Our history

Our journey started on the 21st of January 1949 when Hornchurch Urban District Council Old Peoples Welfare Committee was formed.

Our first social and recreational centre for older people was opened in the old Army Hut in Billet Lane. The club was the first of it’s kind in the district of Hornchurch.

We started a mobile Chiropody service that would travel to the older people in the local area. Today we still have a nail care service that offers both home appointments and appointments in clinics throughout Havering.

We celebrated our 10th birthday and changed our name to the Havering Old Peoples Welfare Association as we found we were helping the wider community. We also started a ‘new building fund’ with the hope we would be able to help even more people.

The BBC wanted to broadcast on the subject of ‘The loneliness of old people and how to combat it’ and members of the association assisted in the broadcast. Tackling social isolation and loneliness is still at the heart of what we do today at Tapestry.

Finally on March the 27th the official opening of the ‘new building’ arrived and it was appropriately named HOPWA House. We still have the building today and is now the site of our South Havering Hub.

The kitchen at HOPWA was serving luncheon on a daily basis for up to 40 people and helping to prepare food for the boroughs ‘meals on wheels’ service. Healthy nutritional food is still very much an integral part of our services. We provide lunch daily at our Hub’s, with a takeout option, and meal preparation forms part of our home care solutions.

HOPWA became Age Concern Havering. In this year, 28,000 people attended HOPWA House for lunch; the kitchen provided 22,570 meals on wheels and we brought 7,580 housebound older people to HOPWA House to be included in the activities

We officially started our Transport Service running 2 vehicles. Today the fleet consist of 5 fully adapted mini-buses which provide transport to otherwise housebound older people to attend our community hubs.

We started our Dementia Services in the borough. We still run the Dementia Advisory Service for the borough commissioned by the Clinical Commissioning Group.

Volunteers started running a Befriending Service with the aim of alleviating loneliness and social isolation to over 60’s living alone. This was a great success and we still have our befriending service today run entirely by volunteers. Volunteers are a vital part of our organisation and we are so grateful to them for everything they do.

In 2006 we opened another community hub at Paines Brook Court in Harold Hill. We run a day care service and provide healthy nutritional meals to our daycare clients and residents of Paines Brook Court.

In 2010 we launched our Home Care services with a vision of promoting independence and allowing people to stay in their own homes for longer.

In 2013 we became Tapestry. The first thing people ask us is ‘why are you called Tapestry?’. The meaning behind our brand is actually very simple. We look at the services we offer, our clients, their carers and extended support system as single strands of thread and when you weave them together they create a complete Tapestry of care.

In 2019 we will be celebrating our 70th birthday in style!!