Breaking down barriers

On these pages you'll find highlights of a few projects which have made a big difference

Route 4 project increases understanding between people of all ages

A joint project run by Raven and the Warwick School in Redhill brings together school pupils and older people to help bridge the generation gap. The Merstham-based 'Monday Club' involves teenage school girls who are at risk of exclusion and residents of Portland House, Raven's sheltered housing scheme. The residents and pupils meet up on a Monday afternoon and chat, knit, do puzzles and share stories. By simply spending time together, countless misconceptions previously held by each age group about the other have been proved wrong. What started as just a few teenage girls coming to Portland House for knitting lessons has turned into a long-standing arrangement running from term to term. The Portland House residents help the girls with their coursework, tell them stories about the war and there have even been outings all together.

Getting in touch with hard to reach people - reaching out to people with disabilities

Raven staff have been contacting residents in Merstham to tell them about the help that's available if you have a disability. We know that there are higher numbers of residents with a disability living in Merstham than in other areas. David Horne, head of Housing Management at Raven comments "There are many things we can do to make life easier for people and we want to make sure residents knows these options are available. It may be some people need communications in different formats, or it may be that we can make a change to their home to make living there easier." If you have a disability and would like to know more about how we can help please email raven@ravenht.org.uk

'Surestop' means turning water off is easier for everyone - including residents with a disability

In an emergency you might need to turn your water off. But how do you do that if the stop cock is stuck and it won't budge, or you simply can't grasp it tightly enought to turn it? this is a particular problem if you are elderly or if you have a disability. 'Surestop' is a mechanism which is now bieng installed in every kitchen refurbishment under our Decent Homes scheme. It means that turning the water off it more like flicking a switch and requires much less physical strength and effort.