Age was no object when it came to Jewish Care residents voting in today’s general election.
Zara, who will be celebrating her 101st birthday in 11 days, took the Jewish Care bus from the Otto Schiff care home in Golders Green to the polling station. She said: “You must have a vote and must not miss it.”
Hyman, 95, who was a telephone operator in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, also went to vote this morning, saying: “I’ve always voted.”
It was equally important for Karen Waxman, who lives in West Hampstead’s Sidney Corob House care home for people with mental illness, to vote.
She said: “It’s very important for me to vote because it shows that I have an individual opinion in the same way as everyone else, and I have a right to express it.”
Karen Waxman, a resident at Jewish Care's Sidney Corob House for people with mental illness, goes to vote (Photo: Jewish Care)
Many of the care home residents voted by post and Jewish Care staff have been supporting those residents who wish to vote in person or by proxy at the polling station today.
Jewish Care CEO Daniel Carmel-Brown told the JC: “[Our care home residents] have a lifetime of experiences and a wealth of acquired knowledge, and many are passionate about politics. [They] are a vibrant and important part of our community and have helped to shape the world we live in today."
“The voice and right to engage in democracy shouldn’t be lost because people require extra care and support. As an organisation, we believe that …it is our duty to engage and support anyone who can and who wants to have their say in the democratic process by voting.”
Residents at Jewish Care's Otto Schiff care home, Dinah, who turns 102 on Monday, and Dorothea, who is 101, go to the polling station together on the Jewish Care bus (Photo: Jewish Care)
Jewish Care has published a guide to the general election to assist carers in engaging their members, residents and tenants in the election. Some of them have been taking part in discussions on different parties' manifestos and their past and present contributions to political life in the UK.
There is also guidance for carers on how to support clients who have a disability or dementia who wish to vote.
