August Ebulletin - Melin Homes

YOUR
MONTHLY
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MELIN
Viviritum post? Nam prituit ocusa
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LOWDOWN
164 PROPERTIES
IN OUR
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Viviritum post? Nam prituit ocusa
quodin Etripte numus eriordii sum
virit.
Toratra ctortiam aut videm is
ponique rmilique mus, caelari pimperra
re, quis ad ca noximus enerio
esteredi pri se num ponem et?
viu vit;Iquideroptere nos conscre
ndeora merfecrena, que cotiliem
thanks to her new home
HEADLINE LEASING NEWS STORY
PORTFOLIO
GOES HERE...
£27 MILLION
FOR GREEN
SCHEME
£2000 CASH
BOOST FOR
YOUTH FORUM
£18,000 TIDY
TOWNS
FUNDING
Life-changing new home
for foster mum
A Monmouthshire
woman who has been
able to continue fostering
her 4-year-old relative
is one of the residents
we housed in our new
£1.85million development.
at Pendragon Close,
Rogiet.
Tracy Jones, 38, met
MCC Chairnam Cllr
Maureen Powell, Cllr
Geoff Burrows, Mark and
Board members at the
official opening of 15 new
homes built in partnership
with Monmouthshire
Council and The Welsh
Government. She said : “If
I couldn’t move in here,
no one else would have
been able to look after
him and he would have
been fostered out to
strangers. That would have
broken my heart. Now he
loves it here.”
Pupils from Rogiet
Primary School also
came to the event One
of the pupils Matthew
From this month at Melin
Stepping Stones
Celebration
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quitatiam nonsul ublienius publies
Viviritum post? Nam prituit ocusa
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Toratra ctortiam aut videm is
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vit;Lint? Mulari perehem is ad sulus.
Etrarei poptimo erites iachuid em
Hereford, 10, even won
our competition to name
the site after deciding
on “Pendragon Close”.
He said: “It feels great
that the name I chose is
now on the map. and will
still be on there when
I am older” Councillor
Geoff Burrows said: “To
some people these are
just more houses but to
the individuals, who may
have faced difficult times,
finding themselves in a
brand new home is a
life-changing experience.
Tweet the
Chief
Melin Works has just successfully
completed three engagement gateway
projects in partnership with Tai Calon.
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new. Why not follow him
@mgardnermelin
TITLE
August 2012
Viviritum post? Nam prituit ocusa
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virit.
Toratra ctortiam aut videm is
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Duo help
older people
TITLE
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virit. Griffiths Court in
Toratra Abertillery, ctortiam has aut videm teamed is up
ponique with rmilique SWALEC mus, caelari
pimperra Community re, quis ad Liaison ca noximus
enerio Officer esteredi Gareth pri se Baker num ponem to
et? help viu vit;Efecero her residents acit; nius save caequas
pratiamquium money off comaios their energy At vignatil
bills. The duo has been
signing residents up
for the 2012-13 Warm
Homes Discount, which
TITLE provides a rebate of up to
£130 from some energy
suppliers. Out of 32 flats
at the scheme 20 are
eligible for the discount as
the residents receive
Pension Credit, Angela
said: “It is very important
to keep promoting the
scheme, Resident
Elizabeth Parr said: “I’ve
saved £15-£25 a month
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Audit success
We have received yet more top marks
from our auditors. TIAA awarded our
Housing & Finance IT Systems links as
first rate, giving us ‘substantial
assurance.’ This is the latest of 11
internal audits that occurred during
2011/12. The latest award takes the
number of ‘substantial assurances’ we
have received this year to three.
AM welcomed at Ty George
Be Me showcase
Housing Manager Rachel Mason and
Community Safety Team Leader Michelle
Kent have recently showcased our
cognitive behavioural therapy service,
BeMe, to CIH and The Welsh Tenant’s
Federation. The pair attended the
‘Sustaining Tenancies in Tough Times’
event in Llandrindod Wells to highlight
the great work that is being achieved by
the service.
Tidy Towns helps pupils
brighten up hospital
Pupils from Griffthstown and Kemys Fawr Primary
Schools were recently given a helping hand to bring
some flower power to County Hospital near Panteg
by planting some raised beds. Along with donating
plants, compost and materials, members of Melin
staff went along to help out.
Melin were able to support this initiative thanks
to £18,500 of Tidy Towns funding which they have
just secured. The project, which is funded by the
Welsh Government, aims to empower people to
Torfaen AM Lynne Neagle visited our Extra
Care scheme Ty George Lansbury to meet
with residents, Staff and Board, Torfaen
Council and Hafod, who provide the care
packages at the scheme. Lynne wanted to
learn more about how ‘Extra Care’ works by
talking with residents and carers, and taking a
tour of the scheme. Lynne Neagle said, “I’ve
got a lot of time for Melin. The standard of
their housing is always great.”
Good practice
Our Universal Home Access, Getting
Connected programme and Social
Networking strategy have been held
up as examples of good practice at a
Digital Inclusion seminar at CIH . The
seminar looked at capturing the
lessons on Digital Inclusion and
exploring how social landlords can
have a common approach to delivering
digital services.
make improvements to their local environment and
help achieve a clean, safe and tidy Wales. Melin’s
Communities and Enterprise Team will use the grant
to fund community regeneration projects such
as litter picking and planting schemes. It will also
enable them to provide materials for the projects
and buy items such as litter pickers and protective
clothing. The team will be working closely with
the Melin Youth Forum on the project to promote
sustainability in our communities, and will be helped
out by Melin Volunteers and partners along the way.
Resident survey
Our survey is landing on the
doorsteps of our residents in the next
few weeks. The mini Melin census will
help us get to know our residents
better and make sure that their details
are up to date. The survey will give us
a clearer picture of our residents’
individual requirements so we can
ensure that our services meet and
exceed their expectations. Teams of
Melin staff will be out collecting the
forms and assisting those residents
who need a little extra help to
complete the survey.
Zest! Award
We have been nominated in
the ‘health and wellbeing’
category of the CIPD People
Management Awards for our
Zest! initiative. Zest! was
launched last September and
has been helping Melin staff to
improve health and wellbeing
through activities such as
dedicated campaign months, a
cycle to work scheme as well
as Yoga & Reiki taster sessions,
and smoking cessation help.
The Awards will take place in
October.
CAB move in
The new home of Citizens Advice
Bureau in Abergavenny had its
official opening in July. The CAB
were joined by Gateway Credit
Union in moving into the Melin
owned Cross Street building which
formerly housed Care & Repair
Monmouthshire. The new premises
gives the companies a prominent
place in the town centre.

Powering Up Ten years of Care & Repair Torfaen
Powering Up Communities aims
to save families money by reducing
energy bills. We are hosting 3 team
members and working with
Communities First, Southern Solar,
Torfaen Council and Bron Afon by
helping to change habits and enable
households living on low incomes to
save money.
Pride Awards
As part of our Melin 5+ celebrations
we have launched our inaugural Pride in
your Place awards. These are aimed at
rewarding residents who go the extra
mile for their homes or communities.
We have been asking our residents to
nominate their neighbours who they
think have really made a difference to
where they live. Winners will be
announced at the AGM in September.
Panel’s boost for youth
Arbed2 ERDF gets to work
Wales Environment Minister John
Griffiths has officially launched
the Arbed 2 ERDF green home
improvement scheme for south
Wales led by Melin and the Energy
Saving Trust. He was at an event,
which played host to numerous
businesses all eager to work on
the £27million Arbed 2 ERDF
project covering areas from the
bridge in Chepstow to the beach
in Pembrokeshire.
Care & Repair Torfaen marked its first decade of
helping older people live independently, safely and
securely in their own homes with a jubilee style street
party at our flagship extra care scheme, Ty George
Lansbury. In the last year alone the agency has saved
Torfaen Health and Social Care services £1.3million.
The Residents’ Panel has awarded a grant
worth £2000 to our new Youth Forum,
which has been established with the help of
the Communities Team. The grant will help
the forum with start up & admin costs. The
Youth Forum comprises ten 16-25 year old
volunteers whose aim is to work with
Melin and put forward the views and
ideas of young people helping us to shape
services.
The first communities that will
benefit from energy saving measures in their homes will be in the Fochriw
area of Caerphilly as Arbed2 ERDF surveyors begin visiting housholders
from the beginning of August to see how they can help save them money
and energy. As well as providing
energy help for people in more deprived areas, the project is a much
needed boost to the renewable energy industry by providing installation
and supply contracts to companies from across Wales. It will also enable
small and medium size businesses and contractors to build on their
current skills, expertise and qualifications.
Dancing Days
Residents at our Pontypool sheltered
scheme have been enjoying belly
dancing lessons. Our enthusiastic
receptionist Susan Soliman is a dance
master who has gladly passed on
her skills to help older people enjoy
some gentle exercise to music. The
residents have enjoyed the sessions
so much that a one-off visit has
become a regular event.
New home
Our Development Team have bought
a property in Llandrindod Wells to
help a family with five children, one of
whom is severely disabled. The family
had been living in a property that was
unsuitable for their needs, and so this
purchase has helped to bring a solution
for Powys County Council who had
been trying to find a suitable home for
them. Kirsty Williams AM has thanked
the team for their help.
Over the last decade the team has accessed an extra
£580,000 welfare benefits and raised almost £300,000
in benevolent funding to help its clients. Over 120
clients and partners enjoyed the 10th anniversary
event which was officially opened by Shenkin the goat,
Mascot for the Royal Regiment for Wales.
Driving success
Hannah Baldwin is one of 8 people
to have passed their driving test so
far thanks to Stepping Stones driving
project. As well as learning to drive,
Hannah, 18, from Pontnewynydd
also gained a qualification in health
and safety and is now enrolled to
do a pre-care course to help her
gain employment as a home carer.
Paula Skyrme, Engagement Gateway
Coordinator said “Hannah clearly
demonstrates the principle of our
project. She was shy and a little
nervous when she first started, but
soon came out of her shell and has
learnt new skills which will help her
when she finds employment.”
Keeping up standards
Our Quality Management team is pleased to
announce that we have retained the Rainbow Mark
from the LGBT Wales Excellence Centre. It is a real
acknowledgement of our good practice and our
knowledge of the specific needs, facing lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Wales.
We have also retained our Customer Service Excellence
Award. The assessor was extremely impressed
with the level of customer service we provide, as well
as the knowledge, commitment & friendliness of our
staff.