Blog

Ways to sleep better AND faster: 5 tips you won’t have tried!

Lack of quality sleep can have such a negative impact on all areas of our lives. Sleep is a form of fuel, it is a daily physical and mental reset that our bodies require to function. Like the way we need food and water, we need sleep.

Memories of WW2 – Submitted by Connie Burke

In the final part of our War Memories series, resident Connie Burke writes of her memories of the time and the evacuees her family took in.

“We are not forgetting where we have come from and who we are.”- ExtraCare resident Myrtle discusses Black History Month.

All around the world, people are celebrating Black History Month by remembering important figures and events from history, honouring present day activists, or simply finding ways to lift up our own communities.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 8 common signs of breast cancer

Every October, people all over the world show their support for everyone affected by breast cancer. This blog post is to help you understand the signs and symptoms, and to remind you to TOUCH, LOOK and CHECK.

On Grandparents Day, here are 4 ways to spend quality time with your grandparents

On Grandparents Day, here are 4 ways to spend quality time with your grandparentsThere are always so many things to do in a day. Sometimes, it feels like there just aren't enough hours - especially when you get busy. But some of the most precious moments that you'll ever experience in your life will come from spending time with your grandparents.

“There’s a lot more to life in a retirement village” – ExtraCare’s CEO Mick Laverty

Earlier this year, law firm, Shakespeare Martineau published a whitepaper titled ‘How we can make retirement housing aspirational and not a sign of a crisis.’ The report highlighted the significant gap between public perception of the retirement housing sector and the reality

Discover later living: The ultimate guide to ExtraCare retirement villages

Since 1988, ExtraCare has opened retirement villages and smaller housing developments around our Midlands base and further south. Our priority has always been to make sure our residents enjoy happy, healthy and fulfilled lifestyles in our vibrant communities.

Are retirement villages a good idea?

The UK is one of the world leaders when it comes to retirement living, but only 70,000 - that’s 0.5% of people aged 65 and over in the UK actually live in one. This number is far smaller than in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, where approximately 5-6% of their older population live in retirement villages!

Living in a retirement village: what to expect

Retirement villages aren’t widely understood throughout the UK in comparison to other countries such as New Zealand and USA, where they are a lot more ‘the norm’ shall we say. Many people still think of any retirement housing as a care home, which simply isn't the case. But if it's not a care home, what is it?

Resident led community building: A personal perspective

We have been extending our range of volunteer opportunities at ExtraCare, to create a more collaborative and empowering approach to befriending. Since 2021, we have launched new resident-led “Community Teams” in our villages. Here, residents can take the lead in coordinating befriending support and community events, with the help of local staff (see details here). Doing this, our teams have helped other residents take steps to integrate more meaningfully into their community.

How ExtraCare’s Welfare Benefits Officers are saving retirement village residents nearly £5m!

We recently sat down with Welfare Benefits Lead Natalie James. Natalie discusses how she can help ExtraCare residents, what she loves about her role and how the team have already helped find many residents financial relief.

Meet ExtraCare’s Occupational Therapist Sherisse!

We recently caught up with Sherisse Smith, ExtraCare's very first Occupational Therapist, to see how she's finding life at ExtraCare.