Care in the community or care of the community? Some reflections on the role of support services in retirement housing

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enquire how housing providers can facilitate a “social scene” which helps residents to bond together and which indirectly can generate both mutual aid and a collective voice. Design/methodology/approach – The study of 16 retirement housing schemes (including social rented, extra care and leasehold), involved focus groups engaging altogether 130 residents, interviews with estate managers and a postal survey with 120 respondents across eight estates. Findings – The findings highlight an important “community development” role for existing on-site managers and the risk that a move to floating support means losing this function. They illustrate the obstacles faced by retirement housing residents in developing collective social activities or a participatory voice in management. This paper is one of several ongoing and planned outputs of the study covering different aspects of the findings. Research limitations/implications – The initial study reported here is largely based on residents’ views. A follow-up survey of over 400 estate managers is now in progress. Social implications – The findings offer warnings about the potential and limitations of self-managed housing for the older old, and the dangers of replacing on-site staff by floating support. Originality/value – The research fills a gap in previous work on sheltered housing by focusing on the community rather than the individual resident. It will inform planning of housing support models to build and sustain social capital in elders’ housing schemes.