ONE of Wiltshire’s leading care providers is launching a campaign to help residents living in its care homes have their say in this year’s General Election.

The Orders of St John Care Trust's (OSJCT) Your Vote Counts initiative is being run across its 19 county care homes and will set out to proactively encourage residents to vote during the May 7 election.

The trust runs Bemerton Lodge, Stratford Court and Willowcroft in Salisbury as well as Buckland Court in Amesbury.

OSJCT strategy director Sara Livadeas said: “Older people living in care homes are too often ignored when it comes to the democratic process.

“This can’t be right and we’re determined to change it.

“That’s why we’re launching this innovative campaign to make sure all our residents are supported and empowered to have their say at this election.

“We are working in partnership with the Electoral Commission to make certain that every one of our residents is properly registered before the April deadline.

“We don’t want our residents to ‘disappear’ from the electoral registers through lack of access or information.”

The care provider is planning to host in-home debates and discussions, inviting key players on all sides of the political campaigns.

Robin Khokhar, OSJCT assistant operations director for Wiltshire, added: “Our homes are each part of their local communities and this gives us another opportunity to invite people from different walks of life in to discuss some of the issues with our residents and encourage an exchange of views.

“Everyone’s vote is important and we’ll be doing our utmost to make sure our residents are able to have their say too.”

As part of the campaign, the care provider will help residents get to polling stations to place their vote on Election Day.

The OSJCT, established in 1991, is a charity sponsored by the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Venerable Order of St John.