How to get involved and have your say

Getting involved and having your saySouth Shropshire Housing Association is committed to involving and

listening to you.

There are many ways in which you can get involved in improving the

services you get from South Shropshire Housing Association. As

tenants and residents you are in the best position to tell us about

how the Association can improve its services to you, your home and

your neighbourhood.

Involvement can only be successful if you have the opportunity to get

involved in the way that suits you best. The Association recognises

and understands that different levels of involvement will suit different

people and have therefore developed a wide range of ways you can

get involved.

We will make sure that Involvement is accessible to everyone and will

make sure that no one is treated less favourably than anyone else

because of race, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation,

disability, class or age.

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Every resident who gets involved does make a real differenceColin Harrison from Worthen said “From my involvement The Tenants

Enhancement Charter was introduced allowing residents to make

their own home improvements and only pay half the cost”.

Joan Grant from Bishops Castle said “We have made a real

difference in Oak Meadow, Bishops Castle. My involvement helped

get some waste ground converted into a play area giving the children

an area to play games in safety and has stopped football being

played in the road.”

Why should you get involved?• To have your say on the decisions that affect you and where

you live.

• To help your community to develop its own neighbourhood and

keep them as places where you want to live and are proud of.

• So that you can understand and influence the way that South

Shropshire Housing Association provides its services.

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• To have a stronger voice when you join with others to tell the

Association your views and opinions.

• To make a positive difference.

South Shropshire Housing Association want you to get involved so that we can:

• Improve services with your support.

• Find out your priorities for services.

• Make better decisions by responding to your priorities.

• Identify different needs for different areas.

• Develop our relationship with you.

• Work with you to improve our communities and neighbourhoods.

South Shropshire Housing Association has a Resident Involvement

Officer who takes the lead on making sure that all our residents have

the opportunity to get involved.

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Ways you can get involvedThe diagram below shows the different ways we have at the moment

for you to get involved, have your say, and make a difference.

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Board of Management

Tenant Board Members

Tenants Association

of South Shropshire

FocusGroups

CustomerCare/

Complaints

VoidInspections

RepairsInspections

LocalCommunity

Groups

NewTenancySurveys

HousingSupportGroup

ConsultativePanel

Consultative Panel

Open to all tenants of South Shropshire Housing Association. Just let

us know your contact details and we’ll contact you to find out how

you want to get involved, and what interests you. We would also like

you to tell us what you think of our letters, leaflets and policies once

they are written.

Postal Questionnaires

You could receive a survey or questionnaire from South Shropshire

Housing Association. It should only take a few minutes of your time

to complete and will help us to continually monitor and improve the

services South Shropshire Housing Association provides.

Telephone Surveys

Tenants can carry out telephone survey interviews on various

services we provide, which will be monitoring the performance of

South Shropshire Housing Association, and the results will be used

to improve our services to you.

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Armchair Representative

Give us your views from the comfort of your own home via email,

text, letter or phone.

Focus Groups

These groups works in partnership with South Shropshire Housing

Association staff on a range of things, for example new policies,

specifications for the planned improvement programmes, new home

designs, selection of contractors and reviewing their work.

Empty Home Inspectors

This involves members of TASS visiting an empty home before the

new tenant moves in to check it is up to the right standard.

Communications Group

This group works alongside staff to produce the quarterly newsletter

developing information leaflets, the tenants handbook and the South

Shropshire Housing Association website.

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Opportunities for InvolvementWe know that not everyone wants to come to meetings, so we have

tried to make sure that there are lots of different ways for you to get

involved, Some people choose to get involved in lots of different

ways, others in one or two, depending on time commitments – it’s

up to you!

Other ways to get involvedTenant Association of South Shropshire (TASS) – This is a tenant

led group with representatives from all areas covered by South

Shropshire Housing Association. They meet together on a monthly

basis and there are also regular meetings of the group with the

Managing Director of South Shropshire Housing Association. Two

Resident Board Members sit on the committee providing a direct

link to the Board of Management.

Local Tenants and Residents Groups – If you want to start a local

Tenants or residents group in your area, we will provide help and

advice to get you started. We can also introduce you to existing

groups, so you can have help from other tenants too.

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Our Service StandardsWe will:

• Keep tenants informed on matters affecting their homes and their

neighbourhoods.

• Provide a range of ways for you to get involved.

• Actively support existing tenant groups and encourage the

development of new ones.

• Involve resident representatives in developing all new policies and

procedures.

• We will provide training opportunities for tenants to make getting

involved easier.

• Involve residents in the production of newsletters and other

literature.

• Continue to develop new innovative ways to involve you in the

delivery of our services.

• Involve resident representatives in checking that the work we do

meets the standards set.

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• Involve resident representatives at every level of decision making

within South Shropshire Housing Association.

• Make sure that TASS and other residents groups have access to

put articles in the newsletter.

• Include a regular update of resident involvement activities South

Shropshire Housing Association have undertaken in every

newsletter.

• Write to you every year showing how we have performed against

our Resident Involvement Service Standards.

What we ask of you:• To tell us when you are unhappy with a service that we have

delivered.

• To get involved, at a level that suits you, in helping us review and

shape our services.

For more information or help with getting involved please get in touch

with us, or you can contact TASS directly.

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Who to contact: Resident Involvement Officer

South Shropshire Housing Association

The Gateway

The Auction Yard

Craven Arms

Shropshire

SY7 9BW

Phone: 01588 676200

TASS

TASS Resource Centre

The Gateway

The Auction Yard

Craven Arms

Shropshire

SY7 9BW

Phone: 01588 676385

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Equal Opportunities statement We recognise the damage that disadvantage and discrimination

can cause. We are committed to equal opportunities and will take

positive steps to ensure that you will not be treated less favourably

than anyone else in your dealings with us because of race, religion,

gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, class or age.

Access for all...

If you require this document in another format, for example Braille,

Shropshire Housing Group consists of the following organisations

Shropshire Housing Group consists of the following organisations

Equal Opportunities statement

Meres and Mosses Housing AssociationTalbot House, High Street, Wem SY4 5AAFreephone: 0800 434 6289 Tel: 0300 303 1190 Email: enquiries@mmha.org.uk www.shropshirehousing.org.uk