The challenge Hanover exists to combat is simple. “There is a projected 50% increase in the over 60s by 2033, and a huge proportion of them are living alone, suffering greatly from loneliness and isolation,” says Angela Currie, Chief Executive of Hanover (Scotland) Housing Association Ltd.
Currie argues that we need more capacity in the sheltered housing model that will give people a real lifestyle choice.
“They want to be with like-minded people who are socially active, and live a really fulfilling life in their later years,” says Currie.
This is the need that Hanover (Scotland) Housing Association was created to address. Hanover provides social housing for Scotland’s older population, but it is not just about renting property.
“We are more than just a landlord,” Currie says. “Our mission is to help people live a fulfilling life, independently in their later years, with a broad range of services to let people do that.”
This includes the usual support you would expect from a landlord or housing association, such as repairs, maintenance, health and safety checks, and necessary upgrades. But on top of that, Hanover also provides telecare, with security systems in place to provide care for residents who fall, through an alert from a pendant or alarm cord.
“We are a registered care provider,” Currie tells us. With this kind of service, the need often scales up as people get older, and our service can scale up with them while avoiding institutional care settings.”
Our House
But at its heart, Hanover is a housing provider, and everything flows out from the quality of that housing.
“Sheltered housing for older people is a well-recognised model. It is usually one building with 20 to 30 flats, residents each have their own tenancy with their own front door, kitchens, and bathrooms,” says Currie. “But within those buildings we have communal facilities, such as a lounge for socialising, a commercial kitchen, and a launderette. They will have communal gardens as well, to encourage people to get active.”
In Scotland, the government provides between 40% and 70% capital grant funding, which means housing associations and councils then have to find additional funding through private finance to be able to build these homes. It is a model that enables housing associations like Hanover to offer rent at levels deemed “affordable”, which means no more than 30% of the tenant’s disposable income is spent on rent.
“In Scotland the social housing model is a key part of the housing system and has been around for many decades,” Currie shares. “It is highly successful, there is just not enough of it. Local authorities in Scotland and the Scottish Government have declared a housing emergency due to demand outstripping supply.”
Hanover is helping to respond to this emergency with modern, highly accessible homes built so that people with mobility issues can use them. Of course, it is also providing telecare for those homes, and that is evolving with the needs of its residents.
“We are introducing video calling instead of pull chords, and our next crop of homes will include rise and fall kitchens, automatic doors, and a whole suite of new products and services to help people live independently,” explains Currie.
Hanover is able to invest in these facilities and services as the biggest specialist housing association of its kind in Scotland, but for Currie, the organisation’s value lies in more than just its size.
“We are the biggest older person specialist provider in Scotland, and we cover three-quarters of mainland Scotland, and we also offer a holistic service range, but I think what really sets us apart is our values,” says Currie. “Our people live and breathe our values every day of the week. Our workforce delivers excellent service because of those values. We hold ourselves accountable, we collaborate, and we are inclusive.”
People Who Make a Home
Providing housing and care means that Hanover needs to have a talent pool of people qualified and motivated to deliver that care where and when it is needed. This is a challenge given that workers in the care sector were hit hard by the consequences of the Covid pandemic and lockdowns.
In the aftermath of those lockdowns, the care sector has faced a challenge in re-engaging and re-motivating that workforce.
“Because of the type of work we do, our employees worked right through Covid supporting elderly people,” Currie recalls. “They were exhausted, overwhelmed, and in some cases traumatised. So we have turned our attention to helping them get through that and improve their overall wellbeing.”
Currie joined Hanover during the second lockdown, and immediately recognised that to take care of that workforce she needed to look at who it was made up of.
“Our workforce is 84% women, and a very high proportion of them are 45 years old or over,” she says. “That demographic can have very specific health issues, but beyond that, they are also the ‘sandwiched generation’, with older parents and kids at home or in further education. We have undertaken a wide range of initiatives to support them, including a suite of family-friendly policies that allow greater flexibility.”
Hanover’s focus on wellbeing has led to the housing association being awarded an IIP Gold for Wellbeing, but while Currie is proud of the accolade, she is concerned that the skills that make it possible may be leaving the industry altogether.
“We are going to face a loss in the next ten years, so as part of our activities we have been looking at how to bring young people into the workforce, and that brings us a new set of challenges,” she tells us. “If you have an ageing workforce, how do you attract and retain young people?”
To shine a light on that issue, Hanover has put together a plan to bring young talent into the sector, as well as a young person’s forum to keep them engaged and offer tools and support to help them launch their career.
But while young people’s needs are changing, so are older people’s.
“Given the age profile of our customers, most want to use more traditional tools of communication, but the customer of the future will expect to have digital services available,” says Currie. “We are now focusing on introducing our ‘digital front door’, to give customers a wide range of accessible services online.”
As well as modernising its housing, Hanover’s agenda is also defined by growth as more and more people age into Hanover’s target demographic. But Currie is also keen that they are given more and more of a say in how it does its work.
“In the past, there was a top down decision making model for organisations like ours,” she says. “Now we are shifting to a bottom up approach, giving people the opportunity to get involved in all the decision making around our products and services, helping to shape that future.”
