there’s so much in it - solihull community housing - … · there’s so much in it... better...

For tenants and leaseholders of Solihull Community Housing Spring Edition 2016

There’s so much in it...

Better Living Centre opens forbusiness... Page 5.

Solihull Together - we’re workingwith the council and police... Page 7.

Bloomin’ great! - SolihullNeighbourhoods in Bloom... Page 8.business... Page 5. with the council and police... Page 7. Neighbourhoods in Bloom... Page 8.

Find outmore

on 1

0121 717 1515 (Contact Centre)To get in touch: [email protected]

Tenancycheats willlose home

Two of our properties were served Closure Orders early in theNew Year after evidence of drug dealing was discovered.Ian Roberts, 25, failed to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 14January, having been served with a Closure Order for the flat in MertonHouse, Fordbridge.

There was strong evidence to link the activities at this property with similardrugs related discoveries at a flat in Mansfield House, Chelmsley Wood,home of Mr Roberts’ brother, Jake Herbert.

Closure Orders, obtained under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and PolicingAct 2014, have been served on both properties and no-one is allowed toenter for the next three months, during which time we will apply forpossession of the premises.

Fiona Hughes, Chief of Operations at SCH, said: “These cases demonstratehow effective our working relationship is with Solihull Police as we continueto tackle drug related issues on our estates.

“People should understand that convictions such as these are a breach oftheir tenancy and quite likely will cost them their home.”

Closure Orders help stop drugs activity

The programme highlights the serious problem of tenancyfraud. This is a crime that we are keen to prevent. We willtake action if we discover it at our properties.

There are different types of tenancy fraud. One of themost common is when a property is sub-let, meaningthat the person living there is not the name we haveon our tenancy files.

It is illegal to ‘sublet’ your property in this way.There is a hotline which anyone can ring to reportsuspected tenancy fraud. If the information given leadsto a successful prosecution the person who made thecall will receive £250.

This is a small way of saying thank you as tenancyfraud can cost organisations such as us thousands ofpounds a year.

We recently took part in a BBC TVprogramme called Council HouseCrackdown.

■ The Tenancy FraudHotline is 0800 0288 535.

If you suspect someone of sub-letting theircouncil home call us on 0800 0288 535 oremail [email protected] calls and emails are treated in the strictestconfidence and can be given anonymously

IF YOU HAVE SUSPICIONSYOU MAY GET A REWARDSPEAK OUT

■ Anyone needing help or advice about drugs can visit theSolihull Integrated Addiction Services (SIAS) website atwww.sias-solihull.org.uk or call them on 0121 301 4141.

www.solihullcommunityhousing.org.uk For more contact options see back page... 3

Customer engagement is about sharing information and ideas tomake improvements to the services you receive. Engagement alsogives us a better understanding of customers’ needs and priorities.We are committed to customer engagement and want to make sure everyonehas the opportunity to influence decisions about the management of theirhomes, the area they live in and the services they receive.

To make sure this happens and that we provide a wide range of engagementopportunities, we have a customer engagement strategy which outlines all thedifferent ways people can get involved and therefore influence decisions beingmade. We are currently updating the strategy and in the last newsletter weasked “how do you like to engage with us and what are your top priorities?”

Thank you for all your feedback and comments we will be building them intothe new strategy. The two lucky winners drawn out of the replies receivedwere Jade Johnson from Chelmsley Wood and Lisa Leddington fromKingshurst who both receive a £20 Love to Shop voucher.

What is engagement?

What difference does it make?Every five minutes spent completing a survey, a couple of hours at a HotTopic discussion, an afternoon on a walkabout, or weekly inspections allmake a real impact to the services we offer.

For example last year you contributed to selecting some of the contractorswe use, improvements to the time it takes to let our empty properties,welfare reform, our new website, changes to the contact centre and newpolicies to name just a few. So as you can see whatever time you canspare can make a real difference.

Engagement highlightWe have been looking at the opening times andfunctions of the Contact centre. Customer surveys,a hot topic and work by the Tenant ScrutinyCommittee all contributed to the decision to soonchange the opening hours of our Contact Centre to8am – 6pm Monday to Friday.

Do you want helpto get online?Would you like to improve your digitalskills? Then help is at hand.We are offering our services to help people to getonline. We will be available during April for anyone whoneeds support to make the most of the internet.

If you are interested, contact us and we will arrange a date and venueto suit you.

We are also holding a Hot Topic for people who want to have a go but mightneed some support. The Hot Topic is on 20 April from 6pm – 8pm. Please let usknow if you would like to attend.

Join usfor our nextHot Topic on

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It’s been a busystart to the year!We have been pushing ahead with our major home improvements work. This work, carried out both inside and outside thehome, is helping to make life better for lots of our tenants. Here we highlight just some of the things we’ve been working on.

We work hard to make sure all our properties are of the highest possible standard.Paying your rent on time enables us to carry out important improvements such asthose shown here.

Solihull Independent Living (SIL)SIL make changes to homes to allow peopleto carry on living comfortably at home andstay independent.

SIL is all about making access easier for people.They have also carried out work such as:

• Installing ramps to improve accessoutside the home

• Widening doors to improve accessinside the home

• Installing toilets designed to helpdisabled people

Our SIL team have improved the quality of lifefor hundreds of residents across the borough.

Since Christmas theyhave installed lots ofeasy access showersso people can showersafely in their ownhome.

The modern wetroomallows you to walkstraight in withouthaving to step up intoa bath.

The wetroom walls aretiled and there is evenspace to place a small

water resistant chair if you are unable to standsafely for too long.

We are also able to do work at privately ownedproperties where the owner has been referredto SIL by an Occupational Therapist.

One satisfied customer said: “It used to be verydifficult to take a bath as I had trouble gettingin. The walk-in shower makes things mucheasier for me and I’m overjoyed with it.”

All the people we have helped have beendelighted with this improvement to theirbathroom. They can now continue to live intheir own homes safely.

Improving homes

We are always trying to improve the standard ofour homes and we have been busy fitting brandnew kitchens in a number of our properties.

One happy tenant told us: “My old kitchenhad got a little bit tired looking and some ofthe handles on the cupboards were loose.My new kitchen is fantastic and I’m reallythrilled with it.”

Warmer homesWe have been continuing our first year ofexternal wall insulation work across morethan 200 low rise properties. This work,partially funded by eco funding, is set tofinish on time this month.

The external wall insulation will make thesehomes much warmer and more economicalto heat.

The properties also take on a cleaner andfresher appearance helping to boost the‘kerb appeal’ of the area.

“

”

You have done amarvellous job in makingour neighbourhood lookbrighter and moreattractive. The work tookplace during someappalling weather butwas still completed aspromised on time. Thehomes are definitelywarmer and moreeconomical to heat.Happy local resident


Residents now feel connectedIn our Winter newsletter we told you about agreat project where iPads were going to begiven to our tenants.This was thanks to the Quality of Life CharitableTrust who use modern technology to help olderand vulnerable people stay connected with friendsand family.

Early in the New Year we handed out 12 of the iPadsand members of our Safe and Sound team have beenkeeping in regular touch with them to make sure theyare able to gain the most benefit from them.

The iPads are ‘4G’ which means users can go onlinewithout the need for a home internet connection.All the costs are being met by the Quality of LifeCharitable Trust.

One delighted user told us how they are now able tosee and speak to their relatives on the iPad by using‘Face Time’. Another user is now able to send andreceive emails while another is using Skype to keepin touch with friends.

We’re delighted that the iPads have been so wellreceived.

Better Living Centre meets allyour needsThe Better Living Centre features a ‘demonstration home’ where visitors can testout gadgets which could help them to lead more independent lives.

The Better Living Centre, at Elmdon Trading Estate, features a kitchen, living room,bathroom and bedroom where people can try out a wide range of equipment.There is also a working stairlift, specialist furniture and gadgets that make dailytasks such as preparing food and drink easier.

There’s even a handy device for stirring your tea!

The Better Living Centre is also the new home for the Community Equipment andWheelchair Service and the Gadgets Team.

The centre provides assistance to anyone regardless of their financial situation –some people may be eligible for support to purchase equipment whilst others willbe offered advice about buying their own.

Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Glenis Slater, who officially opened the centre, said:“The centre offers everything under one roof,making it much easier for people to get theadvice and practical solutions that they need tosupport their daily lives or recover from illness,injury or ongoing health problems.”

Fiona Hughes, Chief of Operations at SCH, added:“We’re delighted to be involved with this greatcentre that is going to improve the quality of livesfor people across Solihull.

“By bringing all these products and innovationsunder one roof, the Better Living Centre is theideal one-stop shop for vulnerable or disabledpeople.”

The Better Living Centre is open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm at Unit 4, Elmdon Trading Estate, BickenhillLane, Solihull B37 7HE. There’s no need to makean appointment, just turn up.

■ For more information visit:www.solihull.mylifeportal.co.uk/betterlivingcentre or phone 0121 329 0909.

We have been working in partnership with Solihull Council tocreate a new centre of excellence to support independent living.

■ Members of our Safe and Sound team at theopening of the Better Living Centre

■ The bedroom with a variety ofuseful gadgets and aids

■ Councillor Ken Meeson, Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing,the Mayor of Solihull, Mrs Glenis Slater, Councillor Karen Grinsell,Cabinet Portfolio Holder - Stronger Communities & Partnershipsand Fiona Hughes, Chief of Operations at SCH


That’s why our vision to ‘put our customersfirst, be forward thinking and pursueopportunities for growth’ remains at theheart of all we do.

Our new Equality and Diversity Policy helps us to:

• Go the extra mile• Find solutions to problems• Work as one team for the communityThis means understanding your needs andworking flexibly as far as possible in the waywe deliver services.

Knowing about the diversity of our customershelps us to run more efficiently, deliver morefor less and build new homes.

Listening to residents, and working inpartnership with other organisations, helps usto make our estates and neighbourhoodsplaces where diversity is valued and a senseof belonging is created.

In January 2016 we published a report showinghow we ‘put ourselves in your shoes’. The fullreport is available on the equality and diversitypage on the website and a copy is availableon request.

Here is the kind of information you will find inthe report.

Solihull Community Housing promotes fairness andvalues differences.

Meet needs of childrenMr and Mrs B have a young son who hassevere physical disabilities. Adapting theirhome means that the family can continue tolive in their current home and the child’sschooling is not affected.

Prevent homelessnessMr X, aged 17 had left home. We arrangedmediation between him and his family toprevent Mr X from becoming homeless.

Keep people ‘safe and sound’Mr M has age-related dementia and isprone to leaving his front door open.‘Assistive Technology’ means that an alarmis raised if Mr M leaves his door open for anunusual length of time.

During extreme weather conditions wetelephone people aged 75+ to ensure thatthey have the basic necessities.

Age 39% of tenants report disabilities, the mostcommon being mobility problems.

Dealing with mental healthMr L has a mental health condition andwas threatened with homelessness dueto non-payment of rent. Following anassessment we placed him in temporaryaccommodation and helped him to get thecorrect benefits. With our support thebenefits were back dated meaning that heno longer had to stay in temporaryaccommodation.

Speedily provide minor adaptationsMrs B has arthritis. Fitting lever taps in herkitchen and bathroom has made it easierfor her to use the taps.

Ensure safety firstMr P is hard of hearing. Fitting a specialalarm with flashing lights means that hewould be able to see that the alarm hadgone off in his home.

Disabilities65% of heads of households and jointtenants are women and 35% are men.Domestic abuseMs B left home as a result of an abusiverelationship. She had no possessions,money or food. She was unable to visit ouroffice which is near the home she wasfleeing from. We arranged to meet her awayfrom the area to protect her.

We work in partnership with organisationssuch as Women’s Aid who can givespecialist support and advice to peoplefleeing domestic abuse.

Preventing homelessnessThe amount of Housing Benefit payable to atenant with six dependent children, living inprivately rented housing, had beensignificantly reduced due to change incircumstances. As a result, the tenant wasleft with large arrears and was at the risk ofbeing evicted. We supported the tenant toassess her income and expenditure andworked with the Council to obtain aDiscretionary Housing Benefit payment toreduce the arrears. As a result, the threat ofa single mother with children becominghomeless was lifted.

Gender

is about all of us

EthnicityWhat we know about our customers.82% are White British, English, Scottish or Welsh

2% are White Irish

2% are of mixed heritage

5% are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic origin

9% prefer not to say


Solihull TogetherWe recently took part in a pilot project with Solihull Police and Solihull Council inwhich all three groups worked closely together to benefit local communities.

Based in Hob’s Moat police station the pilot saw employees from the threepartners meeting on a daily basis in Local Problem Solving briefings to tacklekey community concerns. As a result they understood the area better andwere able to deal with local issues far more quickly and effectively.

The pilot has been so successful it is now being rolled out across the borough.The Solihull Integration project has five new teams, each focussing on differentareas of the borough.

This involves officers from the police, the council and ourselves having regularjoint Local Problem Solving briefings to focus on the issues in their patch. Overtime all the teams will work from shared offices.

The map shows the new areas that the teams cover. The areas havebeen designed to ensure teams have the resources to deal with knownlevels of demand.

Alongside this area focused work there is increased borough-wide jointworking between the Council’s Regulatory services (licensing, tradingstandards, etc) and neighbourhood teams and the Solihull Police.

Police -101SolihullCommunityHousing –0121 717 1515Solihull Council -0121 704 8000

■ Anne Bettison - Licensing Team Leader, PCSO Deborah Sale,Annie Masters - Neighbourhood Coordinator and MarcusCrockett from Solihull Community Housing talk with LucyBurnham from Luxe hair design, on Hobs Moat High Street.

■ PC Luke Prescott and Janette Hand of Solihull’slicencing team with taxi driver Sajid Hussain during ajoint operation to ensure taxis are road worthy andthat drivers have the proper licences and are chargingthe correct fees.

You can still make contact withthe three groups in the usualway (numbers below). The newway of working will just meanissues raised locally will beproblem solved by the threeorganisations working together.

Smith’s Wood /Kingshurst /Castle Bromwich

Lyndon / ElmdonOlton / Silhill(LEOS)

Solihull /Shirley

Ruralteam

Smith’s Wood /Kingshurst /Castle Bromwich

Lyndon / ElmdonOlton / Silhill(LEOS)

Solihull /Shirley

Ruralteam

Chelmsley WoodPartnership Plusarea (includingFordbridge)


Solihull Neighbourhoods in Bloomset to spark a floral feast!

If so, then why not enter this year’s SolihullNeighbourhoods in Bloom competition?

The annual event is a firmly established highlight of thelocal summer calendar, right up there with Wimbledonand strawberries and cream!

The competition is run jointly by ourselves, SolihullCouncil, Chelmsley Wood Town Council and FordbridgeTown Council.

There are lots of categories, the ones exclusively for SCHtenants are:

• Best Garden - Solihull• Best Garden – Chelmsley Wood, Fordbridge

and Marston Green

• Best Garden – Kingshurst,Smith’s Wood and Castle Bromwich

• Disabled Gardener• Champion Gardener• Chairman’s Flower of the Year – GeraniumsFurther information about this year’s competition, alongwith an application form, can be found on our website.

If you are not online and would like to enter just giveus a call on 0121 717 1515 and we’ll post you anapplication form.

The closing date for entries is 10 June 2016.All our winners will be invited to a specialpresentation evening later in the year.

Does your garden draw gasps of admiration from your neighbours?Or have you got hanging baskets that are the envy of your road?

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Paying your rent is the mostimportant bill you payIf your rent account is clear by April 3 you willalso automatically be entered into our annualprize draw, with a prize of £500.

The money we receive from rent goes intoproviding things such as repairs andimprovements to your home.

Call us on 0121 717 1515 if you need:• Help with clearing your arrears

• Information on the different ways to pay

• Help in managing your money better

• Discussing payment options

Not paying your rent means:

• You could lose your home

• Your credit rating will suffer

• We do not have enough money tocarry out repairs

In December we held our annual Christmas draw.Our four winners (pictured below), all with clearrent accounts, each received £250 in time to helppay for some extra mince pies!

If you can clear any rent arrears by 3 April you’ll be entered into our Spring prize draw. You could win £200!

■ We will take action if you fall into rentarrears. Ultimately this could result inyou losing your home. If you are havingdifficulty paying your rent please callus on 0121 717 1515.

Work starts on new Kingshurst housing■ Follow us on Facebook

to see more pictures ofthis project.

The work is taking place in Oakthorpe Drive in Kingshurst,which was a garage site for many years.

However, with the garages now in poor condition andunderused the decision was taken to replace them withseven two-bedroom houses.

The work is being carried out by Midlands developers JessupBros and the development has received a £160,000 grantfrom the Homes and Communities Agency.

The work is scheduled to finish in September.


Microchip law ispaws for thoughtAre you a dog owner? If so do you know that it will soon belaw to have your dog fitted with a microchip?From 6 April any dog owners who have not had their dogmicrochipped face possible fines of up to £500.

Normally you have to pay a vet to fit a microchip in your dog but wewill do this for you for free.

Our team of fully trained staff hold regular microchip fitting sessionsat venues across the borough, often at one of our community halls.

Benefits of having your dog microchipped include:

• A permanent method of ID thatstays with your dog for life

• Dogs with microchips can beeasily identified and reunitedwith their owners if they arelost or stolen

■ Look out for news of our futuredog microchip events on ourFacebook page and website.

Every year a number of our properties areabandoned when tenants leave without tellingus. Sometimes they do this because they arebehind with their rent.It is important you tell us if you are struggling orthinking of leaving your home.

Our Sustainable Tenancy team can offer you helpto stay in your home if this is what you want to do.If you plan to move away we can explain thecondition in which you need to leave the propertyfor the next tenant.

Unfortunately around 45% of properties are left in apoor standard. We are keen to reduce this as:

• We have the cost of making the property suitableagain for a new occupier

• We lose important rental income during theperiod a property is empty

• Other teams are affected as resources aretaken from them

If you leave your property in a bad state you will becharged for the cost of getting your old home up tothe required standard. It could also result in atransfer being cancelled.

If you move away from Solihull but then return inthe future we will not be able to re-home you if youleft your previous property in poor condition or didnot pay any fees we sent you.

If you wish to end your tenancy you must give us aminimum 28 days’ notice.

Don’t abandon your homeWe now have a Sustainable Tenancy team to help tenants continue living in their home.

Housing help forthe Armed Forces

If you serve in the Armed Forces, suitablehousing is often provided for you and yourfamily. However, when people leave, findingthe right place to live can prove difficult.To show support for those who have servedtheir country the Government created theArmed Forces Community Covenant (AFCC).

This brings together military and voluntarygroups to work together to make sure that former members ofthe Armed Forces, injured servicemen and bereaved families aretreated fairly and receive appropriate levels of support.

The local Community Covenant was created in 2012. It issupported by all local authorities, the NHS and Service charitiessuch as the Royal British Legion.

We support the AFCC which enables us to give high priority toformer Service personnel wanting a home in this borough.

A newsletter to raise awareness of the AFCC has just beenlaunched and you can download a copy atwww.warwickshire.gov.uk/afccnews.

■ For more information about the Community Covenantor to see how you can support their work visitwww.warwickshire.gov.uk/armedforcescommunitycovenant or email [email protected]

Organisations with a connection to the Armed Forces can applyfor financial support from the Covenant Fund. KingshurstAcademy did this, receiving £30,000 for the provision of a ‘LowRopes’ challenge zone as part of the Academy’s £250,000development of an Outdoor Education and Adventure Centre.

Benefits of having your dog microchipped include:

Get your dog microchipped at

Auckland Hall on24 March 2016from 9.30am to 12.30pm.Call to book an appointmentor just turn up.

■ If you would like to speak to a memberof the Sustainable Tenancy team pleasephone 0121 717 1515.


Since starting up their own keep fit classtwo years ago things have come on inleaps and bounds for the residents ofRedwood House – literally!The club members meet in their owncommunity room where they stretch, bend andmove to a lively soundtrack of popular hits.

The twice weekly workouts are carefullyorganised and supervised by former fitnessinstructor Cindy, a Redwood House residentherself.

Staying fit and healthy is important to theresidents and the fitness class helps them todo this. They even proudly wear their ownRedwood House Keep Fit Class t-shirts whenCindy is putting them through their paces.

Many of the regulars have had less need tovisit the doctor since they got more physical,reporting fewer aches and pains.

A number of the residents also join in withRedwood’s weekly line dancing class.

There are plenty of other fun activities tokeep the residents of the Kingshurst high riseentertained including bingo, film nights andscrabble sessions.

Saturday night is usually a fish and chipsupper for the social club members. But thehealth conscious keep fit residents can enjoya treat… they’re back in training with Cindyon Sundays!

Cindy’s got them alljumping at Redwood!

A number of the Redwood House residents are very talented knitters.They knit amazing cuddly dolls which they donate to local churches to be used asprizes in fundraising events. So even when the ladies are sitting down they’re stillexercising their hands!

Tight Knit community

Starting a residents group is easy to do. Get intouch and we can help you get started with adviceand support. Just call us on 0121 717 1515.

If you would like this newsletter in another language, large print, or on a CD, please contact us on 0121 717 151512

FrenchSi vous en voulez un exemplaire dece bulletin aux locataires dans votrelangue, en gros caractères ou enformat audio, contactez nous au0121 717 1515.

Farsi Pushto

Phone: 0121 717 1515Website: www.solihullcommunityhousing.org.uk

Email: [email protected]

Freepost RLSS-UEBA-RTUZSolihull Community HousingEndeavour HouseMeriden DriveSolihull B37 6BX

Typetalk: 18001 0121 717 1515

Text: 07781 474 722

To get in touch:

Protecting your personal information: We promise only to use your information strictly within the Data Protection Act 1998. If you supply your email address we will use it to contact you in the future.

www.facebook.com/solihullcommunityhousing

twitter.com/@solihullhousing

Kids spot the difference winners

Find me and winWin £25 in shopping vouchers!Find our hidden yellow fuzzy bug on one of the pages in this newsletter.Email your answer, name and address to [email protected] by Friday 29 April 2016.

We will put all correct entries into a prize draw - if your entry is picked, you're the winner.

Please note we will use your email address to contact you in the future.

Winners names will be published online and in the next issue.

What page canyou find me on?

Spot the difference: Can you tell us how many differences there are in the pictures above, you could win one of four £10 gift vouchers.Once you have all the differences, send your answer with your contact details to: Newsletter Competition, Solihull Community Housing,Endeavour House, Meriden Drive, Solihull B37 6BX or email your entry to [email protected] date: Friday 29 April 2016.

Kids Competition: Spot the difference

Winners fromthe last issueMany Congratulations.

Find the bug competition winner• Angela Adams from Shirley

• Danielle McCann from Smith’s Wood• Demi Lucas from Chelmsley Wood• Alisha Grigg from Chelmsley Wood• CJ Nicklin from Kingshurst

Winners

Resource Housing Reg. No. 2111

there’s so much in it - solihull community housing - … · there’s so much in it... better...

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