Hafod achievement 2014

ACHIEVEMENTS 2014HAFOD HOUSING ASSOCIATION

n Awards Success! 3

n Staff Success 4

n A Bright Future for Yellow Wales 5

n SMART Money Success 6/7

n Working In Partnership 8

n Community Funding Success 9

n Fir Tree House Success 10/11

n Major Works Success 12

n Diversity Champions! 13

n Youth Panel Success 14

n Youth Awards 15

CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOKLETThis booklet has been designed to showcase the work we and our tenants havedone throughout 2014 and celebrate our achievements and successes.

The information within this booklet covers:

n The work we have donen Partnership working and the areas in which we work

If you would like to know more about this work, please contact the member ofstaff responsible for the work who will be named after each section.

ACHIEVEMENTS 2014 HAFOD HOUSING ASSOCIATION2

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AWARDS SUCCESS!

We are committed to communicatingwith our tenants in as many ways aspossible, so following the launch ofthe Association’s Facebook and Twitterpages in 2013, 2014 saw the developmentof a new Pinterest page. Pinterest is afree website which allows users tosave images to create ‘Pinboards’.

When we carry out improvements toour tenant’s homes we are keen tooffer a wide range of choices so wehave used Pinterest to create aPinboard which contains pictures ofthe different styles of flooring, doorhandles and cupboard doors on offer.

There are also Pinboards containingimportant safety information aboutsmoke alarms and gas boilers.

Michelle Llewellyn, TenantParticipation Officer said “Werecognised that these choices are veryimportant for tenants and wanted toenable them and their partners tohave as much time as possible tomake their choices. The PinterestBoards enable tenants to see therange of options on the new HafodProperty Services Pinterest boardsprior to their home visit”.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Michelle Llewellyn, tel: 029 2067 5800e-mail: [email protected]

We are pleased to announce that in June 2014 we were awarded 2nd place inthe Communication in Housing Category at the TPAS Cymru Annual Participationaward for the development of our Pinterest page.

STAFF SUCCESS2014 was a very successful year for staff throughout the association. The following is a list of all academic success achieved:

n Janet Bruton and Bethan Jones from theIncome Team successfully completed theChartered Institute of Housing Level 3Certificate in Housing Practice.

n Linda Lewis from the Income Teamsuccessfully completed a HNC in HousingPolicy and Practice at Cardiff MetropolitanUniversity.

n Corinna Mantle, Head of Service Improvementsuccessfully achieved a certificate inIntermediate Level Welsh Second Language.

n The Association continues to invest in its staff.Following on from managers’ success in 2013on completing the Institute of LeadershipManagement Course a further 9 seniormembers of staff and Managers commenceda new suite of Leadership and ManagementTraining in 2014.

Congratulations to all for a busy year of study and development in Hafod!


A special mention should go to our Tenant Participation Officer, MichelleLlewellyn who was voted “Tenants Choice” member of staff of the year by theAssociation’s tenants.

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A BRIGHT FUTURE FORYELLOW WALESYellow Wales has had another busy and successful year. The Charity supports abroad range of young people living in Bridgend and surrounding areas, butparticularly specialises in supporting youngsters who experience significantchallenges in their lives and who are often disconnected from education,training or employment.

During 2014 Yellow Wales:n Supported a total of 95 young people. n Awarded a total of 66 qualifications n Helped 16 young people into

employment

Qualifications have been awarded toyoung people in: n Food Safety Hygiene n Developing Effective Thinking Skillsn Community Sports Leaders n Manual Handlingn Customer Services Skills

Key Headlinesn We hosted a Student Social Work

Placement for a Student undertaking a Masters in Social Work at Cardiff University

n Darren Vick our Senior Training Support Worker secured his Level Three NVQ in Management and delivered a presentation to invited guests on behalf Engage Training at Bridgend College

n 5 of our young people reached the Final of the Shield of Llamau’s Five Aside Football Tournament

n Yellow Wales hosted several Celebration Award Ceremonies to recognise the achievements of our learners and to present them with their certificates including a visit by the Deputy Leader of Bridgend County Borough

n Yellow Wales has developed a new brighter website to inform the public, funders and partners about our work and outcomes achieved.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Steve Driscoll, tel: 01656 737494e-mail: [email protected]

n Vale of Glamorgan’s Money MattersRoadshow

n Dynea Neighbourhood Watch Big Lunch Event

n Hafod Housing’s TenantsConference

n St Mellons Play Day n Rhydyfelin Community Fun Day

The main activities of the teamcontinue to be supporting tenants with:

n New Claims – Housing/Council TaxBenefit

n Applying for housing benefit backdates and challengingoverpayments.

n Welfare Benefit Claims and Advicen Budget Plansn Dealing with Rent Arrearsn Managing Debtsn Better Lending and Saving Options

Between January 2014 and December 2014:

The Welfare Benefit and SpecialistMoney Adviser assisted with claims andprovided advice that resulted in afinancial benefit of £195,582.50

The financial gain per case opened bythe team in 2014 was £453.79.

Linda Lewis, Income Recovery andFinancial Inclusion Manager said “Theservices offered by the SMART MoneyTeam, provide an invaluable opportunityfor people to gain control of theirfinances, often for the first time”.

SMART MONEY SUCCESS It’s been another successful year for the SMART Money Team. They visited 431tenants to offer money saving and Welfare Benefit advice.

The team want as many tenants as possible to know about the services weoffer, and throughout 2014, used many oportunities to raise awareness andgive on the spot advice at the:


BENEFITS

RENT

BILL

SLOAN

S

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Linda Lewis, tel: 029 2067 5800e-mail: [email protected]

“Highly recommend – if itwasn't for them, I would havelost my house. Seem to beable to sort anything.”

“Really helpful.”

“If everyone knew about theservice, it would put morepeople's mind at ease.”

“Can’t fault them, wasunbelievable.”

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“Took all the stress away fromme, acting on my behalf tothe Council.”

“Put my head above waterwhen I needed it the most.”

“Very good service. Friendlystaff.”

8 ACHIEVEMENTS 2014 HAFOD HOUSING ASSOCIATION

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP

The benefits to members of the publicare:

n An offer of an Assured ShortholdTenancy, but provided the tenancyconditions are kept the tenancy cancontinue for the period Hafod leasethe property (currently up to 10years). Tenants have thereassurance of a tenancy that willnot end at 6 months giving betterstability than in private sector lets.This has benefits including forexample enrolling children inschool etc.

n The rent will typically be set at theLocal Housing Allowance rate whichis less than most private sector rents.

n Tenants can be confident that theirhome will be professionallymanaged and maintained to agreedstandards. As we will be buyingproperties that are in goodcondition tenants should not beinconvenienced by major worksonce they are in their new home.

In 2014 we continued our commitmentto the Welsh Housing Partnership byletting 105 properties in Cardiff,Merthyr, Bridgend and Rhondda CynonTaff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Lesley Mower-Hill, tel: 029 2067 5800e-mail: [email protected]

In 2014 the Welsh Housing Partnership continued to go from strength to strength.The Partnership comprises a number of housing associations – Hendre Group,Coastal Group, Seren Group and Cymdeithas Tai Clwyd who have come togetherto buy properties for low income families who would other wise find it hard to bere-housed due to a lack of affordable homes.

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COMMUNITY FUNDING SUCCESS2014 has proved to be another good year for drawing down external funding to re-invest in our communities. With the advice and practical support of ourCommunity Investment Team:

n 14 small grants were applied for witha 70% success rate

n £23,590 was secured from 9 differentfunding sources

n Grants ranged from £500 through to£9623

n 10 community projects were delivered in 4 different communities in South Wales

In addition we have supported the StMellons Community Crèche to drawdown approx. £26K from Families First toprovide over 1500 childcare places toenable parents with preschool childrento access local learning opportunities.

Sally Cockerill, Head of CommunityInvestment said: “We are very grateful toall the funding bodies that havesupported our hard working groups.Their grants have made a real differenceto the lives of local people and theircommunities by providing programmesfor older people; activities for childrenand young people; summer play for 2-4year olds; free skips; and equipment forour new Fir Tree Centre”.

BBC Children in Need awarded Fir TreeCommunity Association a grant of £9623to help make a difference to the lives ofdisadvantaged children and youngpeople in Quakers Yard, Treharris.

Valley and Vale Community Arts werechosen to work with the children andyoung people and the project created anew brand for their ‘Youth Zone’ throughthe development of a new logo, 3 shortfilms and a large piece of community artwhich is now hanging in the new cafe.

Marion Price, youth volunteer,explained, “Throughout the summerholidays the Youth Zone project has keptour young people busy whilst learningnew skills and having fun. The projecthas been vital in involving them in thenew Fir Tree Centre, giving them anidentity of their own, and a sense ofbelonging.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Sally Cockerill, tel: 029 2067 5800e-mail: [email protected]

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With Hafod’s support the group hasgone from strength to strength andeventually became the Fir TreeCommunity Association, which is aCompany Limited by Guarantee and aRegistered Charity. The group quicklyoutgrew the porta-cabins which aseach year passed became increasinglydilapidated.

In 2008 we started a campaign toreplace the porta-cabins with a newpurpose built community building fitfor the 21st Century. Since this timethere have been many unforeseenchallenges to overcome but with theongoing support of local residents,Hendre Development and B3 Architects,we have achieved our goal. In April2014 Holbrook Construction startedwork on the new Fir Tree Centre.

This eco-friendly building was completedat the end of the summer and includesa new IT suite, a training/meetingroom, and a community café. Theplanned programme includes:

n Food Cooperativen Credit Union Collection Pointn Activities for children and young

peoplen Formal and informal learning

opportunitiesn Healthy living initiativesn Advice and support services

We are especially grateful for thefunding from Ffos Y Fran CommunityBenefit Fund, WCVA CommunitiesInvestment Fund, The Tudor Trust, andthe Community Economic DevelopmentProgramme, which is supported by theEuropean Regional Development Fundthrough the Welsh Government.

FIR TREE HOUSE SUCCESS

ACHIEVEMENTS 2014 HAFOD HOUSING ASSOCIATION

Hafod has 96 homes in Fir Tree Drive, Quakers Yard, Treharris. Since 2002 ourdedicated Community Investment Team has been working with tenants of FirTree Drive. Initially we helped the Tenants Group to secure the necessaryfunding for 2 porta-cabins which they ran as a local community resource upuntil very recently.

Hafod, along with a significant amountof staff time, has also contributed £25Ktowards the new building as well ascovering the costs of the initial feasibilitywork. Hafod has also granted a pepercornrent to the group to enable then tolease the land for a 15 year term.

Hafod’s Managing Director, AlanMorgan, is delighted at the outcomeand the benefits the new Fir TreeCentre and Café will be able to bring toresidents of Quakers Yard and thewider community of Treharris,

“Over the years we have developed avery strong and positive relationshipwith the Fir Tree Community Association.We are delighted that the hard work

and commitment of all involved, andespecially the local volunteers, haseventually paid off. A new building willdefinitely enhance the local landscapeand its location at the south easternend of the estate will ‘regenerate’ thisarea of currently derelict land andprovide a visually improved aspect forpedestrians accessing the site from thevalley floor. Our project is very muchabout protecting a vital communityresource, energising and empoweringlocal people, and providing a longterm foundation for enterprise”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Sally Cockerill, tel: 029 2067 5800e-mail: [email protected]

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MAJOR WORKS SUCCESS 2014 saw the Association invest over£4,600,000 in our homes as part ofour planned and cyclical programme.

This major investment in our housingstock enabled us to provide tenants with:

n 263 Kitchensn 170 Bathroomsn 50 Level Access Showersn 83 Electrical Re-Wiresn 250 External Doors

Hafod Housing remain on target toensure all properties meet the WelshHousing Quality Standard, that ourtenants live in good quality homeswithin safe and secure communities.We have also provided additionalbenefits through our investment in theWelsh Housing Quality Standard,these include:

n More local investment generatingjobs for local people andcommunities

n Environmental Improvements tolocal neighbourhoods

n High quality services for residentsn Increased pride in the community

Paul Mantle, Head of MaintenanceService said “We have continued toinvest heavily in our existing stock andhave received some excellentfeedback on the work our contractorsare carrying out. Residents have alsotold us how this work has made adifference to their lives. The feedbackwe receive is very important to us”.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Paul Mantle, tel: 029 2067 5800e-mail: [email protected]


DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS!In 2013 we were proud to join Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme,which promotes and develops good practice for employers.

Stonewall Cymru is the All-WalesLesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB)Charity. Their aim is to achieveequality for LGB people at home, atschool and at work.

The Diversity Champions programmepromotes a good working environmentfor all existing and potential employeesand commits members to ensuringequal treatment for those who arelesbian, gay and bisexual.

2014 saw the Association submitinformation with a view to being listedas one of Stonewalls top employers inthe UK. This was the first year we tookpart in Stonewalls Workplace EqualityIndex. Out of the 397 organisationswhich took part Hafod were ranked 213.

Chris Davies, Service ImprovementManager said “The DiversityChampions programme has beeninvaluable in helping the Associationimprove how we support our staff”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Chris Davies, tel: 029 2067 5800e-mail: [email protected]

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YOUTH PANEL SUCCESS 2014 saw members of our Youth Panel continue to thrive and make a realdifference in the communities where they live.

One such member is MarcelleStratford who lives in St Mellons,Cardiff. Marcelle completed herMillenium Volunteers GOLD Award inDecember 2014. The award was givento Marcelle as a recognition for thecontribution she has made to hercommunity by completing over 200hours of volunteering.

Some examples of the work Marcelledid to achieve her award were:

n Environment volunteering at KenfigNational Nature Reserve with othermembers of the Hafod Youth Panelsuch as beach litter picks

n Supporting our tenants at Craig yrHendre with gardening and at their25 Anniversary BBQ where thepanel cooked for residents andguests

n Organising fundraising days at herplace of employment and takingpart in a sponsored walk to raisefunds for a local disabled child

As a group the Youth Panel achieved aLevel 1 John Muir Environment Award(and are pursuing Level 2 during 2015)

Bill Daniel, Hafod’s CommunityDevelopment Officer who supports theHafod Youth Panel said “Marcelle hasbeen a shining example throughout2014. As Chair of the Hafod YouthPanel she has encouraged others andled by example on all of theirvolunteering projects. On a personallevel she has supported others in hercommunity as well as being a carer inthe home. In short, she has had abrilliant year.”

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YOUTH AWARDSThe Hafod Youth Awards took place on the 18th February at Pontypridd Rugby Club tocelebrate the voluntary work of the Hafod Youth Panel members and other youngpeople nominated by friends and family. Each one had an inspiring story to tellranging from academic excellence, volunteering overseas or for their local community,sporting achievement and overcoming significant challenges in their lives

Examples included Rose Ziaei, a youngHafod tenant from Cardiff, who arrived inthe country some 10 years ago as arefugee and achieved a First ClassHonours degree in 2014. Rose is taking agap year and is volunteering in Tanzaniaat an orphanage which aims to give thechildren have a good start in life. Roseintends to return in August to go tocomplete a Masters degree at UCL andpursue a career in InternationalDevelopment.

Two young people were awarded theirMillennium Volunteering Gold Award forcompleting 200 hours of voluntary work.Josh Robins joined his neighborhoodwatch in Rhydyfelin and completed hisaward last summer. Marcelle Stratforddid environment and fundraisingvolunteering to achieve her award.

Hafod was represented at the event byAlan Morgan, Manager Director and SueSheppard, Chair of our Housing andCommuntiy Services Committee.Commenting after presenting the awards,Alan Morgan said, “Another brilliantopportunity to celebrate the efforts ofyoung people who work so hard for bothour tenants and the wider community”and Sue Sheppard said, "I am alwaysdelighted to attend this event andhonour the young people that work sohard for ourselves and our organisation. Iam looking forward to working with theyouth panel members who have joinedthe assessors panel. Their impact will beinvaluable to us. Well done to everyone,you must feel very proud of yourselves".

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Bill Daniel, tel: 01443 491878e-mail: [email protected]

Hafod Housing AssociationRegistered as a Charitable Housing Association under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act No. 18766R.

This document is available in other languages and alternative formats on request.Hafod Housing Association Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

CONTACT DETAILSHafod Housing Association

St Hilary Court, Vale Gate Business Park, Culverhouse Cross, CARDIFF, CF5 6ES

This document is available in other languages as well as in alternative formats on request

Tel: 029 2067 5800 Fax: 029 2067 2499 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hafod.org.uk

Hafod achievement 2014

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