A RESIDENTIAL care home for adults with enduring mental illness will open its doors to the public on June 17 between 10am and noon, as part of the National Care Home Open Day.

Syrian House, on Sandiway Road in Sale, is operated by national adult social care charity Making Space and supports up to 17 residents.

Manager Mimi Popa is keen for people to drop in and see the warm, welcoming atmosphere in the home.

“Care homes only receive media attention when they’re not performing well, but for the majority of them the reality couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Mimi.

“Syrian House is such a lovely place to live and work, and we really want to encourage people to come and see for themselves. For anyone who may be looking at an admission in the future, for them or a family member, we can put their minds at rest that it isn’t a bad thing. They can come and look around and see how happy our residents are, and the opportunities that they get here that they may not otherwise have had. Even if you’re not immediately affected by a care home experience, we’d still love you to come and see what we do here and how we contribute to the community.”

The Care Home Open Day is now in its fourth year, and this is the third time Syrian House has opened its doors to the public. Each year is themed, and this year’s theme is celebration – something Mimi and her staff are very keen to get involved with.

“This theme is perfect for us, because every day we celebrate our home, our residents and our staff,” she says. “People have this impression that care homes are institutionalised places that you can’t leave, and that have strict rules; it’s simply not true. Our residents have choices and opportunities; they learn new skills and make lifelong friends.

“We place a great deal of importance on finding out as much about each individual as we can so we can be sure that they are able to continue to do things they enjoy. Every person is different, and we respect that – we don’t impose group activities, we encourage our residents to be independent and support them to do so. People tell us that their quality of life has been vastly improved by being here, and that’s definitely something to celebrate.”

Visitors to Syrian House will be free to look around the home, chat to residents and staff and find out more about day to day life. Information about volunteering opportunities will also be available.

Thousands of care homes across the UK take part in the National Care Home Open Day each year, welcoming the public and arranging events and activities that help to create lasting links between care home residents and their local communities.

The event aims to show people what excellent care homes are really about and how they can be at the centre of local communities, developing relationships across generations.

To find out more, and see a list of all participating homes, go to www.carehomeopenday.org.uk