Tameside Council joins forces with West Pennine Housing to develop supported housing services for minority ethnic groups

Published by webmaster for Regenda Housing Group in Communities

Tameside MBC are looking to develop culturally sensitive supported housing services for South Asian older people in the borough.

To help them establish these services, Iram Nisar who works as Elderly Services Officer for West Pennine Housing Association, part of the Regenda Housing Group, is joining the Supported People staff at Tameside council in July to work with them on a secondment basis for twelve months.

Diane Barkley, Supporting People Manager for Tameside MBC explains “The Tameside Supporting People Strategy 2005-2010, identified a clear under representation of older people from minority ethnic groups currently accessing supported housing provision. This indicates there is a need to change the way that Supporting People Services are delivered to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of the South Asian Older people of Tameside.”

One of the many objectives set for Iram’s secondment is to make elderly people from minority ethnic groups in the Tameside communities more aware of the support services that are available for them in their own homes which would enable them to maintain dignity, independence and safety.

As part of this, she will be conducting research into other services that they would find useful and increasing the options available to older people with regard to housing related advice, support and practical services, for example, access gardening, shopping and repairs services.

Iram said “I am really excited about working on this project with Tameside Council and ensuring that the elderly Southern Asian minority ethnic groups within Tameside get to access the support they are entitled to, which they are currently unaware of and so are missing out on.  Over the course of the next twelve months, I will be involved in many events to target these communities, using the places they go to for information and advice such a community centres and using their languages to aid  communication of the services that are available to them.”

Ends

Press release issued: July 10 2007