We are working to help our residents improve activity in later life

By creating more opportunities for tenants and homeowners to stay active, we can play a vital role in helping to improve people’s health and well-being, as well as easing pressures on the NHS.

This is why we have partnered with Sport England and Demos to create 10 Today, a new physical activity broadcast which is being piloted across the country to tackle inactivity and improve older people’s lives.

10 Today has been designed by older people, for older people – with their habits, preferences and attitudes front of mind. Terry Keen, an Anchor Hanover resident and trained fitness instructor, is 72 years old and helped design the different workouts alongside industry experts.

The programme aims to increase physical activity among older people across the country, reduce social isolation by bringing people together, and improve the physical and mental well-being of participants.

“Terry Keen, an Anchor Hanover resident and trained fitness instructor, is 72 years old and helped design the different workouts alongside industry experts”

It provides a series of easy, accessible and enjoyable 10-minute broadcasts, which can be done almost anywhere and at any time. We are also training people in our locations across the country to become 10 Today ‘champions’, bringing older people together to exercise as a group and creating community hubs.

Physical activity among older people can reduce falls, depression and dementia by 30%. Strength and balancing exercises, a core component of 10 Today, could prevent more than a million falls each year, which are currently the main driver of unplanned hospital visits by older people.

We’re proud to have tenants and colleagues across Anchor Hanover embracing the significant benefits of 10 Today. And, to really reduce physical inactivity among all older people across the country, we’re calling on fellow housing associations, specialist and mainstream, to join the 10 Today movement and encourage older people to get involved – all starting with just 10 minutes of exercise.

Our diversity is one of the strengths of our sector, with mainstream providers and specialists demonstrating that in many cases we do much more than simply provide a roof over people’s heads – as important as that is.

But our diversity also makes it difficult for us to showcase what we do to government and other stakeholders in a way that really gives the full picture.

“Our diversity is one of the strengths of our sector, with mainstream providers and specialists demonstrating that in many cases we do much more than simply provide a roof over people’s heads – as important as that is”

For example, many of our tenants have told us that navigating entitlement and eligibility in the current benefits system is a confusing minefield – one that has deterred many from getting the support and help they need.

That was why we created Be Wise, an initiative to help tenants access benefits they may not have known were available to them. Since its inception in 2012, this free, confidential service has helped residents make vast savings and maximise their incomes to the tune of nearly £10m.

It has made an enormous difference to people’s lives. A couple who recently met with the Be Wise team identified that they were eligible for both means-tested and non means-tested benefits, resulting in a further £364 of income per week. This significantly impacted the quality of their life and their ability to manage their health conditions. Their first purchases were mobility scooters, enabling them to get out and about every day.

We are far from unique in our efforts. Many housing associations have developed creative solutions to tackle the issues faced by the people we serve and society as a whole.

Whether it is financial inclusion or fitness, what we are all really doing is building communities. And that has never been more important than today.

Jane Ashcroft, chief executive, Anchor Hanover