About Christian Care

How it began

In the summer of 1982, Mico Bienvenu, a young nurse, set out to open a home where older people could be cared for in a loving Christian environment. From the start, it was for people of all faiths and of none. The emphasis is on the care given, not on the beliefs of the person receiving it.

In 1984 he started a Senior Citizens Club while he looked for a building. A few years later the Norwegian Seamen’s Mission in Stanford-le-Hope closed and was put up for sale. The charity bought it and turned it into the first of its homes, Oak House. Ten residents moved in during 1989, three more rooms were built soon after, and day care began for older people still living at home. Oak House was officially opened in 1990.

Beech House in Basildon followed in 1992, in a building that had already been used as a home for older people. A second phase of building brought it to 28 places, and it was formally opened on 10 July 1998.

Mico is from Mauritius. In 2008 the charity opened St Paul’s House in Quatre Bornes, Mauritius, its largest home, with en-suite rooms throughout and its own chapel.

The story of Cedar House

The first Cedar House was Redburn Lodge in Stanford-le-Hope, a converted detached house for seven people that had closed. Christian Care Homes bought it and reopened it as Cedar House around 2000. A few years later the charity bought the house next door and used it for staff accommodation.

The trustees then agreed to replace both buildings with one larger home. Building work began in 2011, and the new Cedar House opened to its first residents in October 2012.

Today Cedar House is home to 33 people, in 31 single rooms and one double. The two-storey front of the building hides a large garden. It is surrounded on three sides by single-storey bedrooms, a conservatory and a glass-fronted dining room, all looking onto the pagoda at the centre of the garden. Residents can relax in the two lounges or, when the weather allows, in the safety of the gardens.

Our mission

Christian Care Homes sets out to serve the local community with caring services: care for older people, leisure, affordable housing and education, so that everyone has what they need to flourish.

Leisure and education

Alongside care for older people, Christian Care runs two other services. Christian Care Leisure offers affordable family holidays by the sea, with discounted and free breaks for people going through hard times. Christian Care Education runs faith-based workshops, seminars and courses, most of them free.

Our statement of care

Mico’s aims when he founded the charity are now its statement of care. They are to promote:

• Independence, choice, respect, privacy and dignity
• A place of shelter and protection, with food, warmth and water
• Good relationships, built on love, through a caring and Christian attitude
• A sense of esteem and personal worth
• Social and medical care to suit each person’s needs
• Spiritual guidance and counselling

Our staff

Each of our homes is run by an experienced registered manager, with a team of trained carers. Our care staff:

• Hold NVQ level 2 and 3 in Health and Social Care
• Have induction training before they start work
• Attend mandatory training every year
• Understand the needs of older people living with dementia
• Have regular supervision and appraisals
• Act as key workers for residents and speak up for them when needed
• Work closely with local GPs and other health and social care professionals

We work to the ideas of My Home Life, a programme that promotes quality of life for people living in care homes, and we review our care regularly to improve it. We welcome views and suggestions from residents and families.

The charity

Christian Care Homes is a registered charity, number 299522. It exists to help people who are older, ill, disabled or poor, and to provide leisure and recreation for people who need it because of their age, illness, disability or poverty.

The charity is run by a board of trustees, who are not paid. Around 100 people work for it, alongside volunteers who help in the homes, raise funds and visit for a chat with residents.

It is better to reach out and rescue the ones closest to you than to overstretch trying to rescue the ones you can never reach.