I am pleased to introduce ccha’s annual report for 2020/21. Last year’s report was published in the first few months of the pandemic.
A year on and we are moving towards the end of government restrictions, although the pandemic and its impact will take many months, if not years, to recover from. On behalf of ccha, I send my condolences to all those who have lost someone during the pandemic. I also send our best wishes to those who have been significantly affected by Covid-19. I hope that as we move on, we can use this as an opportunity to improve the quality of life for residents and the wider community.
Right from the start of the pandemic, it became clear that we should focus on the wellbeing of both our staff and residents. The virus has impacted us in so many ways. As well as affecting our health, it has also impacted many of us financially, psychologically and socially. It became obvious that we had to support each other if we were to successfully navigate our way through this unprecedented situation.
Staff at ccha have supported residents by telephoning older and socially isolated residents, providing debt advice and referring residents to food banks. We supported staff with wellbeing activities, regular team meetings and ‘pulse surveys’ to check how they were coping.
I must be honest and say that with our focus on wellbeing, we have not made the progress we had hoped for in working towards the goals in our new five-year Business Plan. In the coming year, we will be working hard to catch up.
As with all things though, there were some significant achievements during the last year. We built two wonderful developments at Tilbury Lodge and Woodford Court, which have provided 18 new homes. We were pleased to welcome Chrishanti Shah as our new Director of Finance and Resources, a new member onto the ccha Board, Nathan Gravesande, and two new Committee Members, Felicity Gentle and Phiroze Mackenzie.
I am so grateful that staff and Board members were able to mobilise, adjust well and remain resilient throughout the year so that we could continue to provide services to residents.
This has been a year like no other and I really want to give testament to the continuing commitment of residents, staff and Board members for all that you have done throughout the year to support us.
Thank you all.
Heather Thomas Chair of ccha