Elderly Chinese residents at a unique sheltered housing service in Birmingham are looking forward to celebrating Chinese New Year with a festive banquet.

Around 60 residents from Cherish House, in Digbeth, and Connaught Gardens, in Balsall Heath, will gather for the party today Tuesday 24th January.

Staff and volunteers will prepare and cook the feast, which will feature six traditional Chinese dishes, at Cherish House to mark the most important date in the Chinese cultural calendar.

Trident Reach the People Charity runs the two sheltered housing schemes - the only services of their kind in the country - solely for elderly Chinese people.

Connaught Gardens was the first sheltered scheme in the country just for older Chinese people and, together with Cherish House, the service is still unique in terms of its size, management, level of resident support and in-house activities.

Despite being so far from their native land, staff teams are dedicated to keeping the Chinese culture and traditions alive to make the schemes a "home from home" for their residents.

The pioneering Connaught Gardens - a complex of 68 self-contained flats with a communal room - opened 21 years ago, followed by Cherish House - which has 45 flats with a lounge and dining room - eight years later.

This year - Year of the Dragon - Cherish House is hosting the special dinner and New Year party for residents from both schemes on January 24, with traditional food, entertainment and activities.

It is being held on the second day of the traditional two-week celebration to allow for residents to observe the custom of visiting their families on the first day of the holiday - January 23.

Residents have also been making arts and craft items, such as traditional ribbon fish, origami stars and paper lanterns, to sell at a stall in the Arcadian Centre in Birmingham on January 29, which will also raise awareness of Trident Reach's service.

Elaine Tang, Older People's Services Leader at Trident Reach, said: "What makes our service unique is the fact that we have a strong emphasis on strengthening partnerships and building active communities.

"The community at Cherish House is like a family. Our residents make lots of friends here so they always have people to talk to, share a joke and play traditional Chinese games with.

"We are all looking forward to our Chinese New Year party - it is such an important celebration in our culture and we feel it is vital to keep the traditions alive.

"Each year, we hire a stall at the Chinese New Year celebration event that takes place in central Birmingham where we promote our services, sell craft items and customers help to translate names into Chinese.

"Residents have made these unique pieces of origami craft during our weekly arts and crafts sessions at Cherish House. Their creations are sold at community events like this, with the funds raised going towards future activities at the schemes.

"The other three main celebrated events where everyone gets together for a big feast are the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Christmas."

Residents at the schemes range in age from their 50s to 90s, with one woman due to celebrate her 100th birthday in May.

Some have embraced the technological age to keep in touch with family and friends in China via email and Skype.

Connaught Gardens was set up in 1991 after a need was identified for such a facility within the local community.

Delegations of officials from China and across the UK regularly visit the two specialist housing schemes to learn about their unique services.

Features of Connaught House and Cherish House which help maintain the traditional Chinese culture, while promoting active social lives and reducing isolation, include:

·         Both sites offer a service where staff are bi-lingual in Chinese and English. Most staff are able to converse in more than one Chinese dialect. The most commonly spoken among residents is Cantonese and Hakka, with a small number speaking Mandarin

·         Chinese meals served in the dining room at Cherish House each day, with the menu discussed in advance and agreed with residents

·         Weekly arts and craft sessions

·         Monthly cookery classes where together residents make traditional Chinese foods

·         Monthly shopping trips to a local Chinese supermarket

·         Daily Mah Jong (a popular Chinese game) and card games to help maintain active and healthy minds

·         Weekly Tai Chi classes, run by Age Concern

·         Day trips to local and national places of interest

·         Monthly residents' meetings, including visits from representatives of local groups and organisations.

The schemes also organise:

·         Daily falls prevention exercise classes to help maintain good balance and health

·         Various health workshops, organised in partnership with other agencies, including monthly blood pressure checks, annual eye tests and flu jabs.

·         A number of residents attend meetings of the Older People Forum, run by Birmingham City Council to engage with older members of the community.

·         Staff also work with the Birmingham Chinese Mental Health Project to raise awareness of Chinese mental health issues in the community.

Trident Reach the People Charity provides a range of housing, support and care services to vulnerable people to help them live independently and reach their potential.

For more information about Trident Reach or to find out how you can support its work, contact 0121 226 5800.