Anglican Retirement Villages, Diocese of Sydney

Anglican Retirement Villages, Diocese of Sydney (ARV) was a not-for-profit public benevolent institution formed in 1959 and owned and operated by the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. Its founding is regarded as placing it among the earliest entities of what is now called retirement or seniors living in Australia. The organisation traced its origins to the efforts of Archbishop Howard Mowll and his wife Dorothy Mowll, who campaigned to provide housing and food for missionaries returning from overseas mission fields who had neither family nor finances to support them in retirement. ARV provided services across Sydney in three broad streams. Community care covered federally and state funded community programs, ARV-funded programs and user-pays programs. Independent living offered managed, secure communities in which seniors could age in place within a supported environment, aiming wherever possible to avoid further moves into more intensive accommodation. Residential care focused on key care needs including dementia, palliative care, rehabilitation and psycho-geriatric care. Underpinning all of these services, ARV developed close working relationships with local Anglican parishes so that chaplaincy and Christian ministry remained visible and accessible throughout the organisation. ARV retained distinctive Christian and social credentials and served some 6,000 people across community care, independent living and assisted living services. Its vision was expressed as "Reaching out, enriching lives and sharing the love of Jesus." The board of Anglican Retirement Villages was appointed by the Archbishop of Sydney and the synod, reflecting the organisation's strong ties to the Diocese, a common mission and a central focus on evangelism. In 2016 ARV merged with Anglicare Sydney, ending its existence as a separate entity and folding its seniors-living and community-care operations into the wider Anglican welfare organisation. Because it was a not-for-profit public benevolent institution rather than a listed company, it had no ticker or public shareholders; it was effectively a church-owned and church-governed enterprise.

Anglican Retirement Villages, Diocese of Sydney (ARV) was formed in 1959 as a not-for-profit public benevolent institution. Its inception date places it among the founding entities of the social service now referred to as retirement or seniors living. The organisation grew out of a cause championed by Archbishop Howard Mowll and his wife Dorothy Mowll, who worked to provide housing and food for missionaries returning from the overseas mission field who had neither family nor finance to support them in retirement. ARV was owned and operated by the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, with which it retained strong ties, including a common mission and a central focus on evangelism. The board of Anglican Retirement Villages was appointed by the Archbishop of Sydney and the synod, giving the Diocese direct governance influence over the organisation. Over its life ARV provided services across Sydney in community care, independent living and residential care. Community care included federal and state funded community programs, ARV funded programs and user-pays funded programs. Independent living involved a number of managed, secure communities for seniors to age in place in, within a supported environment intended to ensure that wherever possible further moves to more intensive accommodation were avoided. Residential care focused on key care needs including dementia, palliative care, rehabilitation and psycho-geriatric care. Underpinning all care services, ARV developed close working relationships with local Anglican parishes to ensure appropriate chaplaincy and Christian ministry services were visible and accessible throughout the organisation. ARV retained its distinctive Christian and social credentials and served some 6,000 people across community care, independent living and assisted living services. Its vision was "Reaching out, enriching lives and sharing the love of Jesus." In 2016 ARV merged with Anglicare Sydney, bringing its operations into the larger Anglican welfare organisation and ending its separate corporate existence.

• 2016

  ARV merges with Anglicare Sydney, ending its separate existence.

• 1959

  Anglican Retirement Villages, Diocese of Sydney is formed as a not-for-profit public benevolent institution.

A Christian, not-for-profit seniors-living and community-care provider owned by the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, with a mission focus on evangelism and parish-linked chaplaincy.

• Community care programs

  Federal and state funded community programs, ARV funded programs and user-pays funded programs.

• Independent living communities

  Managed, secure communities for seniors to age in place within a supported environment, aiming to avoid further moves to more intensive accommodation.

• Residential care

  Care focused on dementia, palliative care, rehabilitation and psycho-geriatric care.

• Chaplaincy and Christian ministry

  Delivered through close working relationships with local Anglican parishes to keep chaplaincy and ministry visible and accessible.

1. 1Anglican Retirement Villages, Diocese of Sydney — Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Anglican Retirement Villages, Diocese of Sydney — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org