16319A Aksa News Issue 3 2015 V4__ 25/03/2015 12:44 Page 1
Issue 3 Spring 2015
news Your magazine from Aksa Homes
Big Energy Saving Bus Tour
12 Teen Scene
16-17 Hats Off!
Why not give your business ideas a go?
191 Putting a stop to anti-social behaviour
Pages 8 & 9
Also inside... Volunteering with Aksa Pages 10-11
20
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Welcome to your first magazine of 2015! We hope you’ve enjoyed the first few months of the year so far. We’ve been really busy already and have some great things to share with you.
Our Neighbourhood Ne tworks champions and Tenants Panel working together
A very warm welcome to the new Aksa Tenant Panel members and we want to wish them all the very best in their new roles. Read the full story on page 13 which also provides information on how you can get involved if you would like to join the Tenants Panel.
ready’ and set up your own business. Already this is proving very popular and a great service even though it’s only been running for a few weeks. You can take part in IT classes, English classes, jewellery making and sewing classes are starting soon, so watch this space.
We have recently launched a new payment app that allows you to pay your rent using your mobile phone. To find out more, turn to page 4.
We hope you enjoy this issue of the newsletter. Let us know what you would like to see and hear in the next one by getting in touch with the Aksa Homes team on 0161 620 2992.
The Neighbourhood Network team is working hard on different projects in their communities, encouraging tenants to work together to improve their estates and build community spirit. This is great work and we would like to hear about any other activities going on in your neighbourhoods. In February we held the grand opening of the Launch Pad - a new centre to help you build skills, get ‘job
Look for this icon: If you have a smartphone you can also find more information on our website by scanning this barcode with a QR code reader app.
Reduced theatre tickets for Aksa tenants We have been working with Oldham Coliseum Theatre and we have set up a special offer for you to buy discounted tickets - just £7.50 each! This special price is for all the theatre’s productions, excluding any pantos.
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Why not take advantage of this fantastic offer and treat yourself and your family to a trip to the theatre? When booking your tickets at the theatre’s box office, you will just need to show proof that you are an Aksa tenant, e.g by showing an Aksa Homes letter with your name and address on it.
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
We are also hoping to work with the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, so watch out for news and any special offers on our Twitter and Facebook pages. For more information contact Shabana on 0161 620 2992.
www.aksahomes.co.uk
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Contents 5 11
Teen Scene
16-17 19
Rainbow Trust This year, Aksa Homes’ corporate charity is Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity. The Trust supports families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness - helping more than 25% of the 6,000 affected families in England. The charity supports the whole family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, regardless of diagnosis with a bespoke service for each family. Aksa is pleased to be helping this great cause with different fundraising events throughout the year. We’ll let you know how much we raise at the end of the year.
facebook.com/aksahomes
Money Matters
4
Neighbourhood Network
5
Your Neighbourhood Plans
6-7
Launch Pad
8-9
Got a great business idea? Why not ‘Give it a Go’?
10
Volunteering with Aksa Homes
10
International Women's Day
11
Big Energy Saving bus tour
12
Tenant Panel update
13
The 2014 customer survey results are in!
14-15
Teen Scene
16-17
IT & Biscuits
18
New Garden gets the go ahead
18
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
19
Hats off!
19
Putting a Stop to anti-social behaviour
20
Fun and games!
21
Sugar swap ideas - Change 4 Life
22
Events and classes
23
Your Aksa Project Officers
24
@AksaHomes
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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Money Matters Do you have any money worries? Our Money Care team can help. If you didn’t get chance to meet the team during our bus tour or you need more help with any money matters, visit us for a confidential and impartial chat with our qualified debt advisors. We can help you with debts, benefits and tax credit entitlements. We can help you find solutions to your debt problems, provide budgeting advice and help you maximise your income.
We have now launched a payment app so you can pay your rent and other money you owe us, directly from your mobile phone.
The team can also give advice on welfare benefits by helping you to claim what you're entitled to and help you appeal your case if a decision doesn't seem right. We can also provide support on switching energy suppliers to save you money.
Why not call in for a chat with our advisors? Here’s where you can find us and when: Bury
ADAB Centre 7 South Cross Street, BL9 0RT Last Wednesday in the month, 10am-12noon
Ashton-under-Lyne
New Charter hub 2 Henrietta Street, OL6 6EF Every Thursday, 9.30am-12noon
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Pay your rent on your mobile phone
Oldham
Aksa office 2 Medtia Square, Phoenix Street, OL1 1AN Every Thursday, 10am-12noon
Manchester
Waterloo Centre 389 Waterloo Road, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, M8 9AB Second Wednesday in the month, 10am-12noon
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
Find out more here: www.aksahomes.co.uk/pay-your-rent or click on this QR code to download the app:
Apple
Android
UNIVERSAL CREDIT: Are you ready? ✓ ✗
Tick l ist
the internet I have access to rnet I can use the inte Union account count or Credit I have a bank ac thly I can budget mon costs all my household I have looked at
If you have answered no to any of these questions, call the Aksa team on 0161 620 2992.
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The Aksa Neighbourhood Network (NN) was set up to help residents who care about their neighbourhood and want to make a difference in their community. During our 100 days campaign, many of you volunteered to be Neighbourhood Network Champions and you’ve been doing some great work ever since.
Could you be a Neighbourhood Network Champion?
Our Champions get involved in activities to help keep neighbourhoods clean, green and safe.They encourage other residents to get involved and access different services that can help them. Champions also tell us about any problems in their neighbourhoods and work with the Aksa team to resolve community issues. Here’s a few things the Champions have been getting up to...
NN Champions from dif neighbourhoods learning ferent to use digital services, social media an d the internet.
t on a gardening evenplanting ed is an rg o ns o sidents Champi , Bury to start re . Southbank Roadd develop a community gardendab A an m o es fr bl ta ed ge hm ve a Kosar and Jo Agrow their own). to (Pictured: Shaban s ur o hb ig r ne encouraging thei
Over the dark winter mo helped to pass on comm nths, Champions unity safety advice to residents in their neigh bourhoods. (Pictured: NN Champio n Sa me er Arshad with Chris Cordwell from O REP handing out comm unity safety leaflets on Allam a Iqbal Road, Glodwick ).
Look out for your Champions in your neighbourhood. They’ll be getting involved in our ‘Kick start your garden’ project next month - always a popular and fun event! Why not get involved and learn about gardening with them? facebook.com/aksahomes
@AksaHomes
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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Your Neighbourhood Plans We’re half way there In July 2013, we launched our Neighbourhood Plans a set of promises for each of our six neighbourhoods to help make your neighbourhoods better places to live, work and enjoy.
od o h r u o b h Neig ent m e g a n a M
You can find full details of where we’re up to on all our plans here on our website: www.aksahomes.co.uk/ neighbourhoods-andcommunities
What we promised: Work in partnership with the Police and other agencies to develop a long-term crime prevention strategy for the neighbourhood.
What we promised: Work with the police and other agencies to increase security in areas identified as hot spots for anti-social behaviour (ASB).
What we did: We held our first restorative justice session with two residents who had a long-standing dispute with each other.This gave one of the tenants the opportunity to tell the other how their actions made them feel and helped the other person realise that they had done wrong. We’ve had no more issues since.
What we did: With tenants, set up Bignor Street Residents’ Group to resolve issues such as ASB. They’re now working with the police and reporting issues more. Also improved security with new gates and pedestrian entry system.
Here’s some highlights…
Lots of other activities and projects mentioned in the newsletter link into your Neighbourhood Plans, such as The Launch Pad, Give it a Go and Aksa A Team.
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You and yo ur What we promised:
family
Develop a programme of activities that help tenants What we did: keep warm and reduce In November, we ran our ‘Big their fuel bills. Energy Saving bus tour’ visiting all neighbourhoods to give tenants one-to-one support and help them switch suppliers and reduce their bills - see page 12.
Home What we promised: Carry out internal and external property inspections to all Aksa properties within the neighbourhoods.
What we promised: Review tenancy agreement to clarify the action we will take to resolve problems with nuisance/noise/untidy gardens.
What we did: A ‘good neighbour agreement’ was drawn up for residents, by residents on Cotton Mill Crescent (Oldham South) to address low level anti-social behaviour. It has helped people be more respectful of each other and brought the community together.
What we did: We found a problem on estates with rubbish so residents from Oldham North visited a recycling plant to find out more about recycling and helped to make neighbourhoods cleaner. Find out more on page 19.
Coming soon Aksa Homes has provided funding to create an educational garden at Bignor Street which is due to be finished in April. Residents visited local community gardens for inspiration.
What we did: What we promised: Great Homes events to be held regularly to look at the repairs and maintenance service.
As part of our 100 days ‘Love your neighbourhood’ event, we gave advice and guidance on customer’s repairs issues and how to prevent damp and condensation at home.
86%
of you said you happy wit ’re h our service s (se e pages 14 -15)
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@AksaHomes
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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A new centre to help you build skills, get ‘job ready’ and set up your own business On 9th February we opened our new business, enterprise and training hub on Marlborough Street, Glodwick for residents.
the centre, along with a range of other courses to help you build your skills and confidence and get you ready for employment.
The Launch Pad is run by Aksa and is a great new place where you can access different training and learning opportunities to help get you into work and even set up your own business.
The ‘Give it a Go’ project is also based at the Launch Pad which can give you the advice and support you need to set up your own business. You can find out more on page 10.
One of our Stepping into Work clubs is running from
For more information, contact John Fay at the Aksa office.
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Sajad’s story
Ms N’s story
“I wa s on Job see kers Allowa nce for a cou ple of yea rs but I did n’t kn ow wh ere to get hel p. Th e Job Centre wa s sen din g me to dif fere nt pla ces but I wa sn’t gettin g the support I required. “I wa s first ma de aware of the Sajad H us support Ak sa offer to ten ant s turned sain has around things wh en two me mbers of staff w help o ith the kn ock ed on my doo r an d spo ke f Aksa’s Step to me about the Ste ppi ng int o Work ping into progra Wo rk progra mm e. I wa sn’t sure mme I would qua lify an d how the y cou ld hel p me but the y exp lai ned tho rou ghly about ag es, I felt like I wa s ma kin g the progra mm e an d how som e progre ss. the y would ass ist me. Th ey inv ited me alo ng to the ir “Vo luntee rin g wit h Ak sa ope ned ma ny doo rs for me. I fee l like I next wo rk clu b. a a part of a tea m whilst “I att end ed the wo rk clu b an d leamrnin g so ma ny val ua ble I wa s a ma zed by the support tra nsferra ble skills. Ak sa ha s Ak sa sta ff we re able to offer given me opport un itie s to get me. Tahira an d Sh aban a lift ed involve d in oth er thi ng s like the my spi rits an d hel ped me to Ne igh bou rhood Netwo rk, rebuild my confid ence so I can Ten ant s Pa nel an d the y are succeed in the area I ha d als o loo kin g at securi ng a qua lifications in an d believe in pla cem ent for me wit hin my self ag ain. the Ne w Ch art er Housi ng “Sh aban a ass isted me to app ly Tru st Group. for app renticeships in ad mi n “I l like my life cha ng ed an d IT but unfort un ate ly I wa s whfee the two ladies fro m un successfu l du e to not hav ing Ak en sa kn ock ed on my doo r. an y experie nce. In stead, I fee l like a com pletely Mina z wa s able to get me a dif fere nt person wh o ha s vol unt eering pos itio n wit hin com e so far in the last six Ak sa. This hel ped me so mu ch mo nth s all wit h the support to fee l confid ent an d aft er of Ak sa Ho me s.”
Ms N wanted to get back into work, but as she wasn’t receiving Jobseeke rs Allowan ce, she wasn’t in touch with many services to support her. Ms N started coming alon g to Aksa’s work club for help and support in looking for a job. At the club, Mrs N was give n help and guidance on putting her CV together and completi ng an application form. Ms N had a telephon e inte rview in February and was then offe red a job working for a custome r service centre, contacti ng loca l cate ring businesses. The job is part-time and idea l for her as a pare nt. As well as bein g successful in getting a job, Ms N was also a great support to othe r residents in the work club.
Through our Stepping into Work programme, we have helped residents into a wide range of jobs including nursery nurses, pharmacy assistants, optical assistants, bakery workers and jobs in retail, customer services and construction. Why not contact us and see how we can help you get into work?
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@AksaHomes
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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Got a great business idea? Why not ‘Give it a Go’? Give it a Go is a scheme which has been set up to give residents like you the advice and support you need to turn the dream of running your own business into a reality.
Give it a Go is based at the Launch Pad where two professional companies, (Upturn and Blue Orchid) are available every Tuesday to guide you on setting up your own business. business.The The team can also meet you at the Aksa office if it’s more convenient.
The jobs market is very competitive so to help get you into work, why not put your own business ideas into action?
Volunteering with Aksa Homes We offer volunteering opportunities to Aksa tenants to help you gain experience, skills, and confidence to help you get into employment. Volunteering can help people of all ages, whether you need valuable experience to help you get a job or you’re just leaving school and want to build up your skills and CV. All you need to do is speak to Tahira Adam at the Aksa office to
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Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
arrange a meeting and then you can get going from there. At the meeting, you’ll complete a simple application form and look at the type of volunteering which is right for you. You’ll then have a group or one-to-one induction before starting your placement. Placements are usually just for a few hours a week, for six weeks.
You can also find out how to apply to Oldham Council for a business start-up grant. Give it a Go can also offer grants to under 25s which may not need to paid back.
So far, 16 volunteers have had placements with us making a total of 289 hours volunteering!
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Here are two re sid who have succe ents ssfully completed the volunteer prog ramme
Sameer & Mrs A khtar’s
story
M conf ide rs Akhta r sa n ce a n d id: “I g ain u s T h e exkpills to spea ksed my i nterperd i n my c erie n ce I g to re side nts. eti n g Aksa hou rse a n d gea i n ed h elped a n d leealped me meteti n g i nvolved me rn a bou t n ew p i n Aksa dt a ll th e thi negople oe s.” s
Sameer Arshad and M rs Akhtar started vo lunteering with Aksa in October 2014 . Sameer and Mrs Ak htar speak English and Urdu fluen tly and helped to talk to residents about ideas for healt hy walking activities in the areas. They both gained ex perience of working “I h a d a : with residents, id sa interpreting, complet r e e m a S ing paperwork, collect ing data and helped to plan fu ood expe rie n celeoafrnt a g y ll a ture activities based re around tenants’ needs. ksa. I volu ntee ri n g ateAco m m u nity, Sameer also went on lot a bout th m m u nication to work with tenant s during our Community Safety W eek and on the Ener deve loped my colvin g skills a n d gy Saving bus tour, helping tena nts to reduce their en a n d proble m soof confide n ce.” ergy bills and keep their homes safe. ga in ed lots Sameer is now compl eting his A-Levels an d is looking to start university in Septem ber. He hopes to wor k part-time alongside studies.We also help his Sports ed Sameer into volunt eering at Madhlo yout sports volunteer wor h centre as a king with children an d young people. Mrs Akhtar went on to successfully compl ete a Community Inte Level 2 course and is rpreting now applying for jobs in the NHS and othe Picture services to work as r public an interpreter. d Samee : r Arshad
Aksa celebrates International Women’s Day VIP style! Aksa Homes selected 30 women who have attended the last two international women’s events as VIP’s to attend a special day. Women were treated to a special day in beautiful Uppermill, Oldham. Fay Selvan Chair of New Charter board and CEO of The Big Life Group opened the day by sharing the history of international women’s day and the current inequalities women face today. Sally Bonnie, Director of The Collective Partnership showed the women how to meditate and make scented aroma sprays. We rounded off the day with a barge trip down Uppermill canal, a hot lunch and a trip to Uppermill museum.
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@AksaHomes
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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In November, we ran our ‘Big Energy Saving bus tour’ spending a day in each of our six neighbourhoods to help you save money on your energy bills. The Aksa team was on hand to give residents one-to-one support to compare energy prices and help them to switch suppliers to reduce their bills. Over the six day tour we: Spoke to and helped more than 200 residents Gave one-to-one advice on switching energy suppliers to more than 150 residents Helped tenants save a total of £5,400 on their fuel bills by switching Helped customers complete 10 Warm Homes discount applications We also referred customers to our Money Care team and the MiNTed service for more financial support
Big Energy Savi Network, in par ng tner with the Departm ship en Energy and Clim t of ate Change gave us £5,000 of fundin g to help us run the event.
The tour was also the ideal opportunity for us to promote our new Money Care service for you - confidential and impartial face-toface advice and support with debts, benefits and tax credit, from qualified debt advisors. See page 4 for more information.
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Farewell Wishes We would like to say a HUGE thank you and fond farewell to our previous panel members: ● Kiran Sonya ● Azra Anwar ● Johura Khatun ● Mr Hussain ● Mr Razaq ● Mr Suleman
Warm welcome In November, we held a Tenant Panel recruitment day to encourage some new residents to join our panel and get involved with Aksa Homes. embers: Several of our previous members now New Tenant Panel m lle have new jobs which is brilliant news and Sujata Begum, Danie in ussa after many residents worked with us for Nor ton and Sajid H three years, we thought it’d be nice to welcome some new faces and ideas to the group. The event was a big success and lots of you came along to hear previous members, Mrs Anwar and Mrs Bibi talk about their journey with the Tenant Panel and how being involved has made a difference to their lives. Many people were interested in getting involved and we’re delighted to welcome four new members to the panel.
● Yasmin Ali We really appreciate all the great work you have done with us and wish you all the best for the future. Congratulations to those of you who have now got jobs brilliant news!
The panel is going to be looking at all your feedback from our last customer survey Panel members are all Aksa tenants like you, so they will have a good understanding of your views and how we can use them to make services better for you. For more information on the survey, see the next two pages.
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@AksaHomes
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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The 2014 customer s
results are in!
Each year, we run a big customer survey called the STAR Survey (Survey of Tenants and Residents). Most housing associations do this to check how happy their tenants are with their services and find out what they need to improve on.
We really value what you say – both good feedback and things you want us to improve on.
86%
We’re pleased to say that most of you are happy with our services, but we know that there’s room for improvement, so we’ll be using your feedback to help make things better for you. We’ll keep you up to date.
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Your views are so important to us and help us to keep making our services better for you.
OVERALL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
A net promoter score of +20 is recommended as good for a social landlord like us, and we got +35
+35
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
GOOD NET PROMOTER SCORE
(How likely you are to recommend Aksa Homes to others)
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er survey Mr. Buckley with Georgina Nolan (Project Manager) receiving vouchers
Last year, we ran our 100 day 'Love your Neighbourhood' event and arranged loads of activities in all your neighbourhoods. The event aimed to encourage lots of positivity and get residents more involved in communities and help us deliver our promises made in the Neighbourhood Plans.
83% 87%
Everyone who answered this customer survey was entered into a prize draw and we’re delighted to tell you that Mr & Mrs Mumford-Lloyd from Buckley Street, Uppermill were our lucky winners! They won £150 in Tesco vouchers.
SATISFIED WITH YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD AS A PLACE TO LIVE We’ve been keeping you up to date on all our work and activities, using social media. We’ve seen a 362% increase in Facebook reaches and 250,000 more connections on Twitter. Our IT & Biscuits class has helped lots of you get started on social media – read more on page 18.
The Aksa team will look at all the information you gave us in this latest survey along with your feedback from other smaller surveys to get a bigger picture of what we need to work on.
THINK AKSA HOMES IS GOOD AT KEEPING YOU INFORMED
We opened The Launch Pad in February - a business and enterprise hub helping Aksa customers to set up their own business and access more learning and training to help get you into work. See more on pg 8.
41%
INTERESTED IN GETTING INVOLVED IN WORK AND VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES 65% of you say the quality of your home is important to you. We’re continuing to put money into your homes to make them good quality for you. We’re listening to your feedback on the work we do on your homes to keep improving our services.
82%
SATISFIED WITH THE QUALITY OF YOUR HOME
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@AksaHomes
We will keep you updated on what the team has been doing and improvements that we have made for you. We’ve listened to your views on grounds maintenance and are now training our Neighbourhood Network Champions to be Green Charter monitors. Our monitors will help us to check up on our gardening services and make improvements for you.
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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Teen Scene e r t a e h T g n Teachi
Did you hear about the play we put on at Oldham Coliseum?
No, what was that? Me and five mates have been meeting up at the theatre every Monday to produce our own play. We did all the work like costume design, budgeting, script writing and lots of other stuff and then we put on our play the other week. That sounds awesome, must have been hard work!
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☺
Yeah it did but it was worth it We’ve been learning about all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes for a bit now – stage decoration, marketing, box office and production. Got some great stuff to put on my CV now. Sounds brill. It’ll look really good when you go for jobs, they’ll be well impressed! ;) Yeah I hope so. I’m really interested in doing more plays and arty stuff now. You should come along next time mate
☺
Did you know?
d project Teaching Theatre was the secon m Aksa Homes has run with Oldha people Coliseum Theatre, giving young e which valuable life skills and experienc rld of work. will help them prepare for the wo re projects with the theatre. We look forward to running mo
eaper theatre tickets, Why not take advantage of ch See page 2. exclusively for Aksa tenants?
Here's a picture of us
Getting off the Ground We’re working with Groundwork and our A Team to set up some new projects for young people in our neighbourhoods. We’re looking at some exciting activities such as crafts sessions, environmental arts projects and computer gaming sessions where young people can get together.
Here is some of the great work alread y started
This work is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and aims to encourage young people to develop good relationships with each other and their elders in communities. Watch out for more news on this very soon.
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@AksaHomes
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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IT & Biscuits IT & Biscuits sessions help you to get started on social media and learn about the benefits of being online. It’s so useful to know how to use the internet nowadays as many services are now just based online. So, why not come along and find out more? It & Biscuits is currently held every week on a Friday morning at the Aksa office in Oldham.
We’ll soon be running IT & Biscuits in our Manchester neighbourhood too, so if you live in this area and want to know more, contact Tahira Adam at the Aksa office on 0161 620 2992.
New Garden gets the go ahead The tenants of Bignor Street secured funds from Aksa to create an educational garden on the land at the back of the flats. To help with designing the garden tenants took a trip to award winning New Charter garden projects. Residents were shown around the Stanhope community gardens andYouth Base in Micklehurst. Residents involved in both projects shared their experiences and explained how the projects have evolved.The design is now being finalised by tenants and the garden is set to be built and open by next month. The garden will be maintained by the residents of Bignor Street and will be a space for them to enjoy.
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Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
Kurt Evans, Bignor Street tenant and Neighbourhood Network Champion said: “I am happy that Aksa are willing to support us financially to improve our area and really looking forward to making our garden a reality.”
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 11 ladies from Westwood and Coldhurst took a trip to the recycling plant in Sharston to find out where our rubbish goes and learn about being environmentally friendly. Everyone found the trip interesting and learnt about why recycling is so important and what they can do as residents to help look after the environment. After the trip, Neighbourhood Network Champions shared information on recycling with their neighbours.They also translated the
information into different languages to help get the messages across to more people. The ladies’ work has really paid off with neighbourhoods now looking much cleaner and some of the women are now getting involved with more Aksa activities too.
Hats off!
Congratulations to all eight residents who’ve completed their pre-entry level ESOL course in English language.This is a fantastic achievement. The Talk English Project, run in partnership with Aksa, helps people to improve their English language skills, access services, get more involved in the community and help increase their chances of getting employment. Having built their confidence through this course, these tenants are now hoping to enrol on the next level course to develop their English further. If you’re interested in English classes, please contact Tahira Adam at the Aksa office on 0161 620 2992.
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Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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What do customers say about how we deal with anti-social behaviour?
Putting a
P
ST
to Anti-Social Behav iour (ASB)
What is anti-social behaviour? Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is action which causes nuisance or annoyance to an individual or a community. Examples of ASB can include: playing loud music being verbally abusive harassment threating to or committing acts of violence damaging or defacing other people’s property parking illegally committing criminal offences in an Aksa property or the local area possessing, manufacturing and selling controlled drugs Sometimes, anti-social behaviour can last a long time and cause a lot of upset and distress to people and their families - but please don’t struggle in silence. We are here to help you.
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What can Aksa do to help? We treat all reports of anti-social behaviour in the strictest confidence. cial Once you have reported anti-so for e behaviour to us, we will arrang you to meet with your to neighbourhood co-ordinator le tab or discuss it further in a comf then environment for you.We can er agree a joint action plan togeth to resolve any issues. ds We use lots of different metho r to to resolve anti-social behaviou u. get the right result for yo h This could include meetings wit everyone involved/affected, rnings mediation, issuing written wa h the and cautions and working wit local police. Where needed, we also put injunctions in place and carry out evictions. port We give you the help and sup you need to resolve things.
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
See page 2 3 for dates and times of o ur Stop ASB b us t our.
“I am really grateful for what Aksa has done to resolve my complaint; my neighbour’s behaviour is much better.” “I found the staff dealing with my complaint to be helpful, courteous, sensitive, responsive and knowledgeable. I found it very easy to report my complaint and I was very satisfied with how my complaint was dealt with.”
In the last 12 months, Aksa Homes has resolved 22 cases of anti-social behaviour reported by customers
So, what can you do if you’re a victim of anti-social behaviour? Contact Aksa Homes immediately we can help. You can report anti-social behaviour to us in different ways: Phone our office: 0161 620 2992 Call our ASB hotline (24 hours a day): 0800 027 0522 Vist www.aksahomes.co.uk/antisocial-behaviour-and-domesticabuse/asb-reporting-form Email: info@aksahomes.co.uk
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Fun and games! Spring Word Search This is a zigzag word search puzzle. Words go left, right, up, down, not diagonally, but can bend at a right angle. There are no unused letters in the grid, every letter is used only once.
Find all the words from this list:
APRIL
MARCH
BIRDHOUSE
MAY
BLOSSOM
NESTLINGS
BLUE SKY
SEEDS
FRESHNESS
SOWING
GARDEN
SUNLIGHT
GREEN GRASS
YOUNG GROWTH
COLOUR MEIN Can you add some colour to these Spring chicks?
facebook.com/aksahomes
@AksaHomes
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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Events and classes Time
Where
How we can help
Mondays 12noon - 2pm
Stepping into Work (Oldham North) At Millenium Centre, Featherstall Road North, Westwood, OL9 6QB
Share skills and experiences, find work opportunities, make contacts, create a CV and get the support you need to help you into work.
Tuesdays 12noon - 2pm
Stepping into Work (Oldham East & South) At The Launch Pad, Marlborough Street, Glodwick, Oldham, OL4 1EG
Share skills and experiences, find work opportunities, make contacts, create a CV and get the support you need to help you into work.
Wednesdays 9.30am - 12noon
Advice Drop-in At Aksa Homes office, 2 Medtia Square, Phoenix Street, Oldham OL1 1AN
Get support with housing, benefits, completing forms and other services.
Thursdays 10am - 12noon
Stepping into Work (Manchester) At Waterloo Centre, 389 Waterloo Road, Manchester, M8 9AB
Share skills and experiences, find work opportunities, make contacts, create a CV and get the support you need to help you into work.
Thursdays 10am - 12noon
Rent Surgery Drop-in At Aksa Homes office, 2 Medtia Square, Phoenix Street, Oldham OL1 1AN
Get support with housing, benefits, completing forms and other services.
Thursdays 10am - 12noon
Money Care At Aksa Homes office, 2 Medtia Square, Phoenix Street, Oldham OL1 1AN
Get support with money matters including debt advice and other services.
Thursdays 1pm - 2.30pm
Aksa IT classes At Aksa Homes office, 2 Medtia Square, Phoenix Street, Oldham OL1 1AN
Learn basic IT - how to use a computer, create an email address and use Microsoft packages e.g. Word and other computer programmes.
Fridays 12noon - 4pm
Stepping into Work (Bury) At ADAB, 14 Heywood Street, Bury, BL9 4EA (New venue!)
Share skills and experiences, find work opportunities, make contacts, create a CV and get the support you need to help you into work.
Stop ASB bus tour We’ll be visiting your neighbourhoods to give you information and support on reporting anti-social behaviour and how we can help resolve issues. Look out for our bus! Here’s where we’ll be and when:
Tuesday 26th May Southbank Road, Bury Wednesday 27th May Peakdale Avenue, Manchester Thursday 28th May Allama Iqbal Road/Jinnah Close, Oldham Friday 29th May Armitage Close, Oldham
Free for all Aksa tenants. Contact us for more information or to book your place.
facebook.com/aksahomes
@AksaHomes
Why not tear this out and stick it on your fridge?
Aksa News: Issue 3, 2015
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Contact us Aksa Homes Aksa House, 2 Medtia Square, Phoenix Street, Oldham, OL1 1AN info@aksahomes.co.uk www.aksahomes.co.uk facebook.com/aksahomes @AksaHomes AKSAHOMES Linked In
Main Switchboard:
0161 620 2992 Emergency Repairs Call 0161
620 2992 if you need an
emergency repair during the following times: • • • •
After 5pm Monday to Wednesday After 4.30pm on Thursdays After 4pm on Fridays During weekends and Bank Holidays
Your Aksa Project Officers All of the Project Officers look after different neighbourhoods and services. Here’s who to contact for the different areas and activities:
Tanuja Patel
Works with Oldham North and Ashton neighbourhoods and the Tenant Panel
Victoria Clark-Leece
Works in Bury and Manchester neighbourhoods
Shabana Kosar
Works in Oldham South neighbourhood and looks after our work with Oldham Coliseum Theatre and the A Team
John Fay
Works in Oldham East neighbourhood and The Launch Pad
Tahira Adam
Looks after our Stepping into work and ICAN learning programme
Janet Hall
Is working on Neighbourhood Plans, your feedback from our customer survey and House Proud 2 improving repairs
Jayne Booth
(your Neighbourhood Co-ordinator) Works with all of the Project Officers and looks after all of our housing management functions including tenancies and anti-social behaviour
Resource Housing Reg. No. 2111