I want to start by saying how thrilled and honoured I feel to be taking up this role.

My ambition in life is to increase the choice and quality of support available to older and disabled people, and I hope that I can continue to do this working with colleagues at The Fremantle Trust.

While it saddens me to have to mention Brexit (don’t stop reading), all this political turmoil reminds me how important it is to ensure that The Fremantle Trust residents have the opportunity to take part in any up and coming elections. We need to make sure that residents are registered to vote, especially those people who have moved recently into one of our homes (assuming they agree of course). It’s easy to register. A link to registration can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Once registered, people can ask for a postal vote if they prefer.

People living in care homes are often excluded from the democratic process through lack of registration, lack of knowledge and dare I say, inertia. I was very proud to be shortlisted for the Cabinet Office ‘Diversity Champion Award’ in 2018 for my work in enabling people living in care homes to vote, and especially those people living with dementia. I believe it’s really important for people living in care homes and those in supported living to be active participants in their community. They should choose who represents them, and what better way to show that we respect people’s right to express their personal choice than by supporting them to vote?

While we are on the subject of Brexit, thank you to colleagues from the EU for your patience and for the part you play in supporting residents and service users.  In fact, thank you to all colleagues at The Fremantle Trust for the contribution you make to increasing the choice and quality of support available to older and disabled people. I’m looking forward to working with you all.

Sara Livadeas