Celebrating 50 years of aiding independent living in Angus

Blackwood, which runs Dorward Gardens in Montrose, is celebrating 50 years of helping people to live independently.

Since 1972, Blackwood has been providing specialist homes and services aimed at maximising independent living – with innovation being a key driving force.

Now the company, which operates Dorward Gardens along with other properties in Angus, has services across 28 local authority areas, will be hosting a bumper calendar of activities, events and projects for staff, customers, stakeholder and the wider community during 2022.

Julie McDowell, Blackwood’s chairperson, said: “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.

A range of activities and events will mark the anniversary.

“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 throughout the year include community events, bucket list challenges, podcasts and many more.

With the pandemic limiting social interaction over the past two years, chief executive Fanchea Kelly is looking forward to bringing the Blackwood community together.

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.

The housing and care sector has gone through a tremendous change since we started. We want to ensure Blackwood is at the forefront of what the next 50 years will bring.”