“We’ll tackle anything”
Our housing scheme manager, Chris, is on hand to help our residents with anything that makes their life easier.
“I look after every resident as if they were my own mother or father. I think, if you stick to those principles, you can’t go wrong.
We help them feel safe and secure, to have the best life they can. They have someone on hand to deal with everyday problems – both physical and mental. This country is in the grips of a mental health crisis, which the pandemic has made 10 times worse, and support services are at breaking point. But I say to our residents: if you have a problem, no matter how big or small, come and find me. We’ll tackle anything.
Recently one of our residents, Mike*, who some years ago suffered a stroke, came to me with a letter from his bank. For the past five years they’ve been charging him every month for insurance for an address he no longer lives at. So I spoke to the bank, and they are in the process of giving him a full refund of £600. I’ve been working with another resident to get his electricity account and meter readings up to date, and he’s now had £450 in over payments refunded. We also arranged a case worker from the RNIB to help another of our incredible residents, a 91-year-old lady who has severe eyesight problems. She’s now feeling a bit more independent in her home, with some specialist aids that help her.
All sorts of things come up every day, and it’s really rewarding to be able to help.
We check in with residents every day to make sure they’re ok, which sometimes means supporting them with their health. Once I called a lady, Jenny*, on the phone, who said she was feeling a bit weak that day and was in bed. It didn’t sit right with me, so I made my way over to her flat. She didn’t look well, and her breathing seemed a bit shallow. I never like to take any risks, so I called the paramedics.
When they came, she was sitting on the sofa, and her heart rate was perfectly normal. But then suddenly it shot up to 200 bpm. They discovered that she had a heart defect, and now lots of things have been put in place for her, linking in her GP, community health services, along with home assessments. The ambulance team told me that they were glad that I’d made the 999 call, as it could have gone a lot worse.”
About our sheltered housing
We provide welcoming sheltered housing, with award-winning gardens, where residents can live safely and independently. Our lovely, affordable flats are available now for people from Hammersmith who are over 60 and on a low income.
- Have a chat or arrange a visit: Contact Leslie on leslie.morson@hamunitedcharities.com or 07470 793 565
- Find out more about our sheltered housing here
*Resident names have been changed