Community spirit is what it’s all about | Tenant news

Tenant representative Andy Moody (pictured right) and his neighbours at Headway Court, Tunbridge Wells, have Pam and Michael Munro to thank for their homes.

Andy, who has been a Headway tenant for 25 years, moved in just three years after the scheme was set up in 1995 by Pam and Michael after their son, Nick, survived a head injury.

The couple found there was nowhere for Nick to live, so developed a block of flats to enable people who’d had a head injury to live independently.

The development contains just eight, one-bedroom flats with a kitchen, living room, bedroom, wet room, and a shared garden.

One big family

“I’ve made and lost many good friends throughout my time here, but we’re always one big family,” says Andy, 49, who suffered a brain injury after being hit by a car aged 15, spending three months in a coma.

“It was scary at first to live here by myself permanently, but great to be with people in a similar situation as me. We have great fun and have built a good community spirit.”

For many years, the group hosted events from coffee and cake mornings with raffles to anniversary parties for tenants and the local community.

“We’ve held BBQs in the summer and a variety of events to raise money for our social fund, which allowed us to organise things like a Christmas dinner each year. It brought us together,” says Andy.

Boosting community spirit

Andy only stepped into the role of Tenant Representative last year, and he’s hoping to put the scheme back on the map and boost community spirit.

“The pandemic happened and now everyone has such busy lives with work and social events, so I think people have forgotten we’re here. I believe we’re one of the few independent living properties for people with head injuries in the country, so I want to let people know what we’re doing.

“I want to get us all out, as a team, fundraising again for our social fund, as it not only gets us mixing together, but it gets us amongst the local community, too.”

If you’d like stay up to date with what’s happening at Headway Court, follow their Facebook page.