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From the frontline - Jeni Moore

Jeni Moore, activities and entertainment co-ordinator at Extracare Charitable Trust, on bringing different generations together and being afraid of baked beans.

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From the frontline - Jeni Moore

What does your job involve?

I run activities and entertain our residents and members of the local community at the newly opened 260-home Longbridge Retirement Village. Most of the activities we run are open to the whole community, which is what is really special about the ExtraCare Charitable Trust’s retirement villages. There’s line dancing, ballroom dancing, zumba, tai chi and art classes. We’re also working on the launch of ‘stay and play’ sessions for zero to five-year-olds, which our residents will be able to take part in. Bringing the generations together is a big part of our work.

How did you get into housing?

This is my first job in housing and I’ve been working for the ExtraCare Charitable Trust since the end of May, getting ready to open Longbridge Village. I used to work as a holiday park entertainer, travelling all over. Most recently, I was working on a cruise liner in Australia. After spending a decade away from my friends and family in Birmingham, I wanted to be around them – but I didn’t want to leave entertainment behind completely.


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What is a good day like?

Saturdays are my favourite day – in particular Saturday nights, when I host our weekly entertainment. There’s always bingo and a cabaret performance, and then there might be a game show or a quiz, comedy, a ventriloquist or karaoke. Our work here is mostly about making people realise that just because they’re older, it doesn’t mean they can’t make friends. Some residents may be less able than they were in the past, but they’re still the same person. Our activities help people regain their sense of identity, which may have been missing.

One of our residents recently told me that she’d never had many friends before moving to Longbridge Village. She now comes downstairs for the entertainment every Saturday, and she always has a core group of friends around her. She’s suffered from anxiety and depression, but now she’s thriving.

 

What about a bad day?

I have a sweet tooth, so for me it’s a bad day if the communal sweet bowl in the office is empty.

If you could be prime minister for a day, what would you do?

I’d want to do something that would have a lasting legacy, for example getting the ball rolling on more investment for the NHS. I’d aim to achieve the maximum amount of impact in the short time I had.

What’s the most private thing you’d be willing to admit to your colleagues?

I get really freaked out by baked beans – I can’t be in the same room as someone eating them. I don’t tend to tell people that – it’s a detail I leave out on dates.

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