Annual Report 2020 | 7
6 . Happy Healthy Holidays for over 13,000 local children
In 2019 Accord Housing Association led a consortium to deliver the Happy Healthy Holidays programme . Funded by the Department of Education , the objective of Happy Healthy Holidays was to provide children living in Birmingham , particularly those who are eligible for free school meals during term time , with access to free , healthy nutritious food and fun activities during the summer holidays .
We delivered 90,270 four hour activity sessions and provided meals to 13,665 children and young people during the 2019 summer holidays .
7 . First plastic free houses announced
As part of our commitment to the environment and sustainable building , in the summer of 2019 , Accord announced that we will attempt to build 12 homes without using any plastic materials in either the construction process , or the house fittings .
We believe that this will be the first project of its kind in the UK , where a housing association is looking to minimise the use of plastic in house-building . It means finding alternatives when it comes to fitting the kitchens , bathrooms and windows , as well as reducing the amount of plastic used in building materials . The homes will be built in Redditch , and building works is due to start later in 2020 .
Built by Accord ’ s offsite manufacturing facility LoCaL Homes , these new houses will be high quality , super energy efficient homes .
8 . Amber Wood Dementia Centre of Excellence awarded international gold standard
Amber Wood is a care home that specialises in providing care for people living with dementia . Completed in 2018 , this year Amber Wood was awarded the Dementia Design Gold Award by independent experts from the Dementia Services Development Centre ( DSDC ) at the University of Stirling . This is the highest possible rating the DSDC can award .
Every aspect of Amber Wood has been specifically designed and built to provide the very best care and support to people living with dementia , from the layout , right through to the smallest details such as the position and the colours of doors , the location of furniture , even the colour and design of the individual bathrooms .