Welcome to the Spring 2026 edition of your ‘Here at Horton’ newsletter.
In this edition you will find our latest news, your activities and creative work, an update on the Scrutiny Group, and the latest volunteering opportunities at Horton Housing.
We hope you enjoy reading this edition of your newsletter.
Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the newsletter and latest Horton news in your inbox. Visit: https://bit.ly/HHA_news or scan this QR code.
Contents
New services at Horton Housing
Your Stories – Laura, Sophie and Nigel
How a Culture Shift at Horton Housing is Creating Better Experiences for You
Your Service Description – Making Things Simple
Checking and Improving Horton’s Standards
Why testing smoke alarms saves lives
Key Performance Indicators – How are we doing?
Here at Horton Newsletter Feedback
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Your news – Christmas special
Bradford
Santa and his elf made special guest appearances at the Bradford Temporary Accommodation Service (BTAS) Christmas parties. They handed out presents to children, bringing plenty of smiles and excitement. Families across the different accommodation sites enjoyed festive music, fun games, and delicious party food, making it a joyful celebration for everyone.
Fairmount enjoyed some festive outings, including a day at the Leeds Christmas Markets. Later in December, groups from the service attended a Christmas show at LIFE Church in Bradford and a Cinderella pantomime at the Bradford Playhouse.
HACS 4 Men held a festive Christmas get-together with homemade food, fun games, and plenty of prizes. A highlight was the attendance of a much loved recently retired colleague, making the celebration even more special.
Many of the people in our services enjoyed Christmas dinner which was served at many of our services, including HACS 4 Women, HACS 4 All and Group Living Services.
Calderdale
Our Young Persons’ Prevention and Support Service (YPASS) visited Halifax Minster for the annual Christmas Tree Festival to see the trees which had been decorated by local charities and organisations. People from YPASS wrote messages to loved ones for the remembrance tree. It was a thoughtful and reflective trip. The group appreciated the calm and stillness of the event.
Kirklees
Substance, Tenancy and Resettlement Service (STARS) and Spring Street enjoyed their trips to Toby Carvery for a Christmas dinner.
Kirklees Intensive Housing Management (IHM) celebrated the festive season with a Christmas buffet and bingo where everyone enjoyed a bit of friendly competition. They also held a festive coffee morning to celebrate Horton’s 40th anniversary, where everyone gathered for a good chat with plenty of tea, coffee, Christmas cake and mince pies.
North Yorkshire
Christmas hats, ties and glasses were worn at Harrogate Stay Well’s Christmas party as everyone enjoyed an afternoon filled with festive fun. Games of bingo and festive quizzes were played with prizes to be won. A tasty buffet was also served.
Our Horton Wellbeing Café across the Selby District spread Christmas cheer by making homemade decorations and hosting Christmas parties.
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Over to you!
Toby from Next Steps Calderdale has created these wonderful pieces of art.
Young people at our Group Living Service have really enjoyed expressing themselves in art workshops run by The United Art Project. Check out their amazing art here.
I saw you watching me
I wonder why
As God told him to
Or was it his son, Jesus
To keep an eye on me
I do not know, I do not know
When I am walking, I have some fun
As Jesus is with me
I run, skip and jump with Jesus by my side
Singing songs that we make up
And one day he will be with me
He will take my hand
And we will go through a gold path
And I will turn into an angel
With God and Jesus by my side
And that would be lovely
It will give me a smile
All my family and friends
Will be there with me
By Alison at Kirklees IHM
Do you enjoy doing something creative, such as producing art, making crafts or writing poetry? Do you have a hobby or interest that you would like to share here?
Contact communications@hortonhousing.co.uk or talk to your support worker to see your work in a future edition of this newsletter.
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Chartford Housing’s new name
We asked for your help in choosing a new name for Chartford Housing. It is the development arm of Horton Housing Association and a Registered Provider (RP). We asked colleagues and tenants for their involvement because your experiences and insights matter to us. Following your feedback, Chartford Housing’s new name will be:
Horton Housing Homes
This change will take effect from 1st April 2026. Until then, we will continue to use the name Chartford Housing. There will be no changes to our services or the support we offer.
You helped guide this decision, and your voices played a key role in shaping our future direction. The name ‘Horton Housing Homes’ reflects our commitment to making our names clearer and easier to understand, strengthening the links between Chartford Housing and Horton Housing.
We want to say thank you to every colleague and tenant who took part in the survey. Your voices are important to us, and they help make our organisation stronger!
Donations round up
From October to December 2025, we received 34 donations, we sent out 75 donations, and 82 people visited our Owt for Nowt shop.
We received winter clothing and financial donations from the public for Horton’s annual ‘Warm this Winter’ appeal.
We received a large donation of food and toiletries from Warrior Factory Martial Arts Academy. This is a regular annual donation, and it helps us provide food parcels that we give to people in our services who are settling into their new homes.
Students from Bradford College collected clothing and other items from themselves and their friends and family, resulting in a wide range of donations for our services.
We would like to say a big thank you to everyone for their kind donations.
New services at Horton Housing
Bradford Temporary Accommodation Service (BTAS) is the new contract name for what was formerly known as Bradford Homeless Partnership.
The provision has extended within Horton Housing from 69 fully furnished properties to 250.
These properties are divided into four sub services: male, female and two family services.
Each service has a hub which are based at Leeds Road (pictured), Vicar Lane, St Andrews Mill and Octavia Court. There are also many individual homes in the local communities.
BTAS provides short-term temporary and emergency accommodation for adults and families experiencing homelessness, who are statutorily (legally) experiencing homelessness and in priority housing need.
The services are provided to help Bradford Council fulfil its duties to people who are experiencing homelessness. This may include offering them either emergency accommodation while the Council looks into their situation, or temporary accommodation while waiting for settled accommodation.
We also provide an out of hours service (Octavia Court) as a part of the contract. We triage referrals and arrange emergency accommodation until the next working day, when people are able to present at Housing Options.
Trafalgar House (photos above) is a new service in Calderdale which opened in December 2025. The service provides accommodation and support for families who are owed a housing duty. Trafalgar House is delivered in partnership with Calderdale Council.
Home is not just a roof over your head; it is a place of safety and belonging. Laura and Sophie (not her real name) from HACS 4 Women share their experiences, from the challenges they’ve faced, the moments that gave them hope, and what home means to them today.
Laura’s story
Would you like to share a part of your journey that you feel proud of?
I’m proud that even though I’ve been treated badly, I stay nice and kind to people. Like recently, I gave a man experiencing homelessness pushing a trolley £5 and offered to cook him some food because I had just been shopping.
What helped you get through a difficult time?
Jo. Just Jo. I don’t know how to explain it, but she’s helped me a lot. I’ve never had someone like her, someone who makes me feel important and cared for just for being me. She actually cares and tries to help me, not because she wants money or something from me.
Is there a moment that made you feel seen, safe, or supported?
When I first came to Assisi, I was too scared to stay in my own room. I’m scared to be alone, and the cubby hole in there reminded me of something that happened when I was younger. Jo told me she was scared when she lived alone, but if she could be brave, so could I. She took the cubby hole door off and made it into an open wardrobe for me. Leigh, the new vision worker, brought me fairy lights and curtains. It made the room feel like mine. Now I’m always in there.
What does ‘home’ mean to you today?
If I say I want to go home, I mean Assisi. I don’t think my “Uncle” liked that because I used to live with him. Then I’d go to uncle’s, and he’d threaten to kick me out too. Here, I feel like I have a family in my support workers and my friend Jade. They care if I’m here or not. I don’t have to do things for people to stay, except pay my bills. I feel like I’ve got a family. Everyone laughs when I say that, but my workers have helped me through a lot. Jo and Molly aren’t maids—they help anyone, but you also must help yourself.
Can you describe a space or moment where you felt most at peace?
When I finally opened up to Jo and told her very personal things, that’s when I felt peace. Also, since meeting my friend Jade, my best friend. She and Jo got me back on track. I feel more at peace now than I ever have because I know I have a friend who doesn’t just want my money.
If you could share one message with others about your experience, what would it be?
Don’t ever give up and don’t ever blame yourself. No one’s perfect. Everything happens for a reason. What goes up must come down, and what goes down must come up. There’s always someone out there you can help, but you have to help yourself too.
What do you wish people understood better about homelessness?
People think you’re homeless because of drugs, and some people do make themselves homeless and won’t help themselves—but not everyone.
What support or change would make the biggest difference for you or others in similar situations?
Some people get given rooms and don’t want to change, while people who do want to change are still on the streets. I don’t think people who want to change should be put in places with people who don’t. It’s too hard to get and stay clean when you’re surrounded by people doing and giving you drugs.
Sophie’s* story
Would you like to share a part of your journey that you feel proud of?
I feel proud of myself because I got off drugs. I did it on my own by going cold turkey.
What helped you get through a difficult time?
My mates and my family helped me get through most of the unpleasant things that have happened in my life.
Is there a moment that made you feel seen, safe, or supported?
I felt seen when I received my diagnosis.
What does ‘home’ mean to you today?
I don’t have a home. I still don’t feel like I have a home at the moment—I have a house. But I hope I can make it into a home.
Can you describe a space or moment where you felt most at peace?
I felt most at peace when I was looking after my nan before she died because I felt like I got to repay her for everything she did for me when I was a kid.
If you could share one message with others about your experience, what would it be?
Even when things feel dark, you just need one person to light a spark.
What do you wish people understood better about homelessness?
Listen before you judge and understand someone’s journey.
What support or change would make the biggest difference for you or others in similar situations?
Have a recycling bin. We have to look after the planet, and I’m young and going to be here longer than you old ones.
There should be rules that have consequences, and people should have targets to hit to stay in these types of accommodation. There are people begging for places like this who would actually try.
Nigel from HACS 4 All has also shared his experience in an article on our website. Read the full article here: https://hortonhousing.co.uk/world-homeless-day-nigels-story/
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How a Culture Shift at Horton Housing is Creating Better Experiences for You
Something meaningful has been happening across Horton Housing Association, The Culture Project, now well underway, is helping shape a way of working that puts people’s strengths, abilities and wellbeing at the centre of everything we do.
The work towards our desired culture is done through listening to our colleagues and the people we work with. Our work on Colleague and Tenant surveys may sound technical, but they all have the same aim: understanding what we need so we can better support people.
The impact of our work is felt throughout the whole organisation. We’d like to share some of the things we have been working on during 2025.
Language That Builds People Up
One of the biggest changes this year has been the growing use of strengths-based language. With the launch of our own Strengths-based Language Guide, colleagues have been supported to move towards language that builds confidence and trust.
For the people we work with, that means being seen for their strengths, abilities and potential.
Reflective Practice That Improves Everyday Support
Reflective practice has become another key part of our culture. Through ongoing training and the development of a new Reflective Practice Guide, colleagues are taking more time to pause, think and understand different situations.
That reflective space helps us to respond with empathy, patience and curiosity creating safer, calmer and more supportive interactions.
Creating Environments That Feel Safe and Respectful
The right environment can help support challenging times. Our growing focus on Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) is also making a difference. We are thinking about how our homes and spaces look and feel, and how small changes can reduce anxiety, support trauma-informed practice and make our services more welcoming.
Clear Communication
Working closely with our Communications Team, means colleagues and the people we work with now have better access to knowledge, tools and guidance that help them feel more confident and supported. We’ve even created a whole page that is dedicated to our culture and supporting our colleagues in their strengths-based journeys.
Training That Helps People Move Forward
Training in strengths-based practice and reflective approaches is giving colleagues new ways to engage people in positive, empowering conversations.
These tools help you feel heard, respected and capable of creating change in your own lives.
Culture Change with a Purpose
Every part of our Culture shift, from language guides to surveys to training, is about one thing: giving people a better experience when they come to Horton Housing.
By building a culture that is strengths-based, reflective and psychologically informed, we’re creating support that builds confidence and helps people move forward with hope.
And that’s a culture we can all be proud of.
Your Service Description – Making Things Simple
We’ve made some changes to improve how we share information about our services. Each scheme will now have a Service Description Including Access document. This will replace older documents and is designed to be:
- Easy to read – simple, clear language
- Fair and transparent – so everyone understands how to access services
- Accessible – for all the people who use our support.
We made these changes because you told us you want clear information.
The new style is all about what people want to achieve, and the support they want to help them get there. We call this the ‘strengths-based approach’.
These changes also help us meet national rules for fairness and openness and get ready for new rules under the Supported Housing Act 2023.
What does this mean for you?
Your scheme’s Service Description explains:
- What the service offers
- How you can access it
- What you can expect and what we ask of you
- Our promises to you
- Who to contact if you have questions
Where to find yours
You can:
- Visit Horton’s website and find your service under ‘What we do’
- Ask anyone at your service for a copy
If anything changes in the future, we’ll update the document, so you always have the latest information.
Need help or have questions?
Just speak to your support worker or contact us directly – we’re here to help.
Checking and Improving Horton’s Standards
Introducing our standards
Last year, the Regulator of Social Housing introduced new Consumer Standards for social housing providers.
At Horton, we welcomed these standards, as they aim to provide you with greater rights, a more active role in the services we provide, and help to improve the safety and quality of your homes, and neighbourhoods.
There are four Standards:
- Safety and Quality Standard
- Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard
- Neighbourhood and Community Standard
- Tenancy Standard
These Standards help to make sure that:
- We treat you fairly and with respect, and that we understand how you want us to support you.
- We keep you informed, we listen to you and involve you in our decisions and plans.
Your voice is key to helping us check our standards too. Our tenant Scrutiny Group is now a year old, and we have welcomed many suggestions and much feedback from our tenants. Look out for the next session, come and join in and have your voice heard. There is more information on the Together with Tenants page of Horton’s website or ask your worker.
Checking Our Standards
Every year we check that we are meeting our standards and look at ways to improve our homes and services for you. Our Quality Assurance Team also takes a second look to check how well we are doing.
A recent check of the Safety and Quality Standard found some positive results:
- We have a wide range of guidelines and ways of working that help keep people safe and make sure we are providing good quality homes.
- Our safety checks for the ‘Big Six’ (gas, fire safety, electrics, asbestos, water hygiene, and lifts) and for damp, mould and condensation are well-managed.
- Tenants we spoke to told us they are mostly happy with the repairs, maintenance, and planned improvements service we provide at Horton.
We also found a few areas that we are going to improve:
- We will get to know our homes better, making regular updates so our maintenance plans reflect your feedback and what our homes need.
- We will make sure we can show how we have considered what matters most to our tenants from different backgrounds.
- We will develop a better way to record adaptation requests and to support accessibility for our tenants who need changes to their homes.
Thank you to all the tenants who welcomed us into their homes and shared their views during our check.
What’s next?
The Quality Assurance Team will be looking at governance and financial viability, part of the Economic Standards, to ensure that Horton runs things well and manages money responsibly. We will keep you updated in Here at Horton.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) oversees the standards. If you want to know more about the standards, you can ask your worker or you can visit their website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/regulator-of-social-housing
Dates for your diary 2026
March
15 Mother’s Day
20 Eid al Fitr (date may vary)
29 Daylight savings – Clocks go forward by an hour
April
5 Easter Sunday
6 Easter Monday (Bank holiday)
May
4 Early May Bank Holiday
Celebrating our volunteers
Read about our volunteers celebration event on the news section of our website.
Volunteer impact over the past year
- We have an average of 40 volunteers at any given time.
- Together, they have contributed 2,285 hours of volunteering.
- This equates to an economic benefit of over £34,000.
- We received 220 donations and supported 526 families with donated goods.
If you are interested in volunteering at Horton Housing, see our volunteering pages.
Why testing smoke alarms saves lives
Smoke alarms are one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect lives and property from fire. Making sure that smoke alarms work properly is everyone’s responsibility. A working smoke alarm can give you the vital seconds needed to escape in an emergency.
Early warning saves lives
Most fire related injuries and fatalities occur when people are asleep. A smoke alarm alerts you before smoke or flames reach you.
Regular testing also helps meet fire safety regulations and keeps everyone safe.
Knowing that alarms work means that you can feel secure in your home.
How often should you test?
Weekly – Press the test button on each smoke alarm every week.
How to test your smoke alarm
- Locate the Test button. This is usually on the front or side of the alarm.
- Press and hold – Hold the button until you hear a loud beep or siren sound.
- Check the volume – The alarm should be loud enough to be heard in all rooms.
Report issues immediately
If the alarm doesn’t sound, inform your worker or Property Services straight away.
Extra tips
- Keep alarms free from paint.
- If you experience challenges with your hearing, ask your worker or Property Services about specialist alarms with visual or vibrating alerts.
Involvement and Engagement
Visit our Together with Tenant’s webpage for an update on Horton’s Scrutiny Group.
Horton Housing’s Key Performance Indicators
At Horton Housing we aim to provide excellent services and always look for ways to improve them.
Every three months we look at our performance to see how we’re doing. We measure ourselves against targets based on the performance of a group of other good housing providers, where available. Other measures are set by Horton Housing’s Management Board and Senior Leadership Team.
Visit our Key Performance Indicator (KPI) webpage for figures from quarter 1 (1 April to 30 June 2025).
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Here at Horton Newsletter Feedback
We’d love to hear your thoughts! Your feedback helps us make the newsletter more useful and enjoyable. Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey.
You can either complete the survey in the newsletter, cut the page out and hand it to your support worker or complete the survey online.
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How to make: Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Our Young Persons’ Prevention and Support Service (YPASS) in Halifax made mac ‘n’ cheese (or macaroni cheese) in one of their recent Cook and Eat sessions. This recipe is easy to follow and low-cost.
Go ahead and try this tasty meal out yourself.
Ingredients
- 300g macaroni pasta (not the quick cook stuff)
- 30g butter
- 25g flour
- 500ml milk
- 200g mature cheddar, grated
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220C / 200C Fan / Gas Mark 7.
- Cook the macaroni until it’s a bit less done than normal – a couple of minutes less than stated on the cooking instructions on the pack of macaroni. The brand YPASS uses normally takes 10 minutes to cook, so they give it 8 minutes when they make macaroni cheese.
- While the macaroni is cooking, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan on a low heat. When the butter is foaming, add the flour and stir until it’s mixed in. Then keep cooking for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. It takes guts to do this. It looks like something is going to go wrong, but it doesn’t!
- Very gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Make sure each bit of milk is incorporated before adding the next bit. If you do this slowly on a very low heat, you should end up with a perfectly smooth cheese sauce with no lumps and no need to whisk. However, if it does go wrong for some reason, you can always use a whisk or wooden spoon to beat out the lumps.
- When all the milk is mixed in, add salt and pepper. Then add half the cheese, stir to combine and turn the hob off.
- When the pasta is done, drain it with a colander until a little bit of the cooking water is left in the pan.
- Tip the pasta and a couple of tablespoonfuls of the cooking water into the cheese sauce and stir.
- Pour the macaroni cheese into a shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. The top should be brown but the bottom should still be saucy, and the macaroni should be perfectly cooked.
- Serve and enjoy!
Latest volunteering opportunities
Would you like to volunteer at Horton Housing? Check out our latest volunteer opportunities below.
We will give you:
- An induction, support, supervision and training
- Out of pocket expenses, such as payment towards travel
- A reference if you volunteer for more than three months.
You can keep up to date and apply for our volunteer roles by visiting the volunteering section of our website.
If you are interested in volunteering and would like to find out more, please contact our Volunteer Services Team on 01274 743480 or email volunteer.applications@hortonhousing.co.uk
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Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Horton Housing is committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
Our aim is for our organisation to be truly representative of all sections of society, for individuals to be treated fairly, to feel respected and be able to be their best.
We are committed to ensuring that our services are appropriate and accessible to the people who need them. We are opposed to all forms of harassment and unlawful discrimination.
We have an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy which sets out how we will meet the needs of the people we work with and our equality duties. Every year we publish an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan which sets out our targets and how we will put our commitment to equality and diversity into practice.
We have been awarded the Housing Diversity Network Accreditation (DNA) recognising our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
We are a member of the Housing Diversity Network.
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Get in touch!
If you have ideas on what you would like to see in the newsletter or to give any feedback, please get in touch.
You can contact us through your support worker or by emailing: communications@hortonhousing.co.uk
Or you can write to us at:
Communications, Horton Housing
54 Little Horton Lane, Bradford BD5 0BS
Or you can telephone us on 01274 370689
Or connect with us on social media
Facebook: search for ‘Horton Housing Association’
Instagram: Horton Housing