East Thames Focus January 2011

WINTER 2011

ISSUE 16

focus EAST THAMES

More than a housing association

Reaching the Decent Homes target See Page 2

TOP STORIES >> Success at the Winsor Park Workplace Hub

Our new resident involvement approach

Helping our residents lead healthy lives

Our one stop employment service, based at Winsor Park's community centre is getting great results less than a year after opening.

We're introducing a new resident involvement approach to encourage more residents to have their say on the way we work and the services we provide.

We have a number of projects on the go that address healthy lifestyles and sustainable living for our residents and the wider community.

020 8522 2000 | www.east-thames.co.uk

Making a positive and lasting contribution to the neighbourhoods in which we work

Reaching the Decent Homes target

A new kitchen on the Ocean Estate in Tower Hamlets East Thames is pleased to report that 99.9% of our homes now meet the Decent Homes Standard.

We’ve worked hard over the last six years to make improvements to our stock, in line with the Government’s Decent Homes programme for social landlords.

Since the project started in 2005, we’ve invested £37m making improvements to around 3,000 of our homes.

We have replaced kitchens and bathrooms; provided new loft and cavity wall insulation and central heating; upgraded electrics; and made improvements to the external fabric of buildings with new windows and roofs.

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But the work’s not over yet. The standard is based on the age and condition of facilities and services such as kitchens, bathrooms and heating. As our properties get older, we will continue to invest and improve them to maintain this standard for our residents in the future.

There are also around 60 homes that still require Decent Homes work which we haven’t carried out because tenants have refused access. These homes will be addressed as and when the tenants move out.

But the good news is that 99.9% of our residents now live in a Decent Home!

What is the Decent Homes Standard?

The Decent Homes Standard is a government programme of improvement works to homes owned by social landlords.

Social landlords were given until the end of 2010 to ensure their homes were free from serious hazard; were in a good state of repair; and had reasonably modern facilities, effective insulation and efficient heating.

Excellent results from out Winsor Park Workplace Hub

Maureen Reynolds has been an East Thames residents for over 20 years. In December 2010, East Thames carried out work to Maureen’s ground floor flat, to bring it up to the Government’s Decent Homes Standard.

East Thames sent along contractors Higgins, to replace the windows and tile and paint the bathroom. The work took about one week and Maureen couldn’t be happier with the results.

She said: “They tiled and painted my bathroom and it went absolutely fantastically.

They did a really good job.

They also replaced my windows which were really old. The new windows have made such a difference. It’s quieter now and the difference in the heat is unreal. I used to have my central heating on all day and it cost a fortune but now I’m warm at home. It’s saving me money, I can see it already from the gas bills.

“Higgins, the company who did the work, were brilliant. Their supervisors and managers kept checking the work was being done properly and the workmen themselves were able to do the work with no fuss, they just got on with their job.”

In May 2010 East Thames opened the doors to its employment services hub right in the heart of the community. Less than a year on and the hub is already a huge success.

Based in Winsor Park’s community centre, the Hub is a one stop employment service aimed at both local East Thames residents and the wider community. It offers a personalised service, developing a route to work that best suits the skills, needs and goals of the individual.

A key feature unique to this service is a dedicated employment broker, who works with local businesses to source new employment opportunities and provide a vital link between the resident and potential employer.

The service also includes careers advice, CV writing, interview skills, job searches, free training courses, work experience and professional networking with employers.

Newham Council selected East Thames to deliver the large employment service, with the aim of engaging with and advising 600 unemployed Newham residents over three years.

Less than a year into the project, the Hub has already engaged with

over 300 local people, half way to delivering its three year target.

Asia Khatun is one of the residents who has used the service. Asia is a full time carer for her mum and was looking for flexible employment to ensure she was still able to fulfil her caring duties. Once she registered with the Newham Workplace Hub, two opportunities became available.

Asia was successful at securing both jobs, and impressed the employers so much that they agreed to offer flexible working hours to suit her schedule.

She said: “I quickly found out from my first visit that I would get more focused, one-to-one support (at the Hub) than other organisations I’d been to.

“The staff at the Hub called me in to prepare for my interviews and they were really thorough, covering everything that might be asked at interview, giving me the confidence when answering the questions.

“The fact that the Hub works closely with employers like London City Airport meant that they were able to negotiate on my behalf, to be flexible with my hours, and allow me days off, which in the end helps me a lot when it comes to making sure my mother is still cared for.”

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Introducing our new resident involvement approach Residents enjoy the summer sunshine at Grand Union Place

Resident involvement has always been important to us at East Thames. It’s important because we want to make sure our residents are happy with the services we provide and the way we work. By involving residents in the decisions we make, they get to have a say and help shape the way we work, while we learn how to improve our services and work more effectively.

Our vision for resident involvement is that by 2015 we will have put residents at the heart of our business, engaging them meaningfully so they drive local and strategic improvement in our housing services To find out what residents want from the new involvement approach, we spent around five months at the end of last year, talking to residents and asking how we can do more to get them involved. We had an amazing response and received almost 1,000

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completed surveys on the approach.

The feedback we got from the consultation told us that residents want: • One main resident involvement group, rather than lots of separate groups and panels • More opportunities to get involved at a local level • Resident inspectors and mystery shoppers to check the quality of our services • Active residents to keep all residents updated on the work they’re doing • Resident members on the East Homes board As a result we’ve introduced a new approach which is simpler, with a variety of ways for residents to have their say.

Formal involvement We recently recruited two residents to the East Homes Board. We are

also looking for 12 residents to join our new Housing Scrutiny Panel which will examine our performance and services. There’ll be an election in March so residents can vote on who represents their local area.

East Thames teams up with Newham Council East Thames has joined forces with Newham Council in a ground breaking Primary Authority partnership that will help us deal more efficiently with legislation and its implementation.

Service improvement We are recruiting resident inspectors and mystery shoppers who will test the quality of our individual services, such as communal repairs, grounds maintenance or our customer contact centre.

Local engagement We are hoping to support more residents to create tenants and residents associations. Residents will then be able to represent their neighbours, discuss issues that are important to them and their community, and work with us to improve their local area.

Occasional involvement We’ll be looking for residents to complete surveys, come along to occasional focus groups, even join our resident communications group. This is ideal for residents who don’t have much time but do have strong views on the way we provide services.

We’ll be providing training and support to all residents who take on one of these roles.

More information is available at

www.east-thames.co.uk/get-involved.

East Thames is the first ever housing association to sign up for a Primary Authority partnership which will enable us to use Newham Council as a single point of contact for legislation such as health and safety and environmental issues, rather than dealing with the six boroughs we work in and their varying legislation.

The partnership will benefit East Thames and our residents in several ways: • consistent interpretation and application of legislation across boroughs • a fairer and more consistent service for residents • cost savings • expert advice on strategic planning • a more effective inspection process • added protection against enforcement as Newham will provide evidence or assurance to other councils on our behalf.

East Thames head of resident Services Victor Da Cuhna said: “The Primary Authority enables us to improve our efficiency and focus on our resident services, while making full use of Newham’s expertise to ensure our systems are safe and comply with legislation. It also means we can develop a clear and consistent Group policy on these regulations, to deliver fairer services to all residents.”

The Resident Involvement Team

“East Thames owns or manages almost 5,500 households in Newham and we are confident that the Council has a thorough understanding of our business and can provide valuable advice on solving local and Group issues.”

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Helping our residents live healthy lives

Participants in the New Shoots project show off their fresh produce The East Thames healthy living team works with a number of Newham based partners to make sure our residents and the wider community have all the information, advice and skills they need to live happy, healthy lives.

Here’s a look at three of the projects the team have on the go at the moment.

New Shoots We’ve transformed three disused patches of land into green, blooming sites for local people to grow their own food.

Alison Skeat, our community food development worker runs weekly growing sessions and monthly basic horticultural workshops that take residents through the basics, from when to plant their seeds, right through to harvesting and storing their food.

The project is a great way for people

to get outdoors, meet people in their area and even save cash by growing their own delicious organic fruit and vegetables.

The three sites are located at Leyes Road, E16, Beckton Community Centre, E6 and Katherine Road, E7.

Stay Well We’re working with seven other Newham based organisations to improve the health and wellbeing of Newham residents over the age of 50.

The partnership is called Stay Well and organises a huge range of activities to get people active such as dance classes, tai chi, arts and crafts sessions and day trips. The partnership also supports lunch clubs and networking events that bring people together and gets them thinking about health and well being.

Late last year the Stay Well project was presented with the Communities

of Health Award, given out by the NHS as is a badge of excellence to recognise organisations whose work improves people’s health, but which can’t be measured in clinical terms.

Sustainable Living We’ve been awarded £200,000 of funding to promote positive diet and health, positive environmental behaviour and sustainable approaches to food and waste. The funding will also help us to carry out research into environmental behaviours in Newham.

The funding comes from DEFRA through its London 2012 Inspiring Sustainable Living Fund and uses the 2012 Olympic Games as an inspiration for sustainable lifestyles and behaviours. Over 200 organisations from across England applied for the funding, and East Thames was one of only four applications to be successful, scoring 93% - the highest of all applications submitted.

Newham goes to work

East Thames welcomed over 100 people to an employment fair in December, to help Newham residents with learning disabilities find work.

Organised by East Thames’ care and support subsidiary, East Living, the event provided advice and support for people with learning disabilities who want to find work, while showing local organisations the advantages of learning disability employment.

The event was part of East Thames’ wider strategy to help more people into work and supports Government plans to increase the number of people with learning disabilities in employment.

Andrew Baikie, Newham’s Deputy Mayor, was a speaker at the employment fair. He said: “Despite the challenges of the current economic climate, Newham council has ambitious plans to get more Newham residents into work. Jobs and opportunities are moving to Newham and we need to take advantage of this. We in the council are determined to create an environment where everyone can contribute and where everyone can access employment.”

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Representatives from employers Westfield Stratford City and London City Airport also attended the event to promote job opportunities they have to offer, while staff from the supported employment service First Line were also on hand to provide support and advice to both job seekers and employers.

Above: Newham Deputy Mayor Andrew Baikie with East Thames Service Manager Vicky Waldock who organised the event.

Below: Debbie Porter told attendees about her employment success as a support worker.

The employment fair gave attendees the chance to hear employment success stories from people with learning disabilities, such as Debbie Porter, who has been working as a support worker with Look Ahead Housing and Care for two years.

Debbie said: “Two years I’ve been working there and I am very happy about it. I wanted a job because I didn’t want to stay at home, I wanted to earn money, to meet people and feel more confident. I’ve seen a lot of changes in myself. I feel more happy.”

East Thames is committed to supporting more of its residents, service users and members of the wider community in to employment.

The organisation even has a dedicated supported employment officer who works exclusively with East Thames’ learning disability residents.

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Creative Newham youth showcases work East Gallery, East Thames’ unique community exhibition space, is proud to present an exiting new exhibition this spring.

Exploring Spirituality

Monday 17 January – Friday 11 March

Exploring Spirituality is the debut exhibition from Racheed Kayode Bushura, one of East Thames’ gifted young foyer residents.

Rasheed’s work is heavily influenced by spirituality, religion and culture and his exhibition takes the audience on a spiritual adventure, exploring different views of creation and belief.

Rasheed said: “Through my art I want to inspire others to look within, think and challenge their own spirituality and beliefs. Living in the foyer has enabled me to tap into the resources that East Thames’ arts and culture programmes offer, giving me a chance to showcase my talent. It has also given me the opportunity to get my own place and continue to strive to become an accomplished artist.”

To see more of his artwork, visit Racheed’s blog at

www.rasheedbushura.blogspot.com

About East Thames East Thames Group provides more than 13,500 affordable homes in east London and Essex. We provide homes for rent, affordable home ownership and residential care homes. But we’re more than a landlord – we’re also a property developer and provider of employment, training and community programmes.

Our mission is to make a positive and lasting contribution to the neighbourhoods where we work. And our focus is firmly on east London – this has been the case since we started as a small housing association in 1979 – and that commitment hasn’t changed.

If you would like to contact us for any reason, please contact the Marcoms team:

fiona.mcewan@east-thames.co.uk 020 8522 2042 llewellyn.annandale@east-thames.co.uk 020 8536 8898

We welcome feedback on this magazine, or on any aspect of our work.

East Thames Focus is produced by East Thames Group, Marcoms Team, 29-35 West Ham Lane, Stratford E15 4PH Tel: 020 8522 2000 Fax: 020 8522 2001 Email: marcoms@east-thames.co.uk Web: www.east-thames.co.uk

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