A caring community for green-fingered Maris
- Name: Maris
- Housing association: Optivo
- Housing type: Extra care
Keen gardener Maris lives in Regis Gate, an extra care scheme in Kent run by housing association Optivo. Apartments are available to older residents for rent or shared ownership sale.
Living in a fully accessible apartment with purpose-built facilities is essential to a wheelchair user and double amputee like Maris. Her apartment includes an open plan kitchen and a fully accessible wet room, as well as state-of-the-art assistive technology that allows her to call for personalised support and help from a dedicated on-site team of staff. The carefully considered design of her extra care home means she can move around with ease and take advantage of the wide range of facilities available within the development.
Maris loves the outdoors and ventures out into Regis Gate’s community garden on a daily basis, even when the weather takes a turn. She looks after her own flower bed and enjoys the creativity that comes with arranging a variety of flowers and plants. The close-knit community of Regis Gate have taken notice of her passion and determination to keep active in the garden come rain or shine.
Maris also takes part in the vibrant calendar of social events at Regis Gate. From participating in activities hosted in the communal living room to playing bingo with friends, Maris values the strong sense of community that comes with living in an extra care scheme. The staff at Regis Gate realise the importance of making sure that residents’ disabilities and other needs don’t become an obstacle to independence or to socialising with family, friends and neighbours.
Extra care schemes cater to those with specific care and housing needs. As pressure for both housing and social care grows, the G15 is working with many partners, including local authorities, the Mayor of London, and national government, to ensure that residents like Maris live in homes and communities that are right for them.