A key partner

DAMHA is proud to have been a key partner in a successful research project which has resulted in the setting up of a free resource for people living in our homes and other almshouse residents across the country.

The Knowledge Hub on Resilience in Almshouse Communities is available to anyone interested in further strengthening the communities in which they live.

It follows a 30-month research project led by University College London (UCL) which involved DAMHA and six other almshouse organisations who provide high-quality accommodation for older residents.

The project is the largest and most comprehensive research project with English almshouse communities.

The Knowledge Hub presents 30 themes (grouped into four key themes) and a number of case studies relating to resilience, drawing on the words and experience of residents, staff and trustees in communities whose roots go back centuries and who are still developing and building new accommodation for their localities.

The key themes are Valuing and Supporting People, Developing and Strengthening Community, Enhancing the BuilT Environment and Focusing on the Future.

Staff and board members from DAMHA were among those interviewed as part of the research project.

DAMHA Chief Executive Paul Mullis said: “As the largest almshouse association in the country, we were delighted to be asked to become part of this important project.

“It was pleasing to see that the national picture reflects what we see here locally in our region, which is about the need for high-quality, level access bungalows for older people and the importance of boards being actively engaged and working with residents.

“Almhouse associations like DAMHA play a key role in providing homes which enable people to retain their independence and we hope as many people as possible access the hub to see how they can support us in further strengthening our communities now and in the future.”

Dr Niamh Murtagh, the Principal Investigator for the project at UCL, said: “We hope the Hub will offer a valuable set of resources to anyone involved in providing housing for older people or, in fact, any form of social housing.

“The lessons we learnt from our wonderful almshouse community partners can be applied to any community. We looked at resilience through the lenses of social resilience, built environment resilience and governance resilience, and the themes in the Knowledge Hub acknowledge show how interconnected these are.”