Springboard Autumn 2014 by Great Places Housing Group

Autumn 2014

Happy 10th Birthday Olivia Lodge!

Charity begins at home Charity worker Bill Lees is honoured for 30 years of dedicated service

We celebrate with our scheme for young mums in Manchester

Sports stars visit Ellen Court Sally Gunnell and Tracy Neville do Zumba!

Win a tablet!

Start an Online Basics course for your chance to win a Samsung Galaxy tab

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Cover stars: Cover Residentstars: Victoria Piercy at the Andy Olivia Lodge 10th Johnson Birthday

Winter 2013

Springboard

WELCOME WELCOME TO TO

Winter 2013 Autumn 2014 Welcome to this special Christmas issue Welcome to the autumn issue of Springboard, of Springboard. We’ve got a bumper issue the magazine for Great Places’ supported housing for you in this festive season with early I’d like to take this opportunity to residents. presents for ARC (Association of Residents introduce myself. I’m Sally Watts, the new assistant of the Croft) and a Kurling Club in Salford director of supported housing. I’ve just taken over thanks to Great Places Residents’ Fund. We also meet a couple who’vefrom savedJane Greenhalgh, who’s leaving after devoting more than a decade to making sure you have the thousands with help from our financial support and the services you need to get on in life. I inclusion team. There’s also your annual aim to continue and build on her amazing work. I’ve report which highlights how we’re doing in been with the organisation for six years myself so I supported housing. As always we have our know how important supported housing is to Great regular features Your news and Your words, Places. Through Springboard we want to showcase all of your achievements and schemes. which feature some inspiring people celebrate positive stories of how manyand of you have come through adversity to live From everyone at Great Places, have a happier lives. Hope you enjoy! lovely Christmas and New Year. Jane Greenhalgh Assistant Director Sally WattsHousing) (Supported Assistant Director (Supported Housing)

What’s inside? What’s inside? Regulars

6 News: from Great Places 10-11 Your news: what you’ve been up to! 10-12 YourMatt’s news:Christmas what you’ve been up to! 13 News: message 20 Your Competitions: cashwritten vouchers with ourbywordsearch and spot the difference 17 words: lifewin stories or spoken you

Features 20 Competitions: win cash vouchers with our wordsearch and spot the difference 13 Charity begins at home

Features Gunnell gets girls Realising going at dreams Ellen Court

Birthday celebrations Right royal at Olivia savings Lodge

Your annual report

Community Tenant Stars Awards scrutiny

6 4

The caring café!

pages

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You could win You£25 could win street in high £20vouchers in high street in our vouchers in our two competitions, twoyou’ll competitions, find them on the you’llback find them page.on the back page.

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Gunnell gets girls going at Ellen Court!

Superstars from the sporting world visited our scheme for young mums in Bury to see how they are supporting the ‘I Will If You Will’ campaign aiming to get the ladies of Bury into keeping fit! Springboard went to find out more It’s not every day you’re in a Zumba class with ex England netball player Tracy Neville! But that’s what happened to young mums at Ellen Court who welcomed the sports star and former hurdle superstar Sally Gunnell who were visiting the area with Sport England. The visitors were in Bury to see the fruits of the funding Sport England granted the town as part of the ‘I Will If You Will’ campaign, which encourages young people in the area to get fit. Caroline Campion, operations manager at Great Places, said: “It’s good to see young people who wouldn’t ordinarily have the confidence or financial means to do an exercise class getting so involved.” Zumba was brought into Ellen Court after a discussion with the local children’s centres to find ways of helping the girls get their figures back after giving birth. The sessions aren’t just open to all Ellen court residents but to other members of the public who meet the ‘I Will If You Will’ criteria.

The Zumba class is run by a qualified tutor, recruited and funded by the ‘I Will If You Will’ team. Ellen Court’s resident rep spoke at length to the visitors about how beneficial the support is they get from staff at the scheme and how the Zumba lessons have helped them gain a better body image. The crèche is manned by professional staff from the local children’s centre and it means the girls can relax and fully enjoy the Zumba sessions knowing that their babies are happy and being well looked after. Many questions were asked of the residents about how the scheme benefits them and gives them the opportunity to successfully move on into independent living. Alyson Bennett-Whyte, senior project officer at Great Places Housing Group, said: “It was a brilliant success and highlighted to our visitors the need for future funding to be made available so schemes like this don’t have to come to an end.” The visit was really appreciated by the girls who said: “It was absolutely fantastic,” “Loved it,” “Buzzing,” and “Can’t believe how nice all the celebrities were”.

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY OLIVIA LODGE! Residents, staff and partners had a brilliant time at Olivia Lodge’s 10-year anniversary celebrations recently. Almost 50 people attended the day at the project for young mums and their children in Clayton, Manchester, and the event was a great success. Everyone worked really hard before the event to get the building and grounds looking brilliant, and residents young and old got together to bake cakes to sell on the day. Representatives from lots of agencies who have worked with the project over the past decade came along to help us celebrate, including the Family Nurse Partnership, Sure Start and Connexions. Quite a few former residents also popped in to update staff on the progress they have made since they moved on to independent living.

Visitors to the open day, including Great Places’ chief executive Matthew Harrison, enjoyed a lovely buffet lunch and there was also a tombola, raffle and face painting for the younger guests. Senior project officer Keri Berry said: “It was a brilliant day and everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed it. The sun was shining and the scheme was looking its best thanks to the hard-working staff team. “One of our neighbours came along to man the cake stall and there was a real sense of celebration. A photographer attended and took some lovely pictures of the residents and their children, which we’re planning on getting blown up and framed. It was particularly great to catch up with the former residents who made a big effort to come along, and lovely to see them doing so well!”

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Matt’s message I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer even if the weather hasn’t been brilliant. It’s been a busy time at Great Places with lots of things happening. We’re involved in a big push to help you to get online during National Go On Week, from October 13th.

Finally, nominations for our second Community Stars Awards are open and we want to hear from you about the people who make a difference to the area where you live. There’s a range of categories to recognise some of the unsung heroes out there so please get in touch with us.

We have recently launched the Insight team, a group of residents who will make sure we are on our toes by keeping a close eye on different parts of our work, for example identifying areas where we are not delivering customer satisfaction. Their first job has been to look at how we deal with managing complaints and they will be doing much more during the coming months.

MANCHESTER GAY PRIDE Great Places Housing Group flew the flag for its Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) residents at this year’s Manchester Pride. It signed up to be part of this year’s parade as a walking float and the theme was ‘love’ in celebration of the Equal Marriage Act. Great Places is committed to promoting equality and celebrating diversity with residents and staff, and is working hard to further improve its relationship with the LGBT community.

Throughout October, November and December we’ll be promoting Together Quarter to all our staff. It’s a chance for them to celebrate equality and diversity and there’ll be three key themes: Black History month, Armistice Day and how people spend 25th December. If you want to share any stories, or are affected by any issues regarding disability, race, religion or sexuality, please email stephanie.bell@greatplaces.org.uk

Are you looking for a rewarding volunteer role?

schools to support children who are struggling to read. This is a fantastic volunteering opportunity for someone who is passionate about helping children and would like to make a difference through giving their time.

Save the Children are looking for volunteers across Greater Manchester who would like to visit a local primary school twice a week for 90 minutes. As a Born to Read reading helper you will spend one to one time regularly with children to read, talk and play educational games.

Our volunteers need to be patient and encouraging, good listeners and communicators, able to work one-to-one with children at the child’s pace and be dedicated to inspiring the next generation of readers.

Born to Read is a partnership programme between Save the Children and the children’s literacy charity Beanstalk. 6 we place www.greatplaces.org.uk Together, volunteers in primary

To find out more about Born to Read go to: www.savethechildren.org.uk/borntoread or contact Save the Children Volunteer Support for more information: volunteersupport@savethechildren.org.uk or phone 0207 012 6997.

GETTING ONLINE WITH LEN WIN! A tablet!* Three chances to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab October 13th to 19th is National Get Online Week. If you start an Online Basics course through the Learn My Way website and complete the ‘using email’ section you will be entered into a prize draw to win your own Samsung Galaxy Tab... it’s simple! Double your chances of winning! If you complete the Online Basics course you will get a second entry in the draw! There will then be a second tablet up for grabs for anyone who completes and passes the City & Guilds Online Basics test, also done through the Learn My Way website. That’s three chances to win! And you don’t even have to leave your scheme. Interested? ….here’s the deal. To enter you must register and complete the ‘using email’ section on the the Online Basics course during Get Online week. It takes less than 20 minutes. First entry into the prize draw sorted! You then have one month to complete the Online Basics course, which takes about two hours. Second entry sorted!

Third chance… Once you have done that you will get the opportunity to do the City & Guilds test, which normally takes less than an hour – usually 30 mins. Pass this and you will be entered into a special second prize draw, just for those who have passed the City & Guilds, so your chances of winning are much higher. Not only that you will get an accredited qualification, City & Guilds in Online Basics which Great Places will pay for! To start leaning now go to www.learnmyway.com and create an account, using the centre code 3455829. You don’t have to wait until Get Online Week to get your chance to win! Start today! *Terms and conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.greatplaces.org.uk

BECOME A DIGITAL CHAMPION! Why become a Digital Champion? • • • • •

It’s a great way to meet new people in your community It’s a great thing to put on your CV We can pay for you to do a qualification in Online Basics as well as finding you lots of other fully funded courses Get entered into a regular prize draw to win a tablet computer

Stephen is one of our new digital champions helping out at one of our Get Online dropin sessions which takes place every Thursday at Lansdowne Court in Chadderton

What would you need to do? • You would need to commit few hours a month to helping others get online • You could help someone learn the skills needed to use the internet • You may have other talents you could put to use such as promoting the classes or simply telling others what they stand to gain from being online Either way we would give you a glowing reference for your work, plus the other benefits Digital Champions enjoy. If you are interested in becoming a Digital Champion then phone 0300 123 1966.

Springboard

` The caring cafe Northmoor Community Café is at the heart of the community in Longsight. Springboard enjoyed a coffee and a chat with some of the volunteers giving up their time to make this special place a food and friendship haven. Beetroot soup, sizzling chicken Balti and Farfalle Pasta Salad with Rocket, Mozzarella and Sundried Tomatoes… reads like a menu from the BBC Masterchef series. But this is not just any menu! This is the Northmoor Community Café menu, with dishes from every nation! Based in the community centre, this unassuming space has become ‘the’ social hub for many Great Places’ residents and locals. It’s also attracting a variety of different volunteers originally from places as diverse as Spain, Germany, South East Asia, Malaysia and London – reflecting the diverse neighbourhood of Longsight and the surrounding areas. Originally from Germany, Christina Scraub, who’s been volunteering for six months at the café, explains why she was compelled to get involved.

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“I work in a café as a part-time job and I think it’s a great place to get people talking and to meet people. It’s a good thing for a community, to have the doors open and welcome everyone, especially if it’s really diverse. “Even if there is animosity it melts away when you come into a place like this. Sharing food helps to break down barriers. It’s a really different vibe here from where I live in Chorlton. It gives me a chance to explore different neighbourhoods and polish my cooking skills. I’d encourage anyone to give it a try.” The café concept started life as an initiative between Great Places and the Northmoor Community Association. At first it was just a pop-up café during the summer but interest built up and demand for the tasty grub grew!

A local food growing project is also literally feeding into the café providing everything from radishes to tomatoes. Now the café provides residents with somewhere to go, access to cheap food, and an open door to the community centre at the back.

Half Singaporean, half-Indian Alin Asokan with a French name and a cockney accent, has also grabbed the opportunity of giving something back! After moving from London, where she’d lived for the last 40 years, to be with her boyfriend, she faced knowing nobody.

It has also been a lifeline for many in the area, including volunteer Jackie Haughay from Levenshulme. “I came to do a course in computing and the guy who ran it asked me to volunteer. I’d been stuck at home for a quite a number of years as I look after my Dad which is difficult as he’s not well at all. This is my escape and way out.

“It was really hard moving and giving up my whole life but when I started volunteering it made me feel like was doing something for the community. It keeps me going.

“I’ve had years of just being in the house which has been lonely. You can meet people and learn something new every time you come here.”

“I’ve not let them down once even though I have an illness and it’s sometimes difficult to get out. I would say to anyone thinking about it – give volunteering a try once – you’ll see whether it’s for you or not. You’d be at home doing nothing. Just because you’re not getting paid for it, it doesn’t matter – you’re helping others and helping yourself.”

If you want to give up some of your time to be a volunteer at the Northmoor Community Café email sarah.riley@greatplaces.org.uk or call Sarah on 0161 447 5120. You don’t need to be able to cook, you’ll receive training, gain confidence, all your expenses are paid and you’ll get free food! What more could you want? Springboard

Your news A perfect day at In Partnership! In Partnership, our supported housing project for young women in Blackburn, held a really successful open day recently which was very well attended by nearly 100 friends, residents and their children, partners and local agencies. Staff held tours of the project and loads of activities took place during the day,

including a tombola which raised money towards a trip for the residents to Blackpool Illuminations. Weekend project support worker Louise Gardiner said: “It was a brilliant day, the weather was sunny, residents were cheery and the staff were relaxed. The mayor and mayoress even came along!”

Wheel-y great! Younger residents at Ellen Court, our supported scheme for young mums in Bury, were recently presented with two beautiful trikes by the ladies from the Inner Wheel, part of the local Rotary Club. Afternoon tea, sandwiches and cakes were shared by the ladies, residents and staff and everyone reminisced about their childhoods. A lovely afternoon was had by all!

Beautiful people Rodney Street, our supported scheme for young women in Liverpool, temporarily turned into a beauty salon as night project support worker Joy Thomas organised a Beauty Night for residents. Everyone got involved and enjoyed a night of applying each others make-up, having nails painted and hair done, while enjoying snacks and refreshments. One usually quiet resident was quickly inspired and went away to return with her kit to create henna art. An orderly queue of residents suddenly formed! Joy said: “It was a fun, sociable event with lots of talent and resident participation. Residents also helped to make posters and banners for the event. There were presents for the most involved and we even had our own Beauty Queen.”

Remembering WW1 Residents at William Lyons House, our supported scheme for homeless people in Blackpool, remembered those who died in World War I by watching the film ‘Fly boys’. They also observed the ‘blackout’ by switching their lights off at 10 o’clock along with Blackpool Tower and the Promenade to honour the eve of the First World War when “lamps went out all over Europe”.

Your news A step in the right direction for young mums in Bury Young women from Ellen Court, a supported housing scheme in Bury owned by Great Places, recently attended an open day organised by Stepping Stones, an organisation that runs the town’s children’s centres and provides support for families and children up to five years old.

opportunity to take a well-earned break from looking after their children. They enjoyed some pampering sessions while their little ones got stuck into some messy play! The Ellen Court children also had fun singing songs, making music and covering a large canvas with their hand and footprints. The babies were given their individual prints to take away.

They showcased their services and invited other outside agencies including a representative from the local midwifery unit, a student health visitor and a township co-ordinator.

Many of the residents signed up to various fitness classes at the children’s centre, including Zumba. Alyson BennettWhyte, scheme manager at Ellen Court, said: “The event was a fantastic success. The children’s centre works with us to engage our young mothers in various community activities, signposting them

Child involvement was the central theme of the day and gave the women the

A close shave!

to services and also running parenting courses to give them the relevant skills needed to care for their children. Everyone had a really enjoyable day.” Ellen Court supports local women with a Bury connection who need a home and support and are either pregnant or have a child under 5.

World cup fever Residents at Next Step, a scheme in Manchester for people with mental health issues, enjoyed several world-cup themed activities thanks to a successful application for funding.

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at e

There were some hair-raising experiences going on at Pomona Gardens, our supported scheme for homeless people in Trafford, when Scott Woods, support co-ordinator, and residents, decided to shave their heads to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Trust. “Having had family members suffer from cancer and receive support from Macmillan I decided to get involved,” said Scott. “Before I knew it half a dozen of the lads on the scheme jumped at the chance to support the cause. With one resident having gained a barbering qualification recently, and another owning a set of professional clippers, they had everything they needed to complete the task.” A ‘hot seat’ was set up in the garden with everyone nervously waiting around to get clippered. In total £165 was raised. “All those involved enjoyed the event and it helped them feel like they were giving something back to the community and helping a very worthy cause,” added Scott.

They got stuck into activities such as researching and cooking foods from different countries, decorating cupcakes and practising their football skills on a trip to the park. These activities helped lessen the feelings of stress, anxiety and depression they often feel. A fun time was had by all!

Your news A work of art Budding artists from Pomona Gardens who are thinking about starting an art group, went on a trip to the City art gallery in Manchester. Residents were able to view and understand the various forms that art can take and how they could use this experience to produce their own individual pieces of art for the communal lounge area. At a residents’ meeting some said they felt the communal lounge areas needed brightening up to encourage the use of space and more interaction between them. Three residents attended and thoroughly enjoyed the

experience. One said that he “found it fun, very entertaining and an emotive and inspirational day out”. Another said that it had “encouraged her to become more motivated to use and enjoy her own creativity” and that she had also learned a lot about different types of art. The group is now in the process of applying for funding for paints and materials. One resident has now revealed that he would love to show others how to produce 3D origami sculptures, a talent that he had previously kept hidden.

Your health is your wealth

Making life feel Vine for the homeless Docherty House is launching an exciting new collaborative project with the charity Vinelife as part of the High Sheriff funding project. With help from Great Places’ funding co-ordinator, the scheme for alcohol dependents in Manchester has secured around £3,000! Vinelife is a charity which has been doing outreach work in the city centre for 25 years. Having recently taken over the old Whitworth pub and transforming it into a coffee bar and events space Vinelife noticed a massive rise in the number of street homeless people frequenting this part of the city. A problem already highlighted by the Docherty Project. Currently the Vinelife outreach only operates in the city centre but this project will allow them to also help people in Salford. Watch this space.. Visit www.vinelife.co.uk for more info!

Manchester Royal Infirmary welcomed residents from the Docherty Project, our scheme for alcohol dependents in Manchester, who attended the Expert Patients Programme, designed to help patients self-manage their health conditions and improve their quality of life. Resident Louis Kirkwood said: “I found the course really useful. I learnt about how to manage my health and medication. We shared stories about the issues we had, how we were feeling and how to deal one thing at a time so we could feel happier in ourselves. We learnt about the importance of exercise and healthy eating and I was given a book which has all the information I need so I can keep learning.”

Feature

Charity begins at home Bill Lees is a service manager at The Housing Link, one of Great Places agency-run schemes. It’s comforting to know that people like Bill are working tirelessly to help others A committed charity worker has been honoured for 30 years of dedicated service to homeless people in Bury. Bill Lees, a service manager at The Housing Link, was presented with a certificate to celebrate his allegiance to the charity since 1984. The Housing Link provides accommodation for single people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness and who have complex support needs. It provides accommodation from its main base in Radcliffe’s old town hall in Mather Street, from Castlecroft House in Castlecroft Road, Bury, and from various buildings across the borough. Bill, aged 52, was born in Radcliffe, and had lived in Athlone Avenue,

Bury, before moving to Rawtenstall. He said: “When I started, we were a little project on the corner of Vernon Street and Walmersley Road, and we had one house to fulfil Bury’s homelessness needs. A team of four people were doing 24-hour cover.

more intense. He added: “What has kept me going for 30 years? It is more than just my dad’s Victorian work ethic. I appreciate every day that I get working for The Housing Link, the opportunities I have had have been amazing and are fantastic.”

“We now have a team of 21 and over 30 years we have supported and accommodated hundreds of disadvantaged people. “I have always wanted to help people. I didn’t think I’d be doing this job for so long, but I am really glad I have been.”

Graham Evans, director of The Housing Link, added: “Bill joined the organisation as a volunteer only five months after it was set up. Thirty years on, he continues to demonstrate the same level of commitment and dedication as a service manager – providing the best possible service to people who find themselves in difficulty and distress. He is a credit to both the organisation and to Bury.”

Bill began work with The Housing Link in April 1984 at the age of 22. He said service users of The Housing Link now deal with different problems than they did in 1983 and the challenges of the job have become

Springboard

Great Places’ Who should we roll out the red carpet for in your neighbourhood? Who’s made a contribution in your area that puts them in the spotlight? Who are the unsung heroes in your community who deserve a mention?

You can help them get the recognition they deserve by nominating them for an award in our Community Stars Awards! All Great Places residents can nominate someone. The closing date is Friday 7th November 2014 so make sure you get your forms in before then! We’ll be holding a special awards ceremony in January to celebrate the hard work that residents and their neighbours put in to make their neighbourhood a better place. Look out for information about the nominees and the winners on our website.

How to enter – it ’s easy You can nominate someone by emailing Maria Morris at maria.morris@greatplaces.org.uk or calling her on 0161 925 7928, or writing to her at the following address: 4th Floor, St James’ House, Pendleton Way, Salford, M6 5FW

closing date : Friday 7 November:

Award categories Good Neighbour Award A person who goes out of their way to care for others in their neighbourhood – maybe they help with an older person’s shopping, provide a shoulder to cry on, support neighbours in times of need, help to bring the street together for social events. Young Resident Award A person aged 25 or under who has worked to improve their area, made a positive difference to someone else’s life or stood up to bullying, hate crime, racism or other forms of antisocial behaviour, or shown particular bravery. Community Project Award

Do you know of a standout project in your area that’s impressed you? Has it transformed the place where you live or brought people together?

Community/Residents Group Award

A group of residents who’ve pulled together to make a significant difference to where they live. Maybe they’ve helped to bring improvements to your building, set up social events to bring the community together or raised money to transform green space near your home.

Green Champion An individual who is committed to making a big environmental impact and has made a difference to their community. This could be looking after a community garden, helping at a community allotment or promoting community recycling. SENIOR Resident Award

A person aged 70 or over who works tirelessly to improve their community. They may have been working in their neighbourhood for years and have never received recognition.

Supported Housing Resident Award

A person who lives in one of our supported housing schemes who has made a real difference to the lives of others: they may have gone the extra mile to help a fellow resident, started up a group, or got involved in a community initiative.

Supported Housing Scheme Award Is there one of our projects which stands head and shoulders above the rest? Has it become an important part of the community? It could be a scheme for young people, young parents, homeless, alcohol dependents, or those with mental health issues. Community Champion Award This person will already be an important part of the community. Maybe they run the local youth club or help in the local school as a volunteer. They might be a key person in the local church or the chief organiser of the community fair.

Great Places’Staff Award

Is there someone from Great Places who has gone the extra mile for residents? Who do you think embodies our vision: Strong, Bright and Real?

POP UP DOORSTEP TOUR The in:team were out and about during May, piloting their first-ever Pop-up doorstep tour.

Visiting each of our regions including, supported housing, sheltered and extra care schemes, they door knocked and chatted to many of you in your own homes. The aim was to find out how you want to be involved with Great Places and the work we do. The team ran a ‘selfie’ competition to win an iPod which went down really well! Everyone who completed the survey got a chance to win an iPad, and the lucky winner was James Talbot from Salford (pictured with Tracy Gregory, customer involvement co-ordinator), who was delighted with his prize! Pop-up doorstep tour results – the headline figures!

586

residents took part either in person or online

You said repairs, major investments, anti-social behaviour, clean and maintained communal areas and improving local neighbourhoods were the top five service areas most important for you to be consulted on

477

residents said it’s important or very important that customers have opportunities to provide feedback and influence services

339

residents said they were interested or very interested in providing feedback or being consulted on services

314

residents said they’d never taken part in any involvement activities or feedback methods

423

residents said they were satisfied or very satisfied that Great Places takes customers' views into account

Tell us what you think!

What next?

The information from the pop-up tour has helped to inform our new customer involvement agreement which is due to be launched later in 2014.

www.greatplaces.org.uk

The Great Places in:team makes sure that there are always opportunities for you to share your thoughts on our services, challenge our performance and make sure we are providing the best-possible services.

You could gain valuable experience and learn new skills.

If you're interested in helping Great Places improve services for residents, you can do this from home or work with us more closely – it's up to you!

Want to know more? Call Pauline Heron on 0161 925 7938 or email pauline.heron@greatplaces.org.uk

Support and training is provided and all out-of-pocket expenses are covered by Great Places.

The Salford Work Club Initiative

From September a new service will be set up from 8 locations in Salford. A Work Club co-ordinator will be recruited to oversee help for residents so they can be supported to gain jobs, qualifications and become volunteers. This will be particularly important for welfare changes and supporting our tenants to get on line and access government services which will soon be the way forward. The project has been funded through Lottery and Pendleton Together funding – to find out more contact daniel.mountford@greatplaces.org.uk

Funding facts

£27,500

From various funding sources to enable a new Work Club project coordinator to be recruited for Salford

£15,000

Foyer Federation funding to enable a healthy conversations project and for Blackpool Foyer, our supported accommodation for young people, to become a satellite centre of excellence

£49,400 Heritage Lottery

Funding – towards a project to explore the social memories ofpeople growing up as teenagers from the 1930s onwards in Salford and Oldham

Residents’ and Shared Spaces Fund update! We’ve just done the first round of scoring for the Residents’ Fund and out of the 13 applications we received, 9 were successful. There were college courses, swimming club costs, a football academy, Northmoor Community Café (featured on pages 6 and 7), a trip out and community event for one of supported housing schemes. We’ve also had 8 successful Shared Spaces Fund applications. Visit www.greatplaces.org.uk and search for Great Places Residents’ Fund to find out more or contact Maria Morris on 0161 925 7928 or email maria.morris@greatplaces.org.uk

Great Places

RESIDENTS’ FUND

Great Places

SHARED SPACES FUND

k Springboard

MEET THE

insight TEAM

The brand new insight team is a group of residents who will challenge Great Places’ performance, policies and procedures. They’ve been busy scrutinising the first service area, complaints management.

Why are they doing this? To collect as much information as possible to understand what really happens when a complaint is made to Great Places. Questions they were asking themselves were: is it straight forward for a customer to make a complaint to Great Places? Is the complaint resolved in a reasonable timescale? Did the customer feel their complaint was taken seriously and that they were listened to by Great Places?

th Great Places for “I’ve been a tenant wi happy with most six years and I’ve been y for. I agreed to get of the services we pa ve a very good eye involved because I ha e that skill to help for detail and can us s that all residents to improve the service receive.”

“I live in Oldham. I’ve been interested in housing matters since 1992 when I joined Selhal Housing Association on their First Choice Board. I also joined West Board Home on the Oldhamto be part of in later years. I want to make a something that helps difference.” “Having worked in tenant engagement myself I almost feel obliged to ‘poke my nose in’ when an y arises. nit rtu oppo the need for t ou ab e at I am passion high quality er social housing to off in standards ta ain m homes, and to scribed in set in policies and de is. as th www.greatplaces.org.uk agazines such m18 Wish us luck!”

If you’re interested in finding out mo re about Insight and their work, or you would like to volu nteer to join the group, contact Tracy Gregory, customer invo lvement co-ordinator, on 0161 925 7918 or email tracy.grego ry@greatplaces.org.uk

“I’ve lived in a Great Places property in Rochdale for over 10 years and I’m part of this group like to make I’d e becaus to represent a difference. I’d like reduction customers and see a satisfactory in complaints with a resolution.”

“I decided I’d like to get involved with the group to do my bit and help Great Places provide quality services to customers. Scrutiny demonstrates transparency, which will lead to the development of strong working relationships between Great Places and their customers.”

“I’m one of two reps and secretary of the committee at The Bridge in Timperley where I’ve lived for I’m involved ye more than five ars. tain and so that I can help mainthin Great improve standards wi Places.”

At Grea t Place s head office

“I wanted to volunteer to help improve services so decided to join the group. I’m gratef the chance to work wi ul for Places to represent cu th Great views. I am also lookinstomers’ new skills and valuableg to gain experience, which I ca work n use to enhance my CV.”

“I’ve been a customer of Great Places for 5 years. It’s a privilege to be part of this panel. Working alongside fellow customers and together with Great Places, I’ll be challenging performance and making positive suggestions on improvements that can be made to housing services.”

Go green!

for halloween

Advice, tips and ideas on staying green and saving money!

For many, autumn is an exciting time of Halloween parties and bonfire extravaganzas! Below you’ll find some top tips and a recipe for the season. All of us know that pumpkin is a good food and it's heart breaking to know that many will be carved out and the flesh discarded purely to make Halloween lanterns. Here’s a recipe that means you won’t be wasting anything!

Pumpkin & Coriander soup Ingredients 1 small pumpkin 2 red peppers 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, crushed ½ teaspoon juniper seeds 100g celery, chopped 2 small red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock Large bunch of fresh coriander, chopped Salt Black pepper 2 tablespoons of crème fraiche Pinch of Spanish smoked paprika

Method 1. Quarter the pumpkin, remove the seeds (don't discard them, they are lovely when roasted and make a great nibble). 2. Cut the red peppers in half, remove the seeds and place them with the pumpkin onto a roasting tray. Drizzle the flesh with a little olive oil and place into a pre heated oven set at gas mark 6/200C/400F and roast for about 40 minutes. 3. Remove from the oven. Scrape the flesh from the skin of the pumpkin and place to one side along with the roasted pepper.

4. Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan, add the chopped onion, crushed garlic, juniper seeds, celery and red chillies. Cook for a few minutes until the onions and celery are soft. 5. Add the pumpkin and red peppers, the stock and finally the chopped coriander. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 15 mins. 6. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and then process the soup in a blender to make it smooth. 7. Serve with a spoonful of crème fraiche over the top sprinkled with a little paprika.

Bonfire Night Remember, remember be green this November... • Try to attend a public bonfire or fireworks display rather than having your own (which will only add to the pollution), but if this is not possible use clean, dry material in order to minimise smoke. • Remember to check for small animals and hedgehogs that may have crawled into your bonfire. Build bonfires in well lit areas to reduce the risk of wildlife getting inside. • Treat your children to a Blow Light to keep them entertained, this is the world's smallest wind generator and is a great environmentally friendly toy.

YOU CAN GLOW Our staff will once again be visiting your homes in November to make sure you’re all set up for the winter months ahead. We’ll also be providing you with energy-efficient advice so you can save on your bills. This year we are focusing on residents who are aged 70 or over, so if you would like to arrange a home visit please call Aimee Spencer on 0161 447 6097. Springboard

Competition time Please answer the questions below to enter the competitions

Wordsearch te the Comple h and arc wordse uld you co 5 2 £ in w hers! c u o v in

Words to find are: HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN FIREWORK TOFFEE APPLE

BONFIRE BROOMSTICK WITCH GHOST

TRICK TREAT CANDY BATS

Congratulations to last issue’s winners: Wordsearch: Tracy Sanderson – Baguley, Madeline Duiker – Wythenshawe and Miss S Mills – Manchester. Spot the difference: Joyce Noonan – Baguley, Trish Way – Baguley and P Buckley – Wythenshawe.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE Just circle the FIVE differences on picture number two. You could be one of three lucky people to win £10 worth of vouchers.

Send your entries by post to: FREEPOST, RLSC-HLLJ-EZRZ, Springboard, Maria Morris, Great Places Housing Group, 4th Floor St James’ House, Pendleton Way, Salford M6 5FW. All entries must be in by Friday 7th November 2014

Great Places wants to make sure that it values the opinions of all of its residents. Do you think Great Places listens and acts on its promises? There are no right or wrong answers to the questions below, but please answer them and send us your details if you’d like to be entered into our competition prize draws. Strongly disagree

Great Places listens to its customers? Great Places treats everyone with respect? Great Places delivers on its promises?

1 1 1

Strongly agree

2 2 2

3 3 3

4 4 4

5 5 5

Name:................................................................................................................................................................................... Address:............................................................................................................................................................................... Telephone/Mobile: ...............................................................Email:.................................................................................... Please cut out and return this slip to the Springboard FREEPOST address above. 20 forget towww.greatplaces.org.uk Don’t include your name, telephone number, email and address.