Springboard - Summer 16

Summer 2016

Brushing up on painting skills!

Unite and stop hate We won’t tolerate hate crime

Caring at the Christie

Ged’s volunteering tale

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to me… and you!

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Unite and stop hate With a potential rise in hate crimes being reported in the media we’d like to remind tenants of our zero tolerance policy on hate and harassment and how to respond.

What is hate crime?

If someone commits a criminal offence against you or your home that is motivated by a person’s hate or prejudice because of your: • Race, colour, ethnicity, nationality or national origin • Religion • Gender or gender identity (includes transphobia) • Sexual orientation • Disability

What should you do if it happens to you or someone you know?

Don’t retaliate: you could risk violence or make the situation worse. By reporting it, you may be able to prevent these crimes from happening to someone else.

Asking for help and reporting incidents We know that sometimes this is the hardest part but the sooner you ask us for help and report an incident, the better. We promise to take all reports seriously.

Being a victim of this kind of crime can be a particularly frightening experience as you have been victimised because of who you are, or who, or what, your attacker thinks you are.

You can report any incident in confidence – you do not have to tell us who you are but if you can tell us the names of all the people involved, it may help us tackle the behavior. Unite and don’t let hate win.

It can take many forms including:

To report anti social behaviour or community safety concern please email cat@greatplaces.org.uk or call 0300 123 1966 (and press option 4). The option 4 ASB line is open 24 hours including bank holidays and weekends.

• Physical assault • Damage to property or offensive graffiti • Arson • Verbal threats or abusive gestures • Offensive letters/leaflets/posters • Abusive or obscene phone calls • Abusive language • Intimidating groups/gangs

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Please only press option 4 if you are contacting us about an ASB matter.

For more information about community safety visit: www.greatplaces.org.uk and search for ‘community safety’.

WELCOME TO

Write to Springboard at: Communications Great Places Southern Gate 729 Princess Road Manchester, M20 2LT

Email:

Summer 2016

communications@greatplaces.org.uk Welcome to the latest edition of Springboard! It’s always good to take pride in where you live, and this month we take a look at how residents in the Next Step in Manchester have been working with Back on Track to paint their scheme. Take a look at pages 4-5 to see how they’ve smartened up their home.

One of the Next Step painters also volunteers at the Christie Hospital and you can read his inspiring story on page 7.

We’re also keen to make sure that everyone feels welcome in a Great Places supported housing scheme, which is why we’re looking at the respect we all show each other. You can find out more on page 11, and also why we won’t stand for any hate-related incidents on page 2 (opposite, left).

Have a great summer and we’ll see you again soon!

Facebook us at facebook.com/GreatPlacesHousing Tweet us @MyGreatPlace

Access for all

We’ve already sent a magnifying sheet to our visually impaired residents. Let us know if you need one. An audio version of Springboard is also available.

Cover stars: Next Step residents smarten up their scheme

Sally Watts Assistant Director (Supported Housing)

What’s inside?

Regulars

You could win a £20 high street voucher in our competition.

6 News: from Great Places

and your schemes

You’ll find it on the back page!

8 Money Matters: looking after your cash 9 in:team: updates from resident groups

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The glove that earned £100 for Ellen Court pages

pages

Smartening up Next Step

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Ged’s volunteering story

Fire safety in the home

pages

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FSC AND WORLD LAND TRUST LOGOS

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Brushing up on work skills at Next Step Residents at the Next Step scheme in Manchester have been learning how to be successful painters and decorators thanks to some work they’ve been doing with the Back on Track Manchester project.

Doris Chisunka, our project support worker and service user involvement champion, has worked tirelessly in arranging and preparing for the decorating course. She has spent many hours planning what is required, assessing health and safety and recording how positive it is for both our tenants and how the scheme looks.

Brian Tudor works with Back on Track and he explained how his involvement in the re-decorating process began.

“My boss invited me to start doing the painting with some of the lads who I work with at Back on Track and also some of those who live at Next Step, to give the place a bit of a fresher look,” he said.

“It’s a work experience course set up by my project for clients of both the Next Step and Back on Track.

“I teach the lads basic principles of painting and decorating so that they can give something back to where they live,” he added.

One of Brian’s fellow workers from Back on Track has also got involved. “I was volunteering with the project anyway as a cleaner,” said Ged. “I then got more time that I could use to learn new skills so when we were asked about painting I jumped at the chance.”

“It keeps me busy and it’s been a good help for me as we’ve been painting the lounge, the residents’ kitchen, the dining room and the reception area,” said Mark, who’s also painting after working with Back on Track.

“Mark is doing brilliantly,” said Brian. “Working in this environment will really help him get a job in the construction industry when he’s ready to leave his supported housing scheme.

“He’ll be able to get a feel for site work and the standards that are expected of him once he’s there,” he added.

If the paintwork in and around the Next Step is anything to go by, Mark and his painting colleagues would be welcome on any building site!

A huge thank you to Doris too – her passion, commitment and determination is an asset to the team and service as a whole!

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“

I teach the lads basic principles of painting and decorating so that they can give something back to where they live.

”

‘Brew time for painters (from left) Brian, Satpal, George, Ged, Mark and Ged’

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Matt’s message

Gorton Monastery in Manchester. There were 10 awards up for grabs to recognise those unsung heroes of our communities across the north west and Yorkshire.

Events like this aim to celebrate the achievements of our customers who are passionate about the people and places within their community.

Summer is certainly in full swing in our communities – lots of great events over the last couple of months and more planned for the weeks ahead. One of the biggest events of the Great Places calendar is our annual Community Stars Awards. Over 170 residents attended this year’s event, which was held in April at the

Your success doesn’t end there though.

Thanks to a group of dedicated customers, Great Places picked up the ‘Excellence in Annual Reports Award’ at the regional Tpas awards. We couldn’t have done it without your help, and as part of our on-going customer involvement review, we’re looking for more volunteers to help us keep our title. See page 9 for more information.

Unfortunately, it’s not always positive news stories coming out of our communities. After the result of the EU referendum, there have been reports in the media of hate related incidents

being on the rise across the UK. We were sad to hear a couple of stories from our own communities and in one case we had to move a customer. We have a zero tolerance policy on hate crime. If you find yourself a victim of hate crime or witness an incident please report it to us so we can help put a stop to it. See more on page 2.

In addition, we have regrettably heard more stories since our last issue of customers being affected by house fires. Accidents do happen, but there are steps we can all take to stay as safe as possible. See page 10 for more information on protecting your home and loved ones from fire during the warmer months.

I hope you have a lovely summer – let’s hope we get at least a couple more weeks of blissful weather!

Your news Ellen Court presented with knockout cheque Staff at Ellen Court received a knockout cheque from a local artist who raises money for charity.

Paul Fox hosts a fundraising page on Facebook where he auctions his work. He recently got a glove signed

by Bury boxing star Scott

Quigg, which he sold for £100. He donated the money to Ellen Court after project support worker Carole Easey told him about their work.

The money will go towards the scheme’s sensory room.

Down on the farm with Sarah Lodge residents Residents at Sarah Lodge and their children took a trip to Smithills Farm in Bolton.

The mothers, together with their sons and daughters, planned their day out independently and without the help of the project support worker and student social worker.

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They showed brilliant responsibility and respect towards the farm and its animals as they got up close and personal with them in the petting corner. They also took a tractor ride and guided the children through donkey rides too.

Despite the wet weather, a good time was had by all!

Caring at the Christie with Ged Ged lives in the Next Step scheme in Manchester. As well as working with the painters and decorators that you’ve already seen on pages four and five of this magazine, he also volunteers at the Christie Hospital.

“I’ve not got to work with any of the patients yet but if I see any I always try to smile and be optimistic around them. Once I’ve done this I’d like to work in first aid volunteering too,” he said.

The hospital is one of the most famous in Europe for treating cancer. The Next Step is literally over the road from it, so Ged contacted them to see if he could help in any way.

With the feedback that he’s getting, Ged is sure to be an asset to the hospital and everywhere else where he volunteers. Keep up the good work, Ged!

“I spoke to them to enquire if they had any vacancies for volunteers. They did, so I did an induction and learned about what I’d need to do if I was working behind counters or with nurses,” he explained.

After passing his background checks, Ged was given the green light to begin his volunteering. It has been a great start on a project that is very important to him.

“I wanted to give something back to the community because I’m on a lot of benefits,” he said. “I’m not at college at the moment and I like the structured work I can do at the hospital because my OCD doesn’t get out of hand with it.”

Although he’s only been volunteering for a short time, Ged is building his experience with every passing week.

“I’ve helped in filling in application forms and handling blood samples. I don’t know what I’ll be doing next but I’ll help wherever I can,” he said.

Next stop, university, for Lauren It didn’t take long at Lorna Lodge for Lauren Naughton to realise her potential – and it’s a journey that’s still progressing and which could end at university.

“Now that I have finished my A-Levels, I’d like to study Health and Social Care at Salford.”

“My confidence grew after only a few weeks at Lorna because I was able to interact with other young mums, which was something I’d never been able to do before,” writes Lauren.

“My experience at Lorna Lodge has fully prepared me for living on my own with my daughter, because the house-training course taught me how to manage bills and deal with any problems.

“I could ask for help if I needed it and I felt relieved knowing that there was always a member of staff on reception.

“It’s created some stability for us, which is something we couldn’t have done without the help from staff and organisations working at Lorna Lodge,” she concludes.

Having now moved out of the scheme, Lauren has set her sights on a university place as she adapts to the new home for her and her daughter.

Well done Lauren – and good luck for the future!

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my money

Our Financial Inclusion team work hard to help residents save money.

Last year, they helped put £1m back into your pockets!

Don’t get bitten by a loan shark!

Have you or anyone you know: Been offered a cash loan without paperwork?

Been threatened when you couldn’t pay?

Had your bank card taken from you?

Had a loan which keeps growing, even though you’re making payments?

If you can answer ‘yes’ to the above, you may have been bitten by a loan shark.

For confidential help, contact the Illegal Money Lending Team.

Telephone: 0300 555 2222 (local call rate) Email: reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk

How to avoid unwanted sales calls You can reduce the number of unwanted telephone sales calls you receive by registering with the Telephone Preference service (also just called the TPS).

It’s totally free to register your phone number with them, so you don’t need to pay your phone provider to do this for you.

Once you have registered with the TPS, it’s illegal for organisations to make sales-related calls to your number unless you’ve said they can.

How to register with TPS Go to www.tpsonline.org.uk or register by writing to Telephone Preference Service, DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SS

Ensure you’re insured with Aviva

This could cost you hundreds of pounds, so Great Places strongly recommend that you arrange your own home contents insurance. Don’t forget, we are only responsible for the building in which you live: you are responsible for your contents.

Great Places is working with one of the UK’s leading insurers, Aviva, to offer all our residents an affordable home contents insurance package.

Have you thought about how you would be able to replace your TV, computer, games, jewellery, furniture, and clothes if they were stolen, or if you had a flood or a fire in your home?

What about unwanted texts?

If you’re with EE, O2 or Vodafone, just forward unwanted texts to 7726. This will help the phone companies to stop you receiving them.

Cover includes: • Weekly cost from as little as £1.26 for up to £6,000 worth of cover* • NO excess, so you don’t have to pay anything when you claim (this isn’t normally available on most insurance packages) e If you’v ed ct a t n o been c ap, enefit c ldn’t b e h t t ou abou t you sh ote tha by it. n e s a ple ted be affec ply for d to ap t us e k s a n contac ave bee If you h Credit, please apply al to Univers e still eligible ause ’r ec u b o t y fi s a bene g in s u ted for ho suppor in e ’r u o y . housing

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• Cover for loss or theft of keys

• Quick and friendly claims service To apply, you will need to complete an application form which you can request by phoning the Customer Access Team on 0300 123 1966 and send it to: Wessex Administration Services, Jewry House, Jewry Street, Winchester SO23 8RZ. *£1.26 is standard cover cost for OAPs for a sum insured of £6,000. See rating tables with Application Packs for applicable costs for each sum insured.

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insight

Let's work together!

Following the award-winning success of last year's customer annual report, we're looking for residents to help us keep our title with this year's publication!

Our goal is to make sure our customer annual report reflects the issues that really matter to our customers and we want to offer you opportunties to get involved every step of the way – from suggesting topics you would to see covered, to influencing the style and design of the report.

If you would like to find out more about getting involved please contact Maria Morris on 0161 447 5076 or email maria.morris@greatplaces.org.uk.

Help our communities to flourish!

Great Places Residents’ Fund and Shared Spaces Fund provide a pot of money to help support individual customers to achieve a specific goal and to help both new and longstanding community projects to grow.

By taking part in the Great Places Funding Panel you’ll play an important role in deciding which customer and community applications are approved to receive funding from Great Places.

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Resident Vera Whitworth with Great Places’ Mike Glennon and Kirsty Hogarth

Funding Panel members are provided with training so that they can review and score applications from the comfort of their own home – either online or by post.

If you would like to find out more about getting involved please contact Maria Morris on 0161 447 5076 or email maria.morris@greatplaces.org.uk.

Working with you to improve our repairs service Customers help us to check the standard of our repairs work by providing feedback on their experience with the service (such as logging a repair, being allocated an appointment and the way that the work is carried out in their home).

Great Places regularly selects a sample of customers who have reported a repair to see if they would like to ‘mystery shop’ our repairs service but you can also volunteer to take part.

If you are having a repair completed and would like to provide feedback on your experience you can complete a feedback form, which can be found on our website under the heading ‘where you live’, or contact Maria Morris on 0161 447 5076 or email maria.morris@ greatplaces.org.uk.uk

How well do we handle customer calls?

We want your views! As the saying goes ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’ and this is the reason our team of volunteers audit the way Great Places handles calls with its customers.

Auditors listen to calls made to our two customer contact centers (Customer Access Team and our Repairs Team) to check that the way we handle customer calls is up to standard.

If you are someone who likes to make a difference then joining our team of 13 auditors may well be for you (plus, you can do it from the comfort of your own home!).

For further information please contact Maria Morris on 0161 447 5076 or email maria.morris@greatplaces.org.uk.

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Fire safety in the home Sadly, there’s recently been a number of serious fire-related incidents among Great Places residents. Here’s some top tips for keeping you and your loved ones fire safe.

Never smoke in bed!

If you’re feeling drowsy, have been drinking alcohol or are taking prescription drugs, take extra care when smoking. It’s really easy to fall asleep and not notice that a cigarette is still burning. Don’t light up if you need to lie down and never smoke in bed.

Chip pan fire safety

Around 16,000 domestic fires every year are started by chip pan fires. Use a deep-fat-fryer instead or, better still, use oven chips.

If you have a chip pan fire never put water on it, don’t tackle the fire yourself. Turn off the heat if it is safe to do so. Get out, stay out and call 999.

Fit a smoke alarm

Safe summer BBQs

Ensure your barbecue is positioned on a flat surface and well away from a shed or trees, never leave the barbecue unattended and make sure the tap is turned off before changing the cylinder. It’s also a good idea to keep a bucket of water or sand nearby for emergencies. If you suspect a leak to the cylinder or pipe work, brush soapy water around the joints and watch for bubbles – tighten to fix but do not over-tighten.

A smoke alarm could save the lives of you and your family in a fire. All Great Places homes are fitted with a fire alarm. Check the batteries regularly if you believe there is a problem with your alarm or call the CAT team on 0300 123 1966.

Don’t leave cooking unattended

More than half of accidental fires in the home are started in the kitchen. It is easy to be distracted while cooking and leave things unattended. Avoid cooking if you’re tired, have been drinking alcohol or taking medication that can make you drowsy.

Get a free home-fire-safety check

Did you know you can get a free home-fire-safety check? Call your local fire service on their general enquiries number and they will visit to fit smoke alarms and give safety advice on keeping your home and family as safe as possible.

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RESPECT

Find out what it means to me… and you!

Imagine if you or someone you cared for were shouted at and threatened when they went to work, just for doing their job. It would be really horrible for them, but it’s what can sometimes happen to our staff at supported housing schemes.

Our members of staff are not the enemy. They’re always there to help everyone they come into contact with – and anti-social behaviour can get them down just as it gets everyone else down too.

The reception areas of our schemes are workplaces for our staff but they are also parts of your home. We know that there’s frustration in life, but venting at someone for even a second can have a negative effect on the rest of their day and influence how they might respond to the next customer.

We will always respect you in your home and we ask that you respect us in our work-space. It’s a two-way

street; we’re here to help you with your concerns, but despite them you’re still responsible for your actions.

If you’re feeling low and you find yourself being unreasonable towards a team member at your scheme, you could always do what one resident recently did.

Once they had calmed down, they sat with their support staff and looked at the effect their behaviour had. After realising the consequences of their actions, they apologised to the scheme manager and signed an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) that prevented them from being evicted.

They were then given extra support work to help them cope with feelings of anger and frustration, with the ultimate result being that they got a job.

We know that it’s not possible to like every team member you might meet at the scheme where you live – but you can always be respectful to them.

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Competition time Complete the word search, spot the difference and survey questions, cut them out and post them to us, along with your full name and address, to be entered into a prize draw to win a £20 shopping voucher. Six winners will be selected. Make sure you include your survey questions with your entry.

Send your entries by post to: FREEPOST, RLSC-HLLJ-EZRZ, Springboard, Maria Morris, Great Places Housing Group, Southern Gate, 729 Princess Road, Manchester M20 2LT

All entries must be in by Friday 16 September 2016. Remember, you don’t need a stamp!

Wordsearch

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NEXT STEP PAINTING

SAFETY BOXING GLOVE

FLOODING UNIVERSITY AGAINST

VOLUNTEER CHRISTIE

UNITE RESPECT

HATE DECORATING

Congratulations to last issue’s winners: Wordsearch: Beth Lancaster – Manchester, Stephen Gillard – Bolton, Eileen Pearson – Northern Moor Spot the difference: Erica Bickley – Northern Moor, Raymond Brennan – Heysham, Rosemary Harrison – Northern Moor

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE There are five differences – can you spot them? Circle the five differences on photo two.

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Please answer the following question and send it along with your competition entry in order to be entered into the prize draw.

Do you know how to make a complaint to Great Places?

Yes / No

How would you make a complaint to Great Places if you needed to?

Post / Phone / Email / Text message / In person / Any of these Name:...................................................................................................................................................................................

Address:...............................................................................................................................................................................

Telephone/Mobile: ...............................................................Email:....................................................................................

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