April 2016
This is the second edition of The Branch for 2016. Manchester Student Homes’ Good Neighbours Team has had a busy and eventful March with lots of projects and news to tell you about!
Hidden Gems Fallowfield Tour Following the success of the November 2015 Hidden Gems Tours, Manchester Student Homes (MSH) decided to organise another tour on 16th March to provide students, local residents and University staff another chance to explore Fallowfield and to further encourage community cohesion. The second tour was another huge success and greatly enjoyed by everyone involved! Attendees were surprised by how much history is hidden around the Fallowfield area and how much of the local area was shaped by the community itself. One participant commented: ‘This was an excellent opportunity for students and community members to come together to learn more about the area we live in and to celebrate Fallowfield’s rich and diverse history.’’ The tours would not have been possible without our student volunteers from The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University who acted as excellent tour guides. We would also like to thank Greater Manchester Police, Withington Civic Society, Friends of Platt Fields Park and Fallowfield Community Guardians for their support.
Student Safety Campaign ‘WOLF’ Wary of Light Fingers The ‘WOLF’ campaign is the safety element of our Halls 2 Home Project and focuses on educating students on personal safety both on and off campus. MHS has designed 4 mediums of promotional merchandise: WOLFIE themed masks and hand stamps reminding student to be careful when using ATM machines; WOLFIE logo bugs advising students not to walk home alone and finally mobile phone themed mint boxes that contain information and a link to the Immobilise website. This is where you can register your electrical goods. For more information please email Josh (Community Cohesion Intern) at joshua.payne@manchester.ac.uk MSH in partnership with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) will be holding safety stalls both on and off campus throughout April. We will be distributing WOLFIE promotional merchandise along with providing safety advice and guidance. We will be holding stalls on: 14th April at MMU (12.30pm-3.30pm) - Business School, All Saint’s Campus 21st April at UoM (2.30pm-3.30pm) - The Atrium, University Place 27th April at Sainsbury’s Fallowfield (2pm-4.30pm)
Manchester Student Homes is a free, university-run housing service for students. Based in Fallowfield, MSH runs a landlord accreditation scheme and can offer support to students in relation to property searches, providing housing advice and contract checking. MSH also works with students, the community and partner agencies to identify issues in off campus areas.
MSH is now a Hate Crime 3rd Party Reporting Centre Manchester Student Homes (MSH) is delighted to announce that we recently became a Hate Crime 3 rd Party Reporting Centre. This was following MSH officer’s involvement in a series of events, activities and initiatives that took place during Hate Crime Awareness Week in February 2016. Hate Crimes and incidents are targeted at a person because of hostility, prejudice or discrimination towards that person's disability, ethnicity, faith, belief or religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity. Individuals who have been the victim of a hate crime can now come to our office and speak to a member of staff to receive support and guidance. Details of the crime will then be reported to Greater Manchester Police. All MSH officers have undertaken training delivered by GMP about hate crimes and how to support anyone who has been affected by this. ‘’We are delighted that MSH has been awarded the status of being a 3rd party reporting centre. Student safety is a massive part of the work we do here at Manchester Student Homes and this is a service that can be extended to any person living or working in an off campus area such as students, landlords and long term residents. The Team are here to provide support on this issue and we encourage landlords to get in touch should they have any questions about the issue of Hate Crime." - Cooper Healey, Manager of MSH For more information about Hate Crime, visit www.stophateuk.org 0800 138 1625
Manchester Student Homes has organised 5 landlord volunteering events in the past 5 months! This has resulted in our accredited landlords spending over 60 hours of their own time to further community projects!
SAVE THE DATE! COMMUNITY FORUM 17.30-19.30 10TH MAY 2016 St Chad's Church, St Chad's Road, Withington M20 4WH Community Forum The Community Forum will be taking place on Tuesday 10th May 2016 from 17.30– 19.30. The meeting will be held in St Chad’s Church, St Chad's Road, Withington, Manchester, M20 4WH. The evening will be an opportunity for senior colleagues from The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police to update residents on the work we have been undertaking in off campus areas. We are committed to involving residents in shaping this event to ensure discussions are meaningful. We would therefore be delighted to hear your thoughts on ideas or topics you would like discussed during the evening. We would be very grateful if you could confirm your attendance by Friday 29th April 2016. To register your place at the Community Forum, please RSVP to: e-mail: poppy.humphrey@manchester.ac.uk phone: 0161 275 0750 in person: Manchester Student Homes, Unit 1-3 Ladybarn House, Moseley Road, Fallowfield