KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH YOU NO. 37 AUTUMN 2014

Hafod’s Own

Summer Fun!

COMMUNITY

In this issue...

Helping the environmentThis newsletter is printed on paper from sustainable forests – forevery tree cut down, another is planted in its place. When you havefinished reading this newsletter, please recycle it.

Contact UsHafod’s Own Production TeamHafod Housing AssociationSt Hilary CourtCopthorne WayCulverhouse CrossCardiff CF5 6ES

Contact DetailsTel: 029 2067 5800fax: 029 2067 2499www.hafod.org.uk

Office Opening TimesMon-Fri 8.30am – 4.30pm

EditorChris Davies

Designwww.artsfactory.co.uk

Registered as a CharitableHousing Association under theIndustrial & Provident SocietiesAct No. 18766R. Registered withthe Welsh Government No. L034.

Tenants Conference & AGM 2014Page 14/15

Community Matters5 A-Side Football 3Quality Tools for Hire 3Hafod Youth Panel 4Summer Activities 5The Forget Me Nots 5Youth Zone at Fir Tree Drive 6Hafod Job SMART 6National Play Day 7Investing In OurCommunities 8

Tenant MattersStay Safe On-Line 8Want To become AShareholder 9New Chair 9Have Your Say 10Staff Changes 12Changes To OurManagment Team 13Welsh Housing Partnership 13Tenants Conference & AGM 14What You Think Of Hafod’s Own 16

Money MattersDrop A Brand & SaveMoney! 17We’re Here To Help 17

Maintenance MattersDisabled Adaptations 18Maintenance Contacts 18

Competition MattersAutumn Competition 19

Final WordTPAS Award! 20Happy Anniversary Craig yr Hendre 20

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Quality Tools to Hire for Free! Could you benefit?Over the last 6 months, Hafod has beenpiloting a new project with tenants in St Mellons,Rhydyfelin and Fir Tree Drive who want to getgardening but are being hampered becausethey do not have the necessary equipment.

The Garden SMART Project allows tenants inthese locations to borrow equipment at nocost. Tools such as electric mowers andstrimmers are available as well as the moretraditional manual tools such as rakes, shears,spades and loppers.

To take advantage of this fantastic offer, theysimply visit the local community office andagree the equipment they want to borrow andfor how long. It’s as quick and easy as that.

All the equipment is regularly checked and theelectrical items are PAT Tested before every hiretransaction to ensure customer safety.

The project is proving to be a big hit with ourtenants, with some 20 repeat customers nowusing the service. In Rhydyfelin it has alsohelped tenants to come together and form aninformal gardening club. With the help of agrant from Hafod they have purchased patiotubs and containers plus plants to add a splashof colour to their gardens.

To find out more about Garden SMART justgive Pearl Hale a call in St Mellons (02920776840) or Bill Daniel in Rhydyfelin (01443491878) or Creys Harries-Bowen (02920678866)

GardenSMART

Happy gardening!

The Michael Sobell Centre in Aberdare was thevenue for the 2014 Hafod Community 5 a sidefootball tournament in August.

Over 80 young people took part; boys andgirls aged between 11 and 15 representedcommunities from across Rhondda Cynon Taffand further afield including the Cynon Valley,Porth, Rhydyfelin, Glyncoch, Fir Tree Drive(Treharris), Mynydd Glas (Maesteg) and NewyddHousing Association.

Twelve teams competed in a league structurewith play off games between the top 2 fromeach league to determine eventual finalists whowould compete for the Hafod Community Shield.

Competition was fierce but fair throughout thetournament and skills levels were exceptionallyhigh with the final being contested by 2 teamsfrom the Cynon Valley, Tri yn Un and Fernhill whowere defending the trophy. Tri yn Un dominatedthe final scoring 5 goals without conceding.

Presenting the medals and trophies at the endof the day, Alan Morgan, Hafod’s ManagingDirector said, “This tournament goes fromstrength to strength. It gives so many youngpeople from quite varying communities theopportunity to demonstrate their football skillsand make lots of new friends. Congratulationsto Tri yn Un for winning this year and we lookforward to them defending the trophy in 2015.”

5 a side football

WinnersRunners up

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Hafod youth panel reap theirenvironmental rewards

COMMUNITY MATTERS

Sayers Croft is a national centre of excellencefor environment / conservation work. It is anaccredited centre for the John Muir Award, anationally recognised award recognisingenvironmental volunteering.

The young people were working towards theirLevel 1 award having completed 3 days ofvolunteering before attending the centre. Thisincluded beach conservation work andsupporting Hafod tenants at Craig yr Hendre withtheir gardening group. Undertaking additionalvolunteering at the centre by clearing out invadingplant species would complete their award.

The three days at Sayers Croft was not allabout work however, and the young peoplestretched their personal boundaries via a rangeof team building challenges, conquered theTree Zip Wire, tackled the climbing wall and

simulated caving facility, tried their hand atarchery and shared time together around thetraditional last night camp fire.

Comments from the panel such as “I want tocome back again, the best residential so far,”and “was a good 3 days doing differentactivities,” confirmed they had a fabulous stay.

The panel will be meeting in November to startpreparing their Activity Programme for 2015and there is a real possibility they will return toSayers Croft next August to achieve their Level2 Awards. If you are a young person that wouldlike to get involved, just contact Bill Daniel,Hafodʼs lead officer for the Youth Panel. Hisemail address is bill.daniel@hafod.org.uk orphone him on 07585 963077.

Sayers Croft Field Centre in Surrey was the location of this year’s AnnualResidential for the panel. Once again they were accompanied by young peoplefrom Newydd Housing making a party of 20 young people in total.

COMMUNITY MATTERSCOMMUNITY MATTERS

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Summer Fun in RhydyfelinDespite the unpredictable weather, it has beena very busy summer for the volunteers whomake up Dynea Neighbourhood Watch basedin Rhydyfelin.

Their impressive Summer 2014 Programmeincluded trips to the Royal Welsh Show (BuilthWells) and Noah’s Ark Farm Zoo (Bristol). Inbetween these they held their annual FamilyFun Day complete with mobile climbing wall,clown / entertainer, play provided by RCTChildren’s Services and money advicesessions by Hafod’s SMART Money Team.

In total some 400 adults and children will havebenefited from one or more of these events, a trulyremarkable achievement and testimony to thecommitment the group gives to others in the area.

Thanking the group for yet another verysuccessful summer programme, Bill Daniel,Hafod’s Community Development Officer whois based in Rhydyfelin said, “DyneaNeighbourhood Watch continues to provideexcellent activities for our tenants and manyothers across Rhydyfelin. They are an amazingbunch of volunteers who always give 100%and make such a difference to families here.”

An active group of tenants, callingthemselves Forget-me-nots, from BarriansWay, Barry have joined together to createtheir own community garden. The tenantsof the flats have donated plants, gardentools and a table and chairs. Tenants havetoiled, donating their time and elbow greaseto create their green oasis.

Avid gardeners, Chris Lednor and RobWatts, noticed the group needed somewhereto store their tools and applied to HafodGrant SMART for funding for a new shed.The gardening group were successful, takingdelivery of their shed in the height of summer.

Chris Lednor explained, “This has shedhas made a huge difference to our group,everyone can now access the tools andpots to help out. This would not have beenpossible without the grant from Hafod. Abig thank you to all!”

Tenants and their families of the flats areencouraged to use the communal space,where just to sit and relax or play a moreactive gardening role.

Rob Watts stated that, “…the group arenow saving for a new bench as the old oneis rotten. However, we are grateful for alldonations of plants, tools and anythingreally that might help us.”

If you would like to find out more aboutForget-me-nots or have something todonate, please get in touch with Chris viaemail christopherlednor@live.com.

If you require more information aboutHafod Grant SMART please contact CerysHarries-Bowen on 029 2067 5866 or emailcerysh@hafod.org.uk

Forget-me-nots –Grant SMARTfund new shed

COMMUNITY MATTERS

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Fir Tree Community Association worked withHafod to write a successful funding applicationfor BBC Children in Need. The Associationwas awarded £9623 to develop ‘Youth Zone’.The project aims to work with children andyoung people of the area to create a newbrand for their ‘Youth Zone’ through thedevelopment of a new logo, short films andcommunity art.

Valley and Vale Community Arts were chosento work with the children and young people.The project began in earnest with the start ofthe school’s summer holidays. A group of 15young people and two youth workers beganthe first weeks filming.

Marion Price explained, “The Youth Zone withhelp give the young people an identity whenFir Tree Centre opens this Autumn. It is all veryexciting!”

To find out more about this project, pleasecontact Cerys Harries-Bowen, CommunityDevelopment officer on 029 2067 5866 oremail cerysh@hafod.org.uk.

Youth Zone atFir Tree

Hafod Job SMARTCharlene Thomas joined Hafod Job SMART inMay 2014, asking for support and help with herjourney back into work. Charlene is an activevolunteer for a local Assembly Member, a newHafod Scrutiny Panel Member and attends localcourses to increase her employment opportunities.

Job SMART has helped Charlene access twoshort courses at Cardiff Metropolitan UniversitySummer School. The week long courses includedIntroduction to Youth and Community Workand Introduction to Housing Studies. Charleneis now considering a career in the housingsector having recently applied for a job with ahousing association.

Charlene has accessed the Hafod Job SMARTpersonal allowance to utilise the loan of areconditioned laptop and dongle for three monthsto help with her job search and short courses.

Charlene explained, “The support has beeninvaluable – the laptop loan has meant my jobsearch time has been increased as I am notjust restricted to using public computers. Withmy dyslexia, Hafod have provided all myprinted notes on yellow paper which hashelped enormously. They have also advisedand supported me with job applications. Iwould definitely recommend them.”

If you would like to find out more about HafodJob SMART and the benefits that are availableto you as a Hafod tenant, please get in touchwith Cerys Harries-Bowen on 029 2067 5866

or email jobsmart@hafod.org.uk.

Job SMART

COMMUNITY MATTERS

7

St Mellons National Play Day

Yet again families of St Mellons were able tostroll over to Meadowlane Primary School forNational Play Day. This annual event has adistinct bias towards children and this year notonly did we have traditional activities such asarts and crafts, face painting, and a bouncycastle but we also had the Youth Bus AND aclimbing wall.

Children of all ages showed those watchinghow easy it was to scale the heights of thewall. Adults that had a go didn’t necessarilyhave the same experience and letting go at thetop of the wall to be gently lowered to theground was very unnerving!

For the more energetic the Smoothie Bike wasa challenge. Plenty of hard pedalling wasproducing some tasty smoothies made fromchopped up fruit. Thanks to Ben Deacy of ourYouth Panel for his help with this.

Due to the unsettled weather a number oforganisations had a stand inside and therewere volunteers from the St Mellons Food

Cooperative at hand to show their fruit andveg bags. Lots of new people were impressedand signed up on the day.

Our own SMART Money Team was running acompetition to see whether people could tellthe difference between branded and non-branded food products. Lucy Egan, our SmartBenefit Adviser, found that often peoplecouldn’t. “It was interesting to find out whatpeople thought about the non – brandedproducts. Quite often the cheaper option waspreferred and found to be just as tasty. Sothere is clearly a case for giving these a try andsaving some money too.”

Altogether it was a great day despite thethunder storm! Thanks to all our partners whoworked with us including: The St MellonsCompact, Cardiff Youth Service, Home Start,the Beacon Centre, Communities First and allthe others, too many to mention.

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As a landlord we are committed to providingquality, affordable homes and efficient housingservices. We also want to be a caring landlordwho supports its tenants when times aretough, and contributes in a positive way to thecommunities where we have homes.

Clearly, it is not always possible to sort all theproblems that face tenants from time to time.With this in mind we have had to make somedecisions regarding how best to use our staffand financial resources. We are fortunate inthat we have 3 Community DevelopmentOfficers. However, with a geographical spreadextending over 6 local authorities we have tobe realist in terms of what we hope to achieve.

We have a strategy in place which sets out ourpriorities over 4 years. Two main aims relate to(1) Learning and (2) Health &Well Being. We arealso moving away from working solely intargeted communities to try and reach a widernumber of tenants. This will be a challenge!

Should you want to find out more about ourapproach we have produced a summarydocument, “Investing in our Communities”which is available on request. Alternatively, youcan request the full strategy by calling us on02929 675800 or emailingenquiries@hafod.org.uk

Making a positivedifference, to you,your family andyour community

COMMUNITY MATTERS

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Every conceivable topic is included on the site– including safe online shopping, gaming anddating… so now you really can stay safe with everything you do online!

The site also keeps you up to date with news,tips and stories from around the world.

Get Safe Online is a jointly funded initiativebetween several Government departmentsand private sector businesses. For moreinformation or to seek help and advice aboutconcerns you may have about staying safe on-line. Please go to the following web-site:

Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading source of unbiased,factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety.

www.getsafeonline.org

TENANT MATTERS

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Would you like to become a shareholder of theassociation? Shareholders get the opportunityto have a real say about how Hafod is run, byhaving voting rights at our AGM and beingable to stand for election to our Board ofManagement. Being a shareholder doesn’tbring any financial gain – We are a not-for-profit company and we don’t pay dividends.

We need shareholders who are likely to have along term interest in promoting our work. Thisincludes our tenants, as well as representativesfrom other organisations that we work withand other people with an interest in our work.

How do I become a Shareholder?You have to be 18 to be a Shareholder.Anyone can apply, except people who work forthe association or people who have previouslybeen Shareholders but had their sharesrevoked for a breach of the Code of Conduct.

To apply you need to fill in a short form andsend it to us with a £1 fee (you get your £1back if your application is unsuccessful). Yourapplication will be presented to the nextmeeting of Hafod’s Board. If accepted, yourapplication will go to the next Hendre BoardMeeting. They have the final say on who canbecome a shareholder. As Board meetings areheld quarterly, it could take several months toprocess your application.

If you would like to become a Shareholder, orwould like more information, please contact uson 029 2067 5800, or e-mailenquiries@hafod.org.uk

We are pleased to announce a new Chair ofthe Association. Bill Payne (pictured above)was unanimously elected as Chair at a recentBoard Meeting.

Bill said “I am really honoured that the boardelected me as chair. I intend to address therole with all the zest and enthusiasm I canmuster, and will do my utmost not todisappoint anyone in dealing with thechallenges ahead”

Along with the Association’s Chair, thefollowing elections were agreed during themeeting:

Graham North – Vice ChairJudy Keenor – Assistant Company Secretary

We would like to wish all a successful year

ahead in their new roles.

New Chair ofthe Association

Want to becomea Shareholder?

Have Your Say!Did you know? We have lots of ways you canget involved in helping us improve the serviceswe deliver. Our Service Panels are a very goodway for tenants with a particular interest or areaof expertise, to sit down with senior staff andlook in more detail at a specific service area.

We currently have four Service Panels:

Maintenance MattersWe are aware that a quality and

efficient repair and maintenance

service is very important to you.

This panel helps us examine how

we deliver our day to day and

planned programme of works. It

considers the performance of staff

and our contractors along with the

products and materials we

use in our homes.

Improving Our Services

10

TENANT MATTERS

Don’t worry if you feel these Service Panelsare not for you. There are plenty of otheroptions available for you to get involved. Ifyou would like to know more about thedifferent ways you can ‘have your say’ andget involved please feel free to contact ourTenant Participation Officer for an informalchat on 029 2067 5800.

Or why not contact us on the above numberand ask for a copy of our new publication –Have Your Say – Improving Our Services.

Disability MattersWe know that approximately 55% of ourtenants, or members of their householdhave a disability or are suffering from a longterm limiting illness. We want to be surethat we are providing services that meeteverybody’s individual needs. This panelhelp us look at how we deliver services totenants with disabilities. It also providesrelevant information on disability issues andsignposts tenants to services which enablethem to live independently and improvetheir health and well-being.

Housing Matters

The service you receive from us when

you first take your keys, and throughout

your tenancy, are vitally important to us.

This panel helps us review the services

we provide in managing our homes and

neighbourhoods. Discussions include

how we handle issues such as Anti-

Social Behaviour along with the

quality of site services we

provide from window

cleaning to cutting grass.

Communication

MattersCommunicating with you in a timely and

efficient manner is essential if we are to

provide excellent services. This panel

looks at how we provide information

and communicate with you. It asks for

your comments on our booklets and

leaflets as well as our regular newsletter

Hafod’s Own. It also considers our

web-site content and design along with

the use of new digital technologies

such as social media.

Scan here for

a full copy of

this booklet

So what are you

waiting for?

Come on and

Have Your Say!

TENANT MATTERS

11

TENANT MATTERS

Staff Changes

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It was a sad time for the Association in June when one of ourlongest serving and most respected members of staff left theAssociation. Ann Jones left in June after 23 years’ service. Annstarted with the Association as a part time typist in 1990. Herhard work and dedication saw her rise through the ranks, herjobs included, Admin Assistant, Housing Officer, Assistant AreaManager and her final role as the Associations Income Manager.

Good luck in your retirement Ann, we will miss you!!!

In July we were pleased to welcome John Higgins to theAssociation. John has joined the Association as a MaintenanceSurveyor. John previously worked for Gwalia HousingAssociation as a Reactive Maintenance Officer. John said “Iwould like to thank my new colleagues for making me feel sowelcome in my new role. I am looking forward to the challengesthat lie ahead and providing an excellent services to the tenantsof the association”

In July we were pleased to welcome Samira Lloyd to theAssociation. Samira has joined the Association as an IncomeOfficer. Samira previously worked for Cartrefi Hafod as a HousingOfficer. Samira said “I looking forward to enhancing my skills andworking with tenants to help them manage their rent accounts”

Goodbye Ann

Welcome Samira

Welcome John

TENANT MATTERS

13

Welsh Housing Partnership Hafod Housing Association is one of four housingassociations in Wales chosen to acquire andlet new and nearly new properties. We let avariety of family homes in Bridgend, Cardiff,Merthyr, Rhondda Cynon Taff and the Vale ofGlamorgan. From October 2012 until now wehave let over 206 homes to families with incomesof between £15,000 and £29,000 per year whowere unable to obtain a mortgage from the banksand building societies, and also had little chanceof being chosen for a social housing tenancy.

We are currently in the 4th phase of thispartnership and will be developing andacquiring another 60 plus properties in 2014/15in Bridgend, Cardiff & The Vale of Glamorgan.

If you are having difficulty getting on theproperty ladder, the Welsh HousingPartnership may be a solution for you.

If you would like more information

or wish to place your name on our

waiting list, please contact Ken

Campbell on 029 2067 5800

We have recently reviewed our structure with a view to strengthening our Management Team.These will help us to respond to future challenges whilst meeting our ambition to grow andimprove. From 1st October the new structure will be as follows

Changes to our management team

TITLE NAME RESPONSIBILITIES

Head of HousingServices

RichardMcQuillan

Rent recovery & financial inclusion; Estate Management;lettings; ASB/community safety; tenancy supportHome Ownership; Cartrefi Hafod

Head of MaintenanceServices

PaulMantle

Asset Management; Property improvements; Day to DAYRepairs; Empty property works; Gas servicing; Energyefficiency; Site services; Health & Safety

Head of CommunityInvestment

SallyCockerill

Community development & investment;Tenant participation; YELLOW Wales

Head of ServiceDevelopment

CorinnaMantle

Continuous Improvement/ service development;Strategy/joint working; New initiatives; Informationtechnology; Digital Inclusion; Customer Contact

Property ServicesManager

ShaunMcgregor

Hafod Property Services (in-house contractor)

If you’d like more information on these changes contact Gwyn Phillips on 029 2067 5800

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TENANT MATTERS

Tenants Conference & AGM 2014A warm sunny day in June saw plenty of smiling faces and raised spirits from bothstaff and tenants for the association’s bi-annual tenants conference.

Over 70 tenants and staff enjoyed a fun andinformative day at the Village Hotel, Cardiff.This years’ theme was ‘Value for Money’ and lotsof information and advice was on offer throughoutthe day for tenants on how to save money.

The day commenced with a welcome from theassociation’s Managing Director, Alan Morgan.Tenants were then given presentations onValue for Money and tenant responsibilitiesconcerning maintenance around the homewhich would help the association achieveValue for Money.

Tenants were able to choose between anumber of workshops during the day covering:

Taste the difference – which saw tenantsbeing invited to taste different brands of foodand look at ways of cutting the cost of foodshopping. The winners of the ‘brand challengewere Miss T of St Mellons & Mrs M ofGlyncoch who each won a food hamper.

Style on a budget – which provided tenantswith handy tips and hints on how to decoratetheir home on a budget. A competition was heldwhere tenants were asked to guess how muchthe clothes cost which were on a mannequindisplayed in the workshop. The winner of thecompetition was Mrs J of Rhydyfelin, who wona handy kitchen utensil.

A quiz followed for all tenants and was basedon a ‘then and now’ theme where tenants wereasked to guess the cost of items from pastand present. The lucky winner of the quiz wasMr R from Cardiff and Mrs C of Bridgend whoeach won a bottle of wine.

8 tenants had never attended a conferencepreviously and 20 tenants said that they wouldrecommend the conference to a neighbour. Alltenants who attended the conference wereinvited to complete an evaluation of the daysevents. The evaluation prize draw winners whoeach won a cheque for £25 were Mrs M ofGlyncoch and Mrs R of Bridgend.

TENANT MATTERS

15

Hafod AGM

Nick Bennett, the then Chief Executive ofCommunity Housing Cymru commencedproceedings by talking positively about thework of the sector and the difference HousingAssociations make to people throughout Wales.

Many tenants took the opportunity to joinshareholders at the meeting. Alan Morgan,Managing Director, was pleased to see a fullroom and a number of new faces and said

“combining the AGM with the Conferenceprovided tenants with the opportunity to meetwith Members of the Board and othershareholders and to find out more about thewider work of the Association”.

The afternoon of the TenantsConference also saw the associationhold its Annual General Meeting.

Some of the positive commentsreceived on the day were:

A big thank you to everyone who came to theevent. Many tenants completed evaluationforms to tell us what they thought of theconference. The comments and marksreceived for all elements of the conferencewere very positive.

A special thanks should go to the association’sTenant Participation Officer, Michelle Llewellyn

who worked tirelessly to organise the event.Also thanks to our Youth Panel who workedtirelessly in assisting staff with their presentations,and making sure tenants found the workshopsand rooms they required.

“Very good day, showedmore about Hafod”

“A very pleasant andenjoyable day all round”

“it’s a good opportunity to meetother tenants and chat to staff” –

Graham Robinson, Bedlinog

“I am very impressed with the organisationand believe Hafod and Heath Park Courtwhere I live is fantastic value for money. I

feel privileged to live there, thank you.Have worked in community, amazedHafod's social responsibility to create

activities, job opportunities etc”.

We look forward to seeing you all at the next

conference in 2016!

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What you think of Hafod’s Own

TENANT MATTERS

In the last edition of Hafod’s Own we asked you to provide feedback on what youthink of our Newsletter. We had a good response and a big thank you to all whotook time to provide your comments. The results of our consultation are asfollows:

Many of our respondents asked for us to include more articles on helping people manage theirmoney. This is something we will take on board and look to do in future editions.

The lucky winners in our prize draw who each won £50 were:

Miss J, Stanley – BridgendMr D, Fretwell – Barry

“The recognitionHafod gives out

makes all includedfeel important”

“Most of articles I enjoyand useful to keep you

up to speed with what'shappening with Hafod”

“Money – some issues raisedare good because tenants

may not have easy access toeveryday issues”

“It’s always good news and nice

to know people of Hafod

Housing do a really good job”

“I enjoy hearingabout the tripspeople go onand the prizespeople win. It’s

nice to see”.

91%

Hafod’sOwn

93%

Hafod’sOwn

91%

Hafod’sOwn

92%

Hafod’sOwn

62%

Hafod’sOwn

of tenants whoresponded to the

survey thought thenewsletter is very

good or good.

of tenants whoresponded to the

survey thought thenewsletter is helpful.

of tenants whoresponded to the

survey thought thenewsletter is easy to

Understand.

of tenants whoresponded to the

survey thought thenewsletter is fair

and balanced.

of tenants whoresponded to thesurvey wanted tokeep receiving 4

editions of Hafod’sOwn each year.

Thanks again for your feedback!!!

MONEY MATTERS

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Drop a brand and save money!

Do you know about saving money on yoursupermarket shop by dropping a brand?The ‘drop a brand’ challenge means opting forthe next brand down for all your usual itemswhen you do your regular supermarket shop.That doesn’t mean you always have to buy thecheapest brand – if you normally buyTropicana orange juice, for example, you mighttry the supermarkets own-brand version, oryou could drop from a luxury pack of cookiesto an everyday range.

As well as saving money, the challenge is tosee if you can notice any difference in thequality of the goods.

All supermarkets will have branded items, ownbrand items and value items. See below on someof the savings you could make by dropping abrand (please note the price comparisonsopposite are from Tesco as at July 2014):

Try it when you are next out food shopping.Drop a brand, taste the difference and savesome money!!

Are you someone who always plumps for the well-knownbrands in supermarkets and shops when buying food?

At Hafod we care about thefinancial health of our tenants.Not only do we want you to payyour rent but we want to ensurethat you receive all the moneythat you are due. If you would liketo receive some free andconfidential advice about moneyissues, call Hafod’s SMARTMoney Team on 029 20 675800

Lucy Egan

Benefit Advice• Housing Benefit• Requests for Backdates • Overpayment Queries • Dealing with Rent Arrears • All Welfare Benefits

Tracy Tuckwood

Money Advice• Preparing Budget Plans• Dealing with Rent Arrears• Reducing Debt• Help to Contact /

Negotiate with Creditors• Better Lending / Saving

Options

Support available:

We’re here to help!

Robinsons Orange Squash 1 litre = £1.49Tesco orange Squash 1 litre = 89pTesco Value orange squash 1 litre = 42p

Heinz Baked Beans 415g = 68p Tesco own brand 415g = 32pTesco Value 415g = 24p

500g Napolina Pasta Shells = £1.30 500g Tesco pasta Shells = £1.15500g Tesco Value pasta shells = 55p

Heinz Tomato ketchup 342g = £3.40 Tesco ketchup 342g = £1.15 Everyday value ketchup 342g = 55p

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MAINTENANCE MATTERS

Maintenance ContactsTo report or enquire about a repair pleasecontact the Maintenance Team between8:30am – 4:30pm Mon – Fri on: 029 2067

5800 or e-mail: enquiries@hafod.org.uk

If you have a problem with your plumbing orheating please contact Liberty Gas onFreePhone 0800 328 4322 or 0330 123 9622

(low rate for mobile users).

Maintenance Prize Draw WinnersCongratulations to the following who eachwon a cheque for £50 in our quarterly prizedraw:

Miss J, King – MaestegMs M, Mules – PenarthAll tenants who allow access to ourcontractors Liberty Gas to service the gasboiler in their homes and return a satisfactionsurvey along with tenants who completethe satisfaction survey we issue concerninga repair undertaken at their home are putinto a prize draw to win £50 each quarter.

£50

DisabledAdaptationsUnfortunately many of our tenants are eitherdisabled or have some other long termillness which affects their quality of life.

If you or a member of your family falls into thiscategory please let us know as we want tohelp as many tenants as possible to stay intheir existing homes. We may be able to helpin different ways, including adaptations to yourhome which may enable you to live a moreindependent life.

Last year we successfully carried outadaptations to 130 homes!!

If you feel you could benefit from adaptationssuch as:

• Hand Rails• Lever Taps• Bath Rails

Please contact us on 029 2067 5800

or e-mail enquiries@hafod.org.uk

COMPETITION MATTERS

19

We are giving our readers aged 16yrs and under the chance to win one of three copies ofthe How to train your Dragon 1 & 2 Boxset. To be in with a chance of winning, we areasking you to successfully complete our Dragon themed word search below:

For your chance to win the DVD (only one entryallowed per household). Please return yourcompleted word search with your name, address,date of birth and telephone number to:

Chris Davies

Spring CompetitionHafod Housing AssociationFreepost NAT 21763Cardiff CF5 6ZZ

Entries must be received by Friday 17th

October 2014

Previous WinnersThe winners of the SummerWordsearch Competition (eachwinning a copy of the Lego MovieDVD were:

Master Max Williams from Cardiff,Master Jay Buckley fromBridgend and Master LewisWatson from Rhondda Cynon Taff.

D R A G O N M Y T H I C A L T

H A T C H E D S A Y R E M E N

Y T H R O L O G L I C A L G E

B E L E A S T A S I N M A S P

N Y M A N Y C U L T U R E S R

C U L T R S S T U R E S R A E

R N D U U G L A U T I R I P S

E S U R G A E L L S Y R F E P

P O W E R F U L R Y E S E E N

T T E S S D A S H M U G H E W

I L E G E N D S I B N G T E D

L O N G L I V E D O F I A R E

E I B R S N A K E L I K E E A

W T H I S E Y E G I B N R G R

E P T I L M A G I C A L B E S

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FINAL WORD

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In 2013 we decided to join the digitalworld and launched a Facebook andTwitter page. The pages were developedto provide you with up-to-date informationincluding, news, events, job vacancies,top tips and much more…

TPAS Cymru Award

Happy Anniversary Craig yr Hendre!

Since the launch of our Facebook and Twitterpages we also launched a pinterest page.Hafod tenants get a range of choices whentheir homes are improved. When a new kitchenis installed, tenants can choose from a numberof different styles of flooring, drawer handlesand cupboard doors. The pinterest pageincludes pictures of the choice of homeimprovements on offer for you, when yourhome is due to have an upgrade to a kitchenor bathroom. Pinterest also includesinformation on how to operate smoke alarmsand gas boilers within our properties.

We are pleased to announce that on the 24thJune 2014 we were awarded 2nd place in theCommunication in Housing category at theTPAS Cymru Annual Participation Awards.

A big congratulations should go to the associationsTenant Participation Officer Michelle Llewellyn,and a big thank you to all of our readers whohave used our social media pages.

In August we helped the residents of Craig yrHendre Retirement Scheme celebrate 25yearsof the scheme. Resident celebrated with aBBQ which was funded by the Craig yr HendreTenants & Residents Association and cateredfor by Hafod’s Youth Panel.

Hafod Housing supported the event andsupplied a 25year anniversary banner for thecelebrations.

A special anniversary cake was made by theniece of resident Graham Robinson.

Here’s to another 25 years!