Care Home Conversation

The Big

Introduction The Big Care Home Conversation, led by My Home Life, offers you a unique opportunity to be part of a bold and inspiring project. Launching in mid-May, and lasting for a month, The Conversation will engage the public in a UK-wide debate about care homes for older people, about what works now and what we want from them in the future.

Aims and ObjectivesThe conversation will:

Increase• public understanding of the realities of and potential for care homes

Inspire • greater connection between care homes and the wider community

Dispel• some of the myths that surround care homes

Celebrate• six years of My Home Life and broaden awareness of our work

The Conversation TreeCare homes across the UK are being invited to open up a dialogue with residents, relatives and the public. A “Conversation Tree” in each participating care home will provide the backdrop for people’s engagement and conversation.

Care homes may choose to use a real tree outside, bring twigs inside or design and make their own tree.

To begin the conversation, we will ask a question. People will then be able to respond by hanging their answers as “leaves” on the tree. Alternatively, they may choose to visit the interactive landing page on the My Home Life website where they can add their leaves to the tree. All the trees will thus become objects of ideas, wishes and comments on best practice in care homes.

Care homes have often been described as ‘islands of the old’. This is a unique opportunity to help the public to understand better the vital role that they play, the challenges they face and the kind of support that will help them deliver quality to our frailest citizens.

The QuestionThe question we will be asking is:“What makes life good in care homes now, what could make them better – and how might we get there?”

The Outcomes Stronger links • between care homes

and their local communities.A resource of comments and ideas •

generated from the leaves for analysisDelivery of key messages• to the seats

of government around the UKDevelopment of a • “legacy book” for

the public on care homes

Get Involved!The Big Care Home Conversation needs your support. If you are a care home, or community organisation and would like to host events in May and June, then let us know and we can support you by providing packs of information to stimulate the dialogue.

Contact us at: Email mhl@city.ac.uk

Follow our progress: www.myhomelife.org.ukTwitter: @MyHomeLife1

YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN A NATIONAL CONVERSATION ON WHAT WE WANT FROM CARE HOMES AND HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THEM

Tom Owen, My Home Life Director

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