About the charity

The St Monica Trust has been providing high quality accommodation, care and support for older and disabled people for almost 90 years.

Driven by its vision of people living independent, dignified and fulfilled lives, the St Monica Trust aims to achieve well-being for older people through innovative care, support and accommodation. Founded in 1919 by Henry Herbert Wills and his wife Dame Monica Wills, the Trust has evolved rapidly in the last decade, continually setting new national standards for quality and innovation in its provision of accommodation and care for older people. Its wide range of activities, support and facilities are designed to help residents and older people in the surrounding communities maintain and maximise their independence.

Today, the Trust is home to more than 600 people, living in retirement/sheltered accommodation or receiving specialist care in one of two care home facilities.Occupation of the sheltered housing is available on a range of tenures, from lease purchase on a private basis to rent through an agreement the Trust has established with the local authority. Shared ownership is also available in a proportion of this accommodation, which is specially designed with the needs of older people in mind. For those who require a greater degree of support, the Trust’s care homes provide asensitive and responsive environment for residents, who are able to enjoy being part of a larger retirement village community.

From its base at Cote Lane in Westbury-on-Trym, the Trust has expanded its activity in the Bristol area, opening Westbury Fields retirement village in 2003, and following this with a new 121-apartment, inner city retirement facility in Bedminster, Bristol in late 2006. The Trust is now looking forward to the development of its first care village in North Somerset, on the site of the Old Station in Sandford.

Whilst all locations have their own very different ambiance and unique community atmospheres, they all maintain the Trust’s tradition for the provision of consistently high quality care. Activities form a major part of life for many residents and dedicated activities co-ordinators put together wide ranging programmes of events and outings. On each site a mixture of facilities are provided to encourage people to participate in whichever pursuit they choose.

The organisation is committed to remaining flexible and evolving to provide services that meet the needs of a changing society. These include the provision of a vital short-term care service: six weeks of recuperative or respite care in facilities that can be booked in advance and fulfil a significant need for residents, local carers and their families. Care services for residents are enhanced by the work of the Trust’s own pastoral care team, supporting those residents who want to explore personal, spiritual well-being and questions of faith, both as individuals and in a communal environment.

The Trust also provides care and support to people living in their own homes in the local community, providing the benefits of care at home to maintain independence, but without the requirement to move into a retirement village setting. A variety of physiotherapy and hydrotherapy treatments are also available to individuals from all walks of life, whether it be for a one-off injury or a longer term problem.

What’s more, St Monica has built a variety of specialist residential dementia services, and has also developed a range of training programmes designed to help anyone working with all older people as well as those caring for people with dementia. It’s one of many specialist training courses created by the Trust’s Learning and Skills team specifically to support the training needs of organisations and their staff working in a social care environment.

Another significant activity that is undertaken by the Trust is the financial assistance it gives to people through its Community Fund, the charitable giving arm of St Monica Trust, which over the last two years has provided more than £1,000,000 to organisations and individuals in need, in Bristol and the surrounding counties. The Community Fund is a scheme specifically designed to ease financial pressure for individuals suffering from a physical disability or long term illness and to act as a catalyst for change by supporting the activities of other voluntary organisations in the community who share our aspirations.

Today, the Trust employs more than 540 people across three sites, supporting the objectives of an organisation that continues to strive for excellence in all that it does. Building on a long tradition of creating vibrant community life for our residents and developing expertise the Trust’s vision is to provide for a greater number of people with a wider variety of needs.

Timeline: a chronology of key events

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