In Touch autumn 2007 - Teign Housing

Handyperson serviceupdateAnti-socialMartin Young andDavid WatsonIn the summer edition of In Touch we let you know thatwe’re now working with Devon Care and Repair to providea handyperson service to Teign Housing customers. InTouch spent a morning with Care and Repair to findout more.David Watson, Care and Repair’s Local Agency Manager,welcomed In Touch into their office in Newton Abbot.When you call to book in a visit from the handyperson,this is the office you will reach. David told us “We hereto fix anything, from replacing a broken toilet seat toassembling a piece of furniture! It’s a popular service -we have a waiting time of two to three weeks but we domake sure we have the staff to keep the waiting time toa minimum during busy periods.”Martin Young is the handyperson for the Teignbridge area.His handy career started in window fitting and alongthe years he’s picked up skills in plumbing, carpentry,decorating and landscaping. Martin’s the kind of practicalperson who can turn his hand to anything. “Drippingtaps tend to keep me the busiest”, he explains. “With lotsof people on water meters now, they see a dripping tapand it’s money running down the drain. We get a lot ofcall outs for that. The second most popular orders are thesecurity or safety related ones – door chains and smokealarms. We get lots of orders when there’s a campaign onTV about home safety”.We asked Martin about the sort of people he visits in hisjob. “It used to be just the over 60’s but that’s changed.I visit younger people, people who are disabled, peoplewho are vulnerable. The other day I was out fitting extralocks for a single mum who’d been threatened by herex-partner.” It’s at this point that Martin’s passion forhis work shines through. “It really is a rewarding job.You’d be amazed the difference a small repair can maketo someone, it’s a weight off their shoulders. It’s not justthe repair sometimes. Some of the people I visit can’t getout much so it’s company too. I’m well looked after withcups of tea and biscuits!”From the office, David takes us to see some satisfiedcustomers to hear what they think of the service.Eileen Hart lives on her own in Highweek, Newton Abbot.“I’ve got some family who don’t live too far away butI hate to ask them to do things for me because they’reso busy with their own lives. It can also be difficult tocomplain to them if they don’t make a good job of therepair! A friend recommended Care and Repair to me andI phoned them. They really are so helpful. When you callthe office they’re easy to talk to and very understanding.While Martin’s in your home you can really tell he knowswhat he’s doing.”Christina Ditchburn of Milber, Newton Abbot, is anotherolder lady living on her own. “I’m 90 years old” she toldus, “I don’t have any family and if it weren’t for Care andRepair I don’t think I’d be able to live in my own home.I can manage the cooking and the cleaning but I’m pastthe stage when I can climb a ladder or stand on a chair.”Christina mentions her last couple of visits from Martin,who took down her curtains ready for washing and cameback to re-hang them. Then it’s out to her garden toinspect the shed which was recently painted. On the wayour Christina points out a handrail by the steps leadingdown from the house. “When I took Martin out to theshed he noticed I put my hand there to steady myself.Before I knew it he’d come to install a handrail. Theservice is out of this world”.To contact Devon Care and Repair for any jobs you needcarried out call 01395 514790. Up to two hours of thehandyperson’s time is free of charge to Teign Housingtenants. All you need to do is supply materials requiredfor the job, such as the shelves you would like put up orthe light bulb to be installed.Christina DitchburnEileen HartInjunction obtainedA recent bid to obtain an Anti Social Behaviour Injunction (ASBI) againsta family living on one of our rural estates was successful. This had beena difficult case for us to tackle as little evidence had been provided byneighbours, due to the fear of repercussions. This all changed when thecommunity decided enough was enough. Diary sheets were completedand complied over a period of time, and provided a starting point for oursuccessful legal action.Dispersal order does the jobThe police have put a dispersal order in place for Teignmouth Town Centre.The order allows the police to move on anyone causing a nuisance, beforetheir behaviour is given the chance to cause a real problem for local residents.Following the dispersal order, the police have reported that they have seena 14% drop in criminal damage for the whole of Teignmouth, 18% for thearea covered by the order and a 21% drop in violent crime. Teign Housing isworking closely with the police to monitor behaviours in surrounding areasbecause we want to make sure the problems of the town centre are resolvedand not just moved into other parts of the town.Please help us by reporting all incidents of anti social behaviour wherever youexperience it and together we will ensure it has nowhere to hide.Caught in the actThe new CCTV system at Kingsway is already proving its worth. There has longbeen an issue with fly-tipping at the rear of the blocks which has causedproblems for local residents. Previously we have had to rely on the event beingwitnessed, but due to the elusive nature of the fly-tipper this rarely happened.With the CCTV system in place, when the rubbish is reported we can watch thetapes in reverse, find the fly-tipped items and then it’s simply matter of watchingthe fly-tipper walk backwards into their block, up the stairs and back into theaddress they came from.Residents that cause this sort of nuisance will be given the opportunity toremove the rubbish. If it is not removed in the specified time then we willremove it and recover the cost from the address the rubbish came from.behaviourWith Teign Housing’s Neighbourhood Support Advisor, Trevor VincerCCTV will support claims of loud, late night parties being held and peoplecausing a nuisance in the buildings. It is an excellent addition to the tools thatwe have available to reduce and resolve anti-social behaviour. With the CCTVsystem and our new closer working relationships with the Crime and DisorderReduction Partnership, Teign Housing will achieve what you, the residents want;a cleaner, safer, better place to live.Say itwith diarysheetsWhen the police send lettersto those carrying out antisocialbehaviour, warningthem about their actions,we’re keen to follow thisthrough so we send diarysheets to their neighbours.This means that any furtherincidents can then berecorded quickly and easily.We simply cannot stressenough how important diarysheets are to the processof resolving ASB. I havepreviously written about howa community has taken astand against ASB and thefirst step in that process wasdiary sheets. They enabledTeign Housing to understandthe impact on a communityand decide what action totake to ensure the problemdid not just go away but wasresolved. A timely responsemakes a world of difference inresolving ASB.10 11