Horton Housing Group signed up to be official adopters of the National Housing Federation’s Together with Tenants Charter in December 2020.
This means we want to make sure that:
- you are safe and listened to
- you can help shape our services if you want to
- the homes we provide are good quality
- when things go wrong, it is easy for you to tell us or make a complaint and we will sort it out quickly.
Our commitment applies to everyone, regardless of whether you live in our accommodation or are accessing any other Horton service.
If you would like to find out more about the charter, please visit the National Housing Federation’s website.
Together with Tenants update
My name is Claire and I work for my own company, Tentacles, to make sure people in supported and social housing are involved and engaged in the services they receive. Horton have asked me to come and work with them for a while so that I can look at new, fun and interesting ways of doing this.
Myself and Dale, who works as the involvement lead at Horton, recently visited a selection of Horton’s services to speak to some of you in person.
We managed to visit 15 services and spoke to almost 100 people. We found that many of you are interested in involvement, especially when you find out about the benefits to you. These are:
- It’s social. It gets you out, reduces boredom and loneliness and gives you the chance to meet new people.
- It’s a great experience. You’ll learn new skills and involvement can be a great addition to your CV.
- You’ll feel good. Involved people report having improved confidence, self-esteem and wellbeing.
- It’s a chance to make a change. You can be part of the change.
At the end of October, we held our first Involvement Gang meeting, where we discussed ways we can look at Horton from your perspective.
We will also be starting some smaller groups looking at areas that people were interested in, including Health and Safety, Homes, and New ideas.
We will be helping services do more involvement and engagement too.
You told us that community events, such as cook and eat, trips out, crafts and bingo, were really important to you. They help relieve boredom and distract you from some of the challenging things that are happening in your lives. It’s easy for you to get involved in making events happen.
Here are some tips:
- Do your research. Find out about the event you want to have; where can you do it? Who else is interested? How much will it cost? How will you get there?
- Think about the benefits. What will people get from the event? It could be anything from improved wellbeing to new skills to a health kick. If you can explain the benefits, more people will be interested.
- Be bold. If the event will cost money, ask for discounts. Often, if you write to a company and explain about the service you’re in, they’ll help out. Support staff can help you do this.
- Be a leader. Always start by talking things through with support staff so they can assess the risks of any activity, but if they’re happy, don’t be afraid to lead the project. You can make it happen!
- Tell people. Take photos, write about it and tell everyone. You’ll inspire others with your ideas.
If you’re interested in getting involved, ask your support worker to let me and Dale know.
How are we doing?
Every three months we publish key performance indicators (KPIs) which show how we are performing as an organisation. Visit this webpage to see our latest figures.