Our mission:

“To be a caring organisation, putting residents first and assisting in the regeneration of our coalfield communities.”

Durham Aged Mineworkers’ Homes Association (DAMHA) is the largest almshouse charity in the country.

Established in 1898, the Association traditionally provided homes for mineworkers, but now anyone over the age of 50 can apply.

We have around 1,700 homes, predominantly bungalows, on 130 sites in 80 villages. These provide retirement housing for more than 2,000 North East residents. We also have sheltered accommodation and leasehold schemes for the elderly.

Our core area of operation is the former County Durham coalfield. This comprises the former districts of Chester-le-Street, Durham, Derwentside, Easington, Gateshead, Sedgefield, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Wear Valley.

Some of our properties are over 100-years-old so each year we invest around £1 million upgrading our properties, including installing new bathrooms, kitchens and heating systems, fitting new doors and windows and replacing roofs.

We never stand still and as well as our older properties, we also invest in new homes, working with our partners to build high quality, energy efficient, modern two-bedroom bungalows.

DAMHA also acts as Managing Agents for a number of small almshouse charities in the region.

Our vision:

“To be the best social provider of retirement housing in the North East.”