| From Oxfordshire County Council Ensuring residents have a home which is warm, safe and supports their independence is a key building block to their health. Cold, damp, dangerous housing is responsible for increases in respiratory problems, cardiovascular ill health and problems in childhood development and costs the NHS £2.5 billion a year. There is support available to all residents to help them stay warm and independent in their homes, but we know it can be time consuming and confusing to navigate. To help, we have pulled together various resources to help you and residents reach the support they need. WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said –“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.”Ensuring someone’s home maintains and improves health is one of the key ways to go “upstream” and reduce the chances of them falling in. HOW YOU CAN HELPSupport is available, but making sure our residents know that, and know how to reach it, is a significant challenge. Your organisations, networks and communities are key to making sure no one in Oxfordshire who needs support is missed.We’ve created a toolkit of communication materials designed to help you promote this support, which includes newsletter copy, social media resources and printed materials which you can order.Please use these where you can, so as many people as possible can hear about the help that is on offer – and if there are any other organisations, community groups, or individuals you think would also be able to pass on the good news, please share the toolkit with them too! |
Thank you in advance, Rosie Rowe Head of Healthy Place Shaping, Oxfordshire County CouncilCounty Hall | New Road | Oxford | OX1 1ND |