Sheltered Housing for the Elderly: The Role of the British Warden

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Abstract
The United States has built very little sheltered housing that can assist functionally impaired and socially deprived elderly maintain their independence and privacy. Some disabled elderly without community support or financial means have been placed in public housing without proper support services, others have been placed in total care nursing institutions. The 1978 Congregate Housing Services Act is a step toward remedying this situation. However the act stresses service rich sheltered housing with congregate meals and permanent on-site service providers. Past research suggests that minimal service sheltered housing with peripatetic services adjusted to individual need may be more acceptable to the majority of elderly, and can provide the same level of support at less cost and with less risk of evolving institution-like environments run by and for the convenience of support staff. The British are world leaders in minimal services sheltered housing with over 5% of the elderly so housed. The key program element in the British model is a resident warden. The typical warden is a housewife whose training and presence assures a proper and consistent flow of peripatetic support services to each resident. This paper describes the results of a 25% random sample of wardens and resident characteristics in seven housing authorities and voluntary associations in the West Midlands of England. The findings show that a number of distinct and effective warden types have evolved. The feasibility of transferring this role model to the United States is discussed.

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