the Directory can be obtained from Help the Aged Publishing Services at Help the Aged, 207 - 221 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9UZ. Telephone: 020 7239 1946. Email. jenny.havis@helptheaged.org.uk

Useful Website

www.mobilityfriendlyhomes.co.uk provides a free service nationally to promote the selling, letting and purchasing of properties that are accessible and/or suitably adapted to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Website users can search advertisements of property to buy or to rent. Alternatively, users can provide details of their specific requirements, which will be searchable (not contact details) by people and agents with properties to sell.

The website also allows agents, developers and private individuals to market residential property, and allows local authorities and affordable housing providers to offer properties on a rental basis.

Supported by:
		Founded by the late Lord and Lady Rank