A light-touch approach to social value
Arena Partnership’s Alan Marshall has had many conversations with community teams over recent months and found a common view about evaluating the social impact of support and regeneration programmes.
News Tracker: 03 Dec 2015
Red Kite wants more feedback and quicker
Red Kite Community Housing is adopting a new approach to gathering customer feedback and has signed a two-year deal with Arena Partnership to help deliver it.
[caption id="attachment_1878" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Neil Venables of Red Kite and Alan Marshall of Arena signing a two-year partnership agreement[/caption]
News Tracker: 13 Nov 2015
Why the #ManOnTheMoon advert is relevant to social housing landlords
John Lewis released their eagerly awaited Christmas advert last week, once again taking social media by storm, clocking up an impressive 23,000 online mentions in just two hours (Mail Online). The advert tells the story of a young girl called Lily who brings Christmas joy to a lonely old man living on the moon by finally being able to send him a gift from earth. The advert will undoubtedly be a success for the retail giant however how well will the underlying message be listened to?
News Tracker: 02 Nov 2015
Getting ready for Housing Day
Housing providers and tenants across the country are currently gearing up to promote Housing Day 2015 (18th November). The focus of the day is to share stories of why tenants are proud to live in their homes and communities, aiming to counteract some of the bad press and stigma that has plagued the sector. By putting tenants and their personal stories at the heart of #HousingDay a new more positive narrative can be built. The campaign has borrowed the simple ‘Proud to be a Tenant’ campaign from Berneslai Homes and given it a national platform.
News Tracker: 19 Oct 2015
Helping tenants to #getonline
From 12-18 October, community organisations took part in . Housing associations took up the gauntlet of supporting tenants with learning digital skills, ensuring that they are confident with a range of online activities, such as applying for jobs and setting up e-mail accounts.
News Tracker: 12 Oct 2015
Reactions to Right-to-Buy
Following a vote on 2 October, the majority of housing associations across the UK have signed up to housing minister Greg Clark's proposal of a voluntary deal on extending right-to-buy. Red Kite announced that they would be voting against the proposal, and Philip Glanville, cabinet member for housing at Hackney council, also voiced his concerns, saying that right-to-buy will 'wreck [their] plans for truly affordable homes.' Click here to read Jennie Ferrigno, Chairman of Red Kite Community Housing's reaction.
PM's 'assault' on poverty
The Prime Minister spoke at the Conservative Party Conference last week of a proposed 'all-out assault' on tackling the root causes of poverty. He said he wanted to combat 'deep social problems' in order to increase social mobility, introducing 'dramatic' planning reforms to increase home ownership. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published its reaction to the speech in a response from Chief Executive Julia Unwin, who emphasized that 'solving the social housing crisis is critical' in achieving this goal. To read the full response, click here.
Celebrating happy homes
The positives of social housing can sometimes be overlooked as the media focuses on issues such as supply crises. There are so many upsides to a cohesive community supported by landlords working closely with tenants - this has been showcased in an article by Guardian Housing, celebrating the best examples of social housing. Readers have contributed their thoughts and images of a range of amenities from city apartments to colourful communal gardens. Take a look at some of the stunning photos and personal stories of how great social housing can enhance personal relationships and build communities.
News Tracker: 05 Oct 2015
Help for hoarding tenants
Last month saw a busy three days for The National Housing Federation at their Annual Conference and Housing Exhibition in Birmingham. In one session, the Chartered Institute of Housing initiated a discussion on ways that landlords are tackling the problem of vulnerable . In order to address the issue and to support housing associations, the CIH has produced a free ‘how to’ guide on tackling hoarding – download your copy .
