Pennine Communities Federation of
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5 Lister Court |
The Federation has two new member associations, Elland Lane (Elland) and Travis House (Todmorden). Unfortunately, both are having a few housing problems which we hope we can help them resolve or at the very least offer them support.
At our last Federation meeting on Wednesday 30th April both TA's were able to ask questions about their issues directly to Tom Miskell, Trans-Pennine Chief Executive and, in order to help us understand their issues, we have organised a View Day on June 4th to visit both estates and to also look at some of the new housing developments which Pennine Housing have recently built.
All groups should have received information about the View Day, if not get in touch with the Tenant Involvement Workers on 01422 284518.
Secretary Wanted
Sue Molineux, our Secretary, has moved away from Calderdale so we're looking for someone to take her place.
At the next meeting we are hoping to appoint a replacement Secretary. If you are interested please come along to the meeting and let us know.
Community Development Training Opportunities
Marilyn Sutcliffe, Adult Learning Calderdale Council, came to the last Federation meeting with information about three new Community Development courses they are now running.
Community Development Skills
Accredited course lasting 10hours which helps develop an understanding of community development work
Certificate in Community Development
Much more intensive course lasting one or two years (1 or 2 mornings per week). The course covers:
Practice and Principles in Community
Development Work
Social Justice
Identifying Needs in Communities
Organising and Managing Projects
Community Development Monitoring & Evaluation
There is also a short 5 hour non-accredited course which covers setting up and growing your group, Knowing Your Community, Making It Work, Support & Resources for groups
Additionally, there is also a wide range of other courses available including:
Fundraising activities
Creative art
Festive stalls
Community cafes
Personal development
Food Safety
Local and family history
Newsletters and publicity
For more information contact Marilyn Sutcliffe on 01422 392820
Mystery shopping is an effective method of testing the working practices of an organisation from the viewpoint of the customers. It involves a group of trained individuals posing as customers who run through pre-determined scenarios, either face-to-face, by telephone or e-mail, to test if the landlord's services are being delivered to the required standard.
Mystery shopping is different from customer satisfaction surveys in that it explores the actual customer experience at a snapshot in time (rather than asking customers for their views retrospectively) and records specific details of that particular experience.
Pennine Housing already has some experience of Mystery Shopping, the Federation carried out some un-announced exercises in receptions and Housing Offices but the Tenant Involvement Team want to develop Mystery Shopping further and set up a project group, involving tenants, to manage the project.
The Tenant Involvement Section will shortly be advertising and recruiting tenants who are unknown to front line housing staff. Potential 'Mystery Shoppers' will be assessed and training will be given to successful candidates.
Initially it is proposed to recruit a pool of tenants from Calderdale, Rossendale and Sheffield by advertising the opportunity to all Trans Pennine tenants. Tenants would not normally be expected to mystery shop their own local housing service, therefore it will be easier for them to be impartial and their anonymity should be protected. Longer term it might be possible to broaden the scope of the mystery shopping project by pooling resources with other landlords, e.g. through Synergy.
Prior to formally advertising for 'mystery shoppers' a number of pilot 'mystery shops' will be carried out by known activists from Calderdale and Sheffield. They will be looking at Green Vale Homes services to help them prepare for their forthcoming Audit Commission inspection.
Mystery Shopping is not about catching anyone out but about raising standards and identifying any issues which can then be tackled through training.
For more information contact: Val Morris 01422 284517
Fire Safety in Flats
Bert Swaine, TARA Support Group Convenor, has been in contact with the West Yorkshire Fire Service who have confirmed that they have advised Pennine Housing to remove items (including door mats, Christmas decorations, etc) from communal areas in blocks of flats in order to protect tenants in the event of fire.
Jack Riley, Fire Safety Officer is happy to come along to Tenants Association meetings to discuss any concerns tenants have with the advice.
Margaret Coupe, Jon Morton, Ruth Rider, Audrey Waterhouse and Marilyn Webb are going to attend the TPAS Annual Conference in August.
The weekend conference provides an opportunity for delegates to find out what is happening in the housing world which could impact on Pennine tenants in the future.
It's also a great opportunity to meet tenants from other parts of the country and find out what's happening in their areas.
This is a new Chartered Institute of Housing initiative designed to recognise the achievements of tenants & residents who are actively engaged in community activities.
It acknowledges that by working in their community, people acquire skills, knowledge and competence which remain largely unacknowledged. ALfR seeks to redress this by creating a qualification framework which awards NVQ's at levels 23 & 4 in recognition for skills and knowledge gained.
Housing/Tenant Involvement staff will be trained to become 'recognisers' and they will be able to assess when people have reached a certain skills level. This means that the scheme participants don't have to go on lengthy training courses to have their efforts recognised.
Trans-Pennine Housing is going to be signing up for the scheme and they will be able to train up to ten members of staff to act as recognisers.
For more information contact: Val Morris on 01422 284517.
Involving Young People Conference
Unfortunately, the Involving Young People event scheduled to take place on the 19th April 2008 had had to be cancelled because of lack of support from Federation member TARA's.
There was quite a bit of interest from tenants from other parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire but not much from Calderdale, Sheffield and Rossendale. This is a real shame when we constantly hear people complaining that they can't get young people involved in their activities!
Members are reminded of the need to consider whether they really think something is a good idea or appropriate before voting in favour of a proposal.
A lot of time, money and effort had gone into organising the event and it was really disappointing when delegates who had voted in favour of the proposal did not commit to attending the event.
There have been a number of other occasions when delegates have committed to doing something and then backed out at the last minute, this is a considerable waste of rent payers money.
It is a requirement of the Housing Corporation that Housing Associations have a Gender Equality Action Plan in place by April 2008. It is one of six equality and diversity themes. The plan must show what actions are being taken with regard to ensuring that services do not discriminate against men or women. Within the Trans-Pennine plan actions have been grouped under headings which make sense of what is happening across the Trans-Pennine group.
These deal with:
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A copy of the draft plan was circulated to all TARA's in April. If anyone has any comments about the Action Plan they should contact Iris O'Donnell, telephone 01422 348041, in her capacity as Diversity Champion and she will pass them on to Pennine Housing
Chartered Institute of Housing Conference 2008
All TARAs should now have received their invites for the
Institute of Housing Conference on
Wednesday, 18th June 2008
Please make sure you book your place by Monday, 2nd June
Ring Tentant Involvement on 01422 284 609
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