Supported housing
While residential care homes are the best option for some people, you might find that other support - such as home care, special equipment or housing adaptations - will meet your needs.
Extra care housing is a new type of supported housing. If you or your partner meet certain criteria, you may be able to buy, part-purchase or rent a house or apartment in an extra care housing scheme.
Extra care
Extra care housing schemes aim to help older people live as independently as possible in their own homes, with care and support available if it is needed. Extra care schemes such as the Hartfields Retirement Village have facilities - for example shops, cafes, and even gyms and spa pools - nearby, to make it easier for residents to get involved in their community.
Extra care schemes in Hartlepool include the Hartfields Retirement Village in the north of the town, and Laurel Gardens, a brand-new Housing Hartlepool development which will be opening in 2010.
Photograph courtesy of www.careimages.com