Inviting entries for the 2016 Pat Chown Capturing Creativity award

Are you making a real positive difference to people’s lives in Wales? Are you doing that in a way you think is different?

If so, we would be delighted to hear from you with an application for CHC’s Capturing Creativity Award in memory of Pat Chown.

In the last 16 years, we have heard about so many marvellous things that have been done to help and support people in so many different ways.

Giving a flavour from the hundreds of entries we have received, there have been:

• Homeless people being trained (accredited) and then going into schools to explain, starkly and powerfully from personal experiences, how drugs can mess up your life. 
• A service which was set up to apparently help people with serious ‘de-cluttering’ issues but which actually addressed the multiple problems some people faced and helped them to change and improve their lives in so many positive ways.
• A bus visiting towns and villages in north Wales to provide confidential and sympathetic advice and signposting on sexual health matters.
• Training, work experience and follow on jobs for young people which also helped build their self esteem and confidence.

Not all the above won the award but they did make a mark. Also, there were loads more covering helping with financial inclusion, involving older people in their communities and on and on and on.

As you can see, these activities are wide ranging and that is at the core of the award. Alongside that is seeing that the worthwhile activity is taking some form of different approach. I know this can sometimes be difficult to decide, but it would be your opinion on it which the judges would then consider.

There are lots of great things going on in Wales, and we want to celebrate those activities.

Go on, put in an entry for the Pat Chown Award this year. It will be valued and, who knows, you may win! You can enter on CHC's website.

Also, just to add as an extra, the winners also nominate a charity for a £1,000 donation.

We look forward to receiving your entries!

John Chown, a member of the judging panel

YMCA Steps Project wins CHC's Pat Chown Capturing Creativity award

The YMCA Steps Project was honoured to receive the Pat Chown Capturing Creativity Award in November 2015 for our work with mental health service users in partnership with Cardiff and Vale UHB. It is a privilege to support our service users and help them move forward on their journey towards independent living so to be recognised for this work by Community Housing Cymru was very special.

As part of the award, we were given the opportunity to nominate another charity to receive a donation of £1000. After consulting with staff and residents at the YMCA, we chose the FAN Charity. They support 16 FAN groups in Cardiff which give people a chance to come together, develop their speaking and listening skills and build friendships. The groups are attended by people of a whole variety of different nationalities and are a great place for people to improve their English and find a sense of community in a new country and city. The YMCA also benefits from the support of the FAN charity in the running of a FAN group at the hostel for our residents.

YMCA staff and residents were privileged to attend another local FAN group on Tuesday along with John Chown in order to present the donation. We were able to take part in the actual meeting and witness first-hand how important and beneficial the group is for those who attend. The donation given in memory of Pat Chown will be spent on advertising and promoting the FAN groups so that more people can benefit from the incredible service that FAN offers.

 

Andrea Reynolds, Cardiff YMCA Housing Association

Dwy Iaith dan Un To / Two Languages under One Roof #DIUT

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Yr wythnos yma mae Grŵp Cartrefi Cymunedol Cymru yn dathlu'r Gymraeg ac yn ail-ategu ein hymrwymiadau i fod yn sefydliadau cynhwysol a dwyieithog drwy gyfres o sesiynau gyda ffocws ar y Gymraeg yn ein swyddfeydd. Mae'r Gymraeg yn rhan hanfodol o fywyd a chymdeithas yng Nghymru ac mae hynny'n wir am waith CHC a'r aelodau a gynrychiolwn ym mhob rhan o Gymru, a gyda safonau'r Gymraeg yn cael eu hymestyn, rydym hefyd yn sicrhau fod gan y Gymraeg rôl gyfannol i ni yma.

Mae tair prif thema yn ganolog i'r wythnos: Ymwybyddiaeth Iaith, Dysgu Iaith a'n Cynllun Iaith; mae'r holl sesiynau sydd ar y gweill ar gyfer yr wythnos Gymraeg yn cyd-fynd gyda'r themâu pwysig yma ac yn sicrhau ein bod yn dysgu mwy am y Gymraeg yn ogystal â'n hymrwymiadau i ddwyieithrwydd a galluogi dysgu'r iaith ei hun.

Cafodd ein hwythnos Dwy Iaith dan Un To ddechrau gwych gyda seminar ar ymwybyddiaeth iaith gan Meirion Prys Jones, Prif Swyddog Gweithredol y Rhwydwaith Hyrwyddo Amrywiaeth Ieithyddol a Phrif Swyddog Gweithredol olaf Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg (y person delfrydol i godi ymwybyddiaeth!). Addysgir y wers i ni llawer am hanes Cymru ac o'r iaith Gymraeg ac addysgon ni wersi pwysig am hunaniaeth Gymreig a'r angen i sicrhau bod yr iaith Gymraeg nid yn unig yn goroesi, ond yn ffynnu.

Yn ystod yr wythnos bydd Lowri, ein tiwtor Cymraeg poblogaidd, wedi cyflwyno dwy sesiwn blas ar y Gymraeg gydag un yn canolbwyntio ar y Gymraeg yn y gwaith a'r llall ar y Gymraeg tu allan i'r gwaith ar gyfer dechreuwyr llwyr i gymryd cam cadarn ar y llwybr i roi cynnig ar y Gymraeg ac ennyn brwdfrydedd pawb ohonom am ddysgu'r Gymraeg. Byddwn hefyd yn edrych ar yr amrywiaeth o dechnoleg iaith a all gefnogi dysgu a galluogi pawb yn CHC i weithio'n effeithiol yn ddwyieithog.

I ategu ein hymrwymiadau i ymwreiddio'r Gymraeg yn ein gwaith byddwn yn edrych ar ein Cynllun Iaith Gymraeg cyfredol ac edrych ymlaen at y safonau - bydd Swyddog Cydymffurfiaeth o swyddfa'r Comisiynydd Iaith yma i drafod gwaith y Comisiynydd a safonau'r Gymraeg er mwyn hyrwyddo manteision y Gymraeg a dwyieithrwydd.

Bu trefnu'r wythnos Gymraeg yn llafur cariad i mi. Ar ôl astudio'r Gymraeg fel ail iaith, rwy'n awyddus i rannu fy angerdd at yr iaith gyda fy nghydweithwyr a fu'n eiddgar iawn helpu i drefnu'r wythnos yma a chymryd rhan. Mae amseriad yr wythnos hefyd yn ddelfrydol oherwydd nid yn unig mae'r safonau ar y gorwel ond mae hefyd ddigwyddiadau Cymraeg gwych i ddod eleni megis Tafwyl a'r Eisteddfod Genedlaethol sy'n wirioneddol ddangos yr etifeddiaeth barhaus a lle canolog y Gymraeg ym mhob agwedd o fywyd yng Nghymru ac yn sicr ni fydd CHC yn colli'r cyfle!

This week at the Community Housing Cymru Group we are celebrating the Welsh language and reaffirming our commitments to being inclusive and bilingual organisations through a series of Welsh-focussed sessions at our offices. Welsh is an integral part of life and society in Wales and that is true of the work that CHC conducts and the members that we represent right across Wales and, with forthcoming language standards being rolled out, we are ensuring that Welsh also plays an integral role for us here.

Central to this week are its three major themes: Language Awareness, Language Learning and our Language Scheme; all of the sessions planned for this Welsh week fit in to these major themes and ensure that we learn more about the Welsh language as well our commitments to bilingualism and enabling learning of the language itself.

Our Dwy Iaith dan Un To week got off to a brilliant start with a seminar on language awareness delivered by Meirion Prys Jones, CEO of the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) and the last CEO of the Welsh Language Board (the ideal person to raise awareness!). The session taught us a lot about the history of Wales and of the Welsh language and we learned important lessons about Welsh identity and the need to ensure that the Welsh language not only survives but thrives.

Our popular Welsh language tutor, Lowri, delivered two Welsh taster sessions this week with one focussing on Welsh at work and the other on Welsh outside of work for complete beginners to get people who don’t speak Welsh a strong footing on the ladder to really giving Welsh a go and getting us enthusiastic about learning Welsh. We’ll also be looking at the array of Welsh language technology that can support learning and can enable everyone at CHC to work bilingually efficiently.

To reaffirm our commitments to wedding Welsh to our work we will look at our current Welsh Language Scheme and look ahead to the standards – a Compliance Officer from the Welsh Language Commissioner’s office will be here to talk through the work of the Commissioner and to discuss Welsh language standards with us to really promote the advantages of the Welsh language and of bilingualism.

Organising a week of Welsh has been a labour of love for me. Having studied Welsh as a second language I am keen to share my passion for the language with my co-workers who have really jumped on board in helping organise this week and in taking part. The timing of this week is also ideal because not only do we have standards on the horizon but there are great Welsh language events to come this year, such as Tafwyl and the National Eisteddfod, which really showcase the lasting legacy and the undeniably solid and rightful place the Welsh language has in all aspects of life in Wales and CHC certainly won’t be missing out!

Liam Townsend

Research Assistant / Cynorthwy-ydd Ymchwil 

Can off-site construction of new homes solve public sector housing pressures?

Social landlords are often under pressure to build high quality, best value housing quickly. Traditional house builders are finding skill shortages in many areas that puts pressure on house building costs.

There is a solution that provides an ideal alternative to social landlords wishing to build new housing quickly and efficiently – off-site construction. With many UK manufacturers now using state of the art manufacturing techniques in modern, highly automated factories, off-site construction has come a long way in recent years, offering landlords high quality and cost effective solutions for house building.

This is where LHC can help. Our free to use framework agreement for Off-site Construction of New Homes (design, manufacture, supply and erection) is available for public sector organisations in England, Wales and Scotland. For Wales, this framework offers a selection of 5 companies, that can service all regions whilst adhering to our strict quality standards.

Fully OJEU compliant, the framework provides local authorities and housing associations with easy access to off-site manufactured volumetric and panelised building systems for the use in new home build projects. The framework includes the option of a turnkey solution including design, manufacture, supply, installation and construction services. Alternatively, a supply option excluding construction services is also available.

Offering a supply only, as well as a full turnkey solution, the framework offers our clients flexibility of choice. The companies appointed to service this new framework meet the strict LHC requirement of offering superior quality while offering competitive pricing.

I would recommend that anyone interested in finding out more should attend our Factory Fortnight event in February 2016. This event will offer clients the opportunity to visit off site factories and find out about the benefits of modern off-site building techniques.

For further information or to register for Factory Fortnight please visit : www.lhc.gov.uk. Alternatively contact Noel Shapton directly on 07867 428777 or email noel.shapton@lhc.gov.uk.


Noel Shapton
LHC (London Housing Consortium)

No Cold Homes campaign

“Being on a meter has made me very aware of how much money is spent on energy. We make a conscious effort to use the bare minimum and check the meter every morning and night so we are constantly aware of what we are using. I dread the winter.”

“I feel guilty every time it is cold and the children have to sit with blankets around them because I am too worried to put the heating on.”

These are just a couple of the stories we’ve heard as part of our No Cold Homes campaign. As a charity fighting UK poverty, we know that millions of people are struggling to pay their energy bills and keep their homes warm - often going without food and other essentials.

As part of our campaign, we found that almost two-thirds (64%) of low income households in Wales are struggling with their energy costs, despite being in work. A huge 85% feel they will have to cut back on, or not use their heating this winter, whilst over two-fifths (42%) said they would resort to cutting back on food. Two-fifths (40%) anticipate that their energy bills will cause further stress and worry over the coming months.

It’s clear that more needs to be urgently done to tackle these serious problems and one way to help is by raising awareness. More than half (56%) of those households struggling in Wales have done so for more than a year, yet only 16% have told their energy supplier about their situation, and only 4% have turned to an advice organisation for help.

Through our campaign, we want to make sure that the help available gets to where it’s needed. We’ve been working in partnership with other charities and organisations to spread the word amongst their networks. Alongside working households, we know many other groups will suffer this winter too, and we want to reach as many people as we can.

Anyone who is worried about their energy costs this winter can use our free Benefits Calculator to check if they are entitled to any welfare benefits and tax credits, our Grants Search to see if they could be eligible for support from over 3,000 charitable funds, and find information on further sources of help including charitable trusts from energy companies, the Warm Home Discount and the Winter Fuel Payment.

We hope that our campaign will help to create more noise around fuel poverty issues and the help available, so that more people can find support that could make all the difference this winter and beyond.

For more information, please visit www.turn2us.org.uk/NoColdHomes.


Simon Hopkins
Chief Executive of Turn2us

Welsh Apprentice Challenge - hear from the winning mentor!

The first ever Welsh Apprentice Challenge was launched at Community Housing Cymru's Annual Conference on 19th November. 15 apprentices were nominated from all over Wales and were split into three teams. Each team faced the following challenge: 

How can we promote housing as a career of choice for young people?

I mentored the imaginatively named 'Team 3' which was made up of Emily (Cartrefi Conwy), Mathew (Coastal Housing Group), Karolina (Monmouthshire Housing), Oliver (Newport City Homes) and Daniel (Taff Housing Association). My team focused their presentation around a slogan of 'Find a Home For your Talents', recognising that the diversity of roles available in the housing sector should be promoted more widely. 

During their research, the team failed to find any delegates who had consciously made the decision at school to go in to housing, nor any member of the public on the streets in Cardiff that had considered housing as a career. The team highlighted that other sectors, such as the Army, had very effectively developed marketing and advertising demonstrating that there is a far wider variety of roles in the Army than fighting at the front line. 

As the other teams also referred to on the final day, an obvious approach to engaging younger people is through social media. Emily pointed out that, according to research, young people look at their phones over 160 times a day. This means that using Twitter, Snapchat and LinkedIn would be far more productive than leaflets and advertisements. 

The team members themselves demonstrated the wide variety of job opportunities available as they were from such varied roles such as a gas engineer, business administrators, a carpenter and a plumber. 

After two days of discussing, researching, preparing and practising, it was finally time to present the team's ideas to the Annual Conference delegates. All three team members did a fantastic job of presenting their ideas, then it was over to the delegates to choose the winner... it was a win for Team 3!

Lots of conference attendees have commented that the Apprentice Challenge was the highlight of the conference, and I certainly got a lot out of it along with my fellow mentors. Most importantly, the apprentices themselves thoroughly enjoyed the experience and felt that their confidence grew throughout the two days.
 

Come to housing and find a home for your talents!

Jason Wroe
Newydd Housing Association

Helping people to live independently

The Supporting People Programme Grant means people get help in their own communities without adding extra costs and pressure to public services.

I recently stopped a Torfaen man from being illegally evicted from his flat and becoming homeless. This would have worsened his mental health issues and put him in unsuitable accommodation.

His privately rented flat was flooded and his landlord moved him to another home. During one of my support visits, I was checking his letters and he showed me a three-month eviction notice. I could see it had been illegally post-dated.

This had been making him anxious. He is bi-polar, schizophrenic and has anger management issues.

I spoke to his landlord who wasn’t very happy that I had spotted what he had been trying to do. The extra time meant that we could get his application into Homeseeker ready to start bidding for a new place to live.

I supported him through this and, in a lovely coincidence, a flat that he lived in many years ago became available and his application was successful.

He couldn’t manage the contact with the different agencies such as removals, housing benefit, the health charities and the Department for Work and Pensions. My work with him made sure it was smooth and he knew what was happening at every step.

He is meeting all of his support outcomes which we agreed when I began working with him. It won’t be long before I stop seeing him and take on another person to help live independently.


Amanda James
Support Officer, Bron Afon Community Housing