Most people have heard of Sheltered housing and Almshouses but many people are not clear as to what they mean and what are the benefits to live in Sheltered or Supported accommodation. To many people Almshouses are a thing of the past, out of date and no longer needed but we believe they are as relevant and as important today as they were 500 years ago and that is to provide accommodation for people unable to remain in their own homes due to reduced circumstances whether that be social isolation or financial hardship. It is true that Almshouses have been around for over a thousand years but they are far from out of date and number twenty-five thousand in this country alone. An Almshouse is a unit of residential accommodation (usually a house or flat) which belongs to a Charity and is provided exclusively to meet the Charity’s purpose such as but not limited to the relief of financial need or infirmity and is occupied or is available for occupation under licence by qualified beneficiary who made be required to contribute a weekly sum towards its maintenance. An Almshouse Charity is a Charity which is established to provide one or more Almshouses. Here in Bond’s and Ford’s Hospitals and Bond’s Court, we think we have a good mix of the ancient and modern. In the tried and trusted Almshouse tradition we have staff who live on site, who know residents and their families well, and who are available not only for emergencies but also for a friendly chat or advice every day during the working week. The Trustees who administer the Almshouses take a personal interest in residents, attending coffee mornings and resident led functions to keep in touch with residents. They encourage staff to take up training for their personal development, which also benefits residents by receiving a better service delivery from the staff. By definition Sheltered Housing does not provide ‘Hands On’ care, but the Scheme Manager can help residents’ to contact Doctors, Hospitals and Social Services to give their help and advice if that is what is needed. If the need is for more practical help such as a cleaner or someone to go shopping, they can put residents’ in touch with outside agencies who can be employed to do the work required. The national trend is for ‘floating support’ to replace the resident Scheme Manager. This has resulted in some cases of sheltered schemes being visited by a non resident Support Worker who has several other schemes to visit. The Trustees of this Charity do not consider this in keeping with Almshouse traditions, and intend to continue with residential Scheme Managers in order to preserve the standard of service that residents currently enjoy.