An independent living charity operating in Glasgow is marking its 50th anniversary of helping disabled and older people.
Blackwood Homes and Care was founded in 1972 by Dr Margaret Blackwood MBE who set out to help people "live life to the full" by providing specialist homes and services to ensure people can live as independently as possible.
Now, with services across 28 local authority areas in Scotland, Blackwood will be hosting a number of activities, events and projects during the year.
Julie McDowell, Blackwood’s Board Chair, said: “As an organisation our purpose is to help people live independently and we invest in innovation to make sure we can help people to benefit from new technology developments so that they can have choice and control over how they live.
“To celebrate our remarkable half-century, we’ll be looking back to see how far our service has actually transformed – which is going to be exciting - as well as providing a blueprint for Scotland for the next fifty years so that our population can live longer and more independently.
“We’ll also be paying tribute throughout the year to Dr Margaret Blackwood who played a significant role in revolutionising independent living for disabled people.
“It will be great to engage with customers, staff, stakeholders and communities while we celebrate this milestone”.
Activities will include community events, bucket list challenges, podcasts and a physical activity day.
Chief Executive Fanchea Kelly, is looking forward to bringing the Blackwood community together, especially after the limitations the pandemic brought.
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She said: “This is an incredibly big milestone year for Blackwood and one we are looking forward to celebrating with our entire community.
“Throughout the year we will be hosting a variety of activities and events – there will also be lots of projects to celebrate our history and how we contribute to shaping independent living in the future.
“There is a lot of exciting work underway at Blackwood which will come to fruition this year.
"That means we will be able to increase our capacity to meet the growing needs of local people in the communities where we operate.
"With that said, our first priority will always be our existing residents and the quality of the services they receive."
While campaigning for rights and independence of disabled people, Dr Blackwood also raised awareness about the lack of suitably adapted homes in the country.
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This is something Blackwood wants to continue to prioritise, by combining technology, modern construction, and engaging with people who live with a disability to design and produce their homes.
In doing this, Blackwood has recently launched the "Blackwood House", which features CleverClogs, a digital care system.
Fanchea added: “The housing and care sector has gone through a tremendous change since we started, especially with advances in digital technology.
"We want to ensure Blackwood is at the forefront of what the next 50 years will bring.”
For more information, visit https://www.blackwoodgroup.org.uk.
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