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<strong>REACH</strong><br />

HALTON HOUSING TRUST NEWSLETTER<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG<br />

Winter<br />

2016<br />

Merry Christmas<br />

FROM everyone at Halton Housing Trust!<br />

also inside ><br />

P10 Transforming a Young Girl’s Life<br />

P13 A Man of Many Talents


Hello and welcome to<br />

the latest<br />

edition of <strong>REACH</strong>!<br />

It may be getting colder outside but you can always rely on a warm welcome to the<br />

latest edition of Reach.<br />

As always, it’s been a busy few months at the Trust. As you<br />

may have seen from the numerous signs outside our sites,<br />

we are working hard to build new homes across Runcorn and<br />

Widnes and meeting the targets of our ambitious development<br />

programme. Since January 2016 we have built or are at the<br />

final stages of building 241 new homes, totaling an impressive<br />

£27 million. Since 2008 we have built more than 800 homes<br />

through our investment of over £90 million.<br />

You can read more about our latest activities on page 6 as well<br />

as our exciting new home on page 12 which will bring us closer<br />

to our communities.<br />

Ever wondered what our Estate Services Caretaking team do?<br />

If so you can find out more about what they got up to this<br />

autumn, (we couldn’t possibly fit everything in!) on page 7.<br />

Many of us look forward to Christmas and all the excitement<br />

that the season brings. However, for others the festive season<br />

can be a difficult time. Many of our most vulnerable customers<br />

will struggle to keep warm over the colder months. You can be<br />

rest assured that our teams will be working hard to reach those<br />

customers who are most in need.<br />

If you need a little extra help over Christmas, on page 16 we’ve<br />

listed food bank locations throughout Runcorn and Widnes, as<br />

well as a list of handy contacts where you can access additional<br />

support on page 17.<br />

The Trust is all about<br />

Improving People’s Lives.<br />

A really good example<br />

of this is through aids<br />

and adaptations. Read<br />

how they’re helping to<br />

transform lives on<br />

page 10.<br />

Customer feedback showed<br />

us that you wanted to read<br />

more about the people who<br />

live in our homes, so check out the<br />

interview with Billy on page 13.<br />

He’s a true inspiration!<br />

We hope you enjoy reading this edition and if you have any<br />

feedback please email laura.beckett@haltonhousing.org or<br />

karen.kelly@haltonhousing.org<br />

Wishing you all the very best for Christmas and<br />

the New Year.<br />

Nick<br />

INSIDE<br />

THIS<br />

COMMUNITY<br />

6 Victoria House<br />

Underway<br />

7 Transforming your<br />

Communities<br />

8 Staying Well this Winter<br />

/Adverse Weather<br />

15 Festive Events/<br />

Fundraising for Charity<br />

16 Foodbanks/Flu Jab<br />

17 Help at Christmas/Opening Hours<br />

HALTON PEOPLE<br />

ISSUE<br />

11 Social Media Savvy/<br />

Community Group Funding<br />

13 Meet Customer Billy<br />

14 A Day in the Life of an Apprentice<br />

HALTON HOUSING TRUST<br />

WINTER 2016<br />

12<br />

3 Bulletin Board<br />

4 Universal Credit/<br />

United Utilities-Help with your Bill<br />

5 Customer App Success/Ways to Contact Us<br />

9 Lifekit-your Online Customer Toolkit<br />

10 Improving Customer’s Lives through<br />

Aids and Adaptations<br />

12 Our New Home<br />

2<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


HALTON HOUSING TRUST<br />

BULLETIN<br />

BOARD<br />

We’re disability confident<br />

Halton Housing Trust is proud to be recognised as a Disability<br />

Confident employer. There are nearly 11.5 million working age<br />

people in Great Britain with a disability or health condition<br />

and Halton Housing Trust shares the government’s vision of<br />

empowering disabled people to realise their aspirations and fulfil<br />

their potential, and the recent award as a Disability Confident<br />

employer acknowledges our commitment in this area.<br />

TRUST’S Marketing and<br />

Communications team<br />

recognised by CIM<br />

The Trust’s Marketing and Communications<br />

team is celebrating after scooping not one<br />

but two prestigious awards at the Northern<br />

Chartered Institute of Marketing Awards<br />

(CIM) in November. The team won ‘Best In<br />

House Marketing Team’ and ‘Best Digital<br />

Marketing Campaign’<br />

categories, beating off stiff competition<br />

from entries from Lookers and NHS trusts.<br />

A huge congratulations to the team!<br />

INVESTORS IN PEOPLE<br />

Here at the Trust we place a huge importance<br />

on our employees and recognise them as our<br />

greatest asset. We are Investors in People<br />

accredited and work hard to retain this<br />

status. Training and personal development<br />

is a big part of this and we’d like to take this<br />

opportunity to congratulate the following<br />

employees on their recent completion of their<br />

CMI L3 certificate in First Line Management.<br />

Well done to Dave Guilfoyle, Tracey Morris, Jean Williams, Alf Bean,<br />

Brian Gill, Suzanna Anslow, Hazel Lea, Dawn Burke, Ste Temperley and<br />

Ste Taylor. Some of the group are shown together in this photograph.<br />

Contacting the Trust over Christmas<br />

We close from 12pm on 23rd December and re-open at 9am on Tuesday 3rd January 2017.<br />

You can still call 0303 333 0101 to report an emergency repair or pay your rent. The Trust fully<br />

re-opens for all other enquiries on 3rd January. Why not make life a little easier in 2017 and try<br />

using our new and improved app to contact us. Download here<br />

3<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


HALTON HOUSING TRUST<br />

DON’T<br />

LEAVE IT<br />

TO L K<br />

Since the last issue of Reach, you may<br />

be aware that a benefit cap reduction came<br />

into place on November 7th. The benefit<br />

cap is a limit on the total amount of certain<br />

benefits you can get if you are of working<br />

age. The benefit cap will only affect you if<br />

you are receiving Housing Benefit or<br />

Universal Credit.<br />

The total amount a couple or family<br />

can claim in benefits is now £384.62<br />

per week and the total amount a single<br />

person can claim is £257.69 per week. If<br />

you are currently receiving more than these<br />

amounts, your Housing Benefit or Universal<br />

Credit will be reduced so you don’t get more<br />

than the benefit cap limit.<br />

We’re here to help. We’ve produced an online<br />

budget calculator to help you stay on top of<br />

your finances to check the impact that any<br />

changes may have for you personally. The<br />

calculator can be found on Lifekit by clicking<br />

the ‘Lifekit’ tab in the top right hand corner<br />

of our website.<br />

If you need further help or advice and want<br />

to speak to our specialist team, call<br />

0151 510 5024 or email<br />

welfare@haltonhousing.org<br />

Support<br />

with<br />

your<br />

Water<br />

Bill<br />

If you struggle to pay your water bill, a fantastic scheme has been launched by United Utilities<br />

that can help you reduce your payments.<br />

To be eligible for the United Utilities Support Tariff 2016/17 you need to meet certain criteria:<br />

You must have built up previous water charge arrears<br />

You do not use large volumes of water, for example for a large pond<br />

Be in receipt of one of the following benefits: Council Tax Reduction,<br />

Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based Job Seekers<br />

Allowance, Working Tax Credit, Pension Credit, Income-related<br />

Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit.<br />

Have you Verified Online?<br />

GOV.UK Verify is the new way to prove who you are online. It gives safer, simpler and<br />

faster access to government services. It takes about 10 minutes to verify your identity the<br />

first time you use GOV.UK Verify, and a couple of minutes any time after that.<br />

For more information visit GOV.UK/verify<br />

To learn more about the scheme and for an application form,<br />

visit the United Utilities website Support Tariff page at<br />

www.unitedutilities.com/support-tariff<br />

4<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


HALTON HOUSING TRUST<br />

How our<br />

Customer<br />

App can<br />

improve<br />

your life<br />

My name is Chris Noon. I’ve been an ‘Involved<br />

Customer’ of Halton Housing Trust since 2015.<br />

I’m a retired nurse but continue to fundraise<br />

and to date I’ve raised over £750,000 and<br />

I also have a passion for the homeless. I’m<br />

a co worker for Mother Theresa’s Shelter in<br />

Liverpool and also a Street Pastor in Widnes.<br />

As well as this, I am a Street Rep for my area,<br />

where I take resident’s concerns on board and<br />

act on them.<br />

I’ve been using Halton Housing Trust’s<br />

customer app and I find it a really useful<br />

resource. I help people to download the app<br />

which assists them with contacting the Trust<br />

anytime, day or night.<br />

There’s so much you can do through the app;<br />

check your rent balance, book in repairs, access<br />

Lifekit, the online customer toolkit, and much<br />

more – you’ll be surprised what you can do!<br />

It’s great that you can use the app from your<br />

armchair. If you don’t have a computer and you<br />

meet the right criteria, the Trust can supply a<br />

tablet to you - one of the team can help you to<br />

download the app, register and get you started.<br />

Using the app has given me the confidence<br />

to become an involved customer and I now<br />

pass my skills on to others. Being online has<br />

also meant that I can enjoy Facebook, meet<br />

like minded friends and Skype to keep in<br />

touch with relatives and friends. You can also<br />

download Reach magazine, and search for and<br />

apply for properties on Property Pool Plus, all<br />

from the comfort of your own home.<br />

DOWNLOAD<br />

THE APP<br />

HERE<br />

WE’RE MAKING<br />

A FEW MORE<br />

CHANGES...<br />

From January<br />

2017 onwards,<br />

our office<br />

reception<br />

will be self<br />

serve only<br />

CHANGES<br />

FOR THE<br />

BETTER<br />

at Halton Housing<br />

?<br />

Our kiosk<br />

service will be<br />

open 9am - 5pm<br />

Monday - Friday<br />

The digital<br />

kiosk enables<br />

customers to self<br />

serve, check rent<br />

account and raise<br />

requests via our<br />

web portal<br />

5<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


Cottage Hospital<br />

home transformation<br />

underway<br />

Work has started on the transformation of Victoria House, the former<br />

cottage hospital in Runcorn.<br />

The £2.9 million project will see the creation of 28<br />

new homes on the site on Holloway, and will involve<br />

selective demolition and conversion of the existing<br />

building combined with a complimentary new build.<br />

Working with John McCall Architects, Bardsley<br />

Construction, Aecom and the Alan Johnson<br />

Partnership, the scheme will be completed by<br />

winter 2017.<br />

The 28 home scheme will bring new life to the disused<br />

Runcorn landmark, creating six two bed houses and<br />

22 one and two bed apartments – nine of which are<br />

duplexes.<br />

Nicky Harris, the Trust’s Development Manager said:<br />

“A renovation of this kind will be a first for the Trust<br />

and we’re looking forward to bringing new life to the<br />

former cottage hospital yet still preserving its heritage.<br />

We have fantastic architects, builders and engineers<br />

working on the project and we’re confident that the<br />

development will be a success.”<br />

The £2.9 million scheme was grant funded by the HCA<br />

(Homes and Communities Agency) and forms part of<br />

the Trust’s ambitious development programme. Since<br />

January 2016 we have built or at the final stages of<br />

completion of 241 new homes, totaling an impressive<br />

£27 million. This includes our largest development to<br />

date in the Tan House Lane area of Widnes – a 175<br />

home mixed tenure site of apartments and houses,<br />

some of which have already been handed over.<br />

We’ve also started on site another 233 homes for<br />

completion in 2017 and 2018, investing an impressive<br />

£26 million into new home creation. Since the summer<br />

the Trust has completed sites around Runcorn and<br />

Widnes including Queens Avenue, Crossways, Crow<br />

Wood Lane and Brentfield, as well as building its first<br />

self-build-Grange House in Runcorn.<br />

241 new homes,<br />

totaling an<br />

impressive £27 million,<br />

PLUS ANOTHER 233<br />

homes for completion<br />

in 2017 and 2018<br />

Above and below - A vision of Victoria House for the future<br />

6<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


Transforming Your<br />

Communities<br />

Have you walked around lately and noticed an<br />

improvement in your neighbourhood? It’s because our<br />

Environmental Services Estate Caretaking team are working<br />

hard to tidy your communities, especially communal areas<br />

such as grassed areas and shop surrounds.<br />

Halton Lodge Tidy Up – October 2016<br />

West Bank Clean Up Success – October 2016<br />

Back on the tools for our Group Chief<br />

Executive, Nick Atkin – September 2016<br />

Nick Atkin swapped his suit for steel cap boots to<br />

experience a day working with our Grounds Maintenance<br />

team. He tried his hand at all sorts of tasks ranging from tree<br />

maintenance to garden clearance to experience first-hand<br />

what it’s like to work in the heart of your communities.<br />

An incredible 12 van loads of rubbish were collected by the<br />

Trust’s Environmental Services Estate Caretaking team last<br />

week, as part of a clean up in Halton Lodge, Runcorn.<br />

The team also filled four skips, collecting unwanted items<br />

from local homes.<br />

It was all hands on deck in October as West Bank in<br />

Widnes was treated to a spruce up as part of a community<br />

clean up. The Trust’ along with partners including Halton<br />

Borough Council, West Bank Academy, Girlguiding UK,<br />

Jiggy Childcare, CREATE and Widnes Boat and Angling<br />

Club worked together to clear the West Bank area of<br />

rubbish, as well as collecting unwanted household furniture<br />

free of charge.<br />

Skips were filled to the brim with scrap metal, bricks,<br />

timber, rubble and soil, hard plastics and<br />

small electricals, whilst the local Girl Guides<br />

transformed a garden and Widnes Boat and<br />

Angling Club cleared the water of rubbish.<br />

Organised by Councillor Pam Wallace, the<br />

West Bank Big Clean Up ran for a week,<br />

combining rubbish clearance activities and<br />

awareness raising sessions.<br />

7<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


AFFORDABLE<br />

WARMTH<br />

As temperatures drop, it’s important to stay well by keeping warm. Living in<br />

a warm home will help protect your health, from preventing colds and flu to<br />

more serious conditions such as heart attacks, strokes and pneumonia.<br />

Cold weather, and cold homes can have a significant impact on<br />

your health and there is help and advice available if you have<br />

concerns about paying for your heating.<br />

Winter Fuel Payment<br />

If you were born on or before 5 May 1953 and receive the<br />

State Pension a Winter Fuel Payment will be paid to you<br />

automatically. If you aren’t receiving this payment but think<br />

you should be, visit www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment<br />

or call 0345 915 1515.<br />

Cold Weather Payments<br />

This may be available to you if you receive certain benefits.<br />

You’ll get a payment of £25 for each seven-day period of very<br />

cold weather between certain months. Find out more at:<br />

www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment<br />

Further help<br />

The Energy Saving Trust (EST) has<br />

advice on how to reduce bills and make<br />

your home more energy efficient. They<br />

can also advise on grants and schemes<br />

available around the UK. You can find<br />

out more by visiting their website<br />

energysavingtrust.org.uk or calling<br />

0300 123 1234.<br />

Other useful numbers:<br />

• Save Energy Advice Line<br />

0800 043 0151<br />

• Warm Home Discount Scheme<br />

0345 603 9439<br />

• Age UK 01928 575 400<br />

In partnership with Green Star Energy,<br />

My Home Energy is offering long term<br />

competitive tariffs and affordable<br />

renewable energy options for our<br />

customers. To find out more, simply<br />

call freephone 0800 0014 706 or go<br />

to myhomeenergy.org.uk with your<br />

postcode and a current energy bill.<br />

Staying<br />

safe during<br />

Winter<br />

Although we’ve had mild winters for the last couple of years, we all know<br />

there’s no predicting the British weather, and it’s always best to be prepared.<br />

Bad weather can cause disruption for the Trust when undertaking daily<br />

services but also to you, both in your home and when travelling around. We<br />

have some tips to staying safe during any bad weather:<br />

In your home<br />

It’s important to keep warm. Try to leave your heating on low.<br />

Stock your food cupboards with tinned food and the essentials.<br />

Going away<br />

Turn OFF your stop tap and run any water out of your pipes.<br />

Either let the Trust or your neighbours know in case of emergency.<br />

Going out / travelling in snow<br />

Is your journey essential? Could you travel by public transport?<br />

Carry an emergency kit in your car consisting of: torch, batteries, blanket,<br />

snacks, water, gloves, boots and first aid kit.<br />

Neighbours<br />

Could you spare ten minutes to check on your old or vulnerable neighbours?<br />

Insurance<br />

Do you have contents insurance? The Trust is<br />

not liable for incidents such as burst pipes<br />

and this can cause a lot of damage to<br />

your valuables. If you’d like to speak to<br />

us about contents, please use the digital<br />

methods available.<br />

Our Services<br />

Please be aware our services may be reduced in<br />

periods of adverse weather and we ask you for your<br />

patience in this.<br />

8<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


HALTON HOUSING TRUST<br />

AND HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF IT<br />

Have you visited Lifekit? It’s a website created and managed by the Trust, full of information about<br />

saving money, health and wellbeing and living well. It’s full of really handy stuff! You can find it by<br />

clicking the ‘Lifekit’ tab in the top right hand corner of our website.<br />

There are a few ways that you can use Lifekit – by either selecting information that’s relevant to you or just skipping this step to<br />

browse. We add a new article most weeks so make sure you check in regularly so you don’t miss out!<br />

Your Money<br />

This section contains our really handy budget calculator so it’s well worth visiting! There’s also information about<br />

welfare benefits to help you get your head around this complex topic.<br />

You and Your Home<br />

How to live better within your home and make it work for you.<br />

Improve Your Job Prospects<br />

CV hints and tricks, types of interviews and how to find a job are just some of the resources if you’re looking at<br />

getting back into work.<br />

Get Online<br />

There are so many reasons why you should get online, and here we outline the benefits of using apps, how to stay<br />

safe online as well as lots of other information.<br />

Save Money<br />

Saving money for a special treat, a rainy day or to pay bills is a great feeling, but it’s not always that easy. This section<br />

is full of information on how to live a good life on the cheap.<br />

Health and Wellbeing *NEW SECTION!*<br />

This is our new section and we think you’ll find it really handy. We work closely with Halton Borough Council’s Health<br />

Improvement team and Active Halton, so you’ll find the most up to date health news here. The importance of flu jabs,<br />

stopping smoking, Healthy Start vouchers-it’s all here.<br />

9<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


HALTON HOUSING TRUST<br />

Transforming a<br />

Young Girl’s Life<br />

Everyone at the Trust works hard to meet our<br />

mission by Improving People’s Lives. In this edition<br />

we learn how Katie-Ellen’s life was transformed<br />

through aids and adaptations.<br />

Katie-Ellen, 13, is a lovely young lady who has a rare condition called<br />

Pallister Hall Syndrome which affects her every activity. Katie-Ellen<br />

is ventilated and oxygen dependant. She also has a gastrostomy and<br />

colostomy and is profoundly deaf. If this wasn’t enough to cope with,<br />

she has chronic renal failure and Epilepsy and uses a wheelchair to<br />

mobilise – but despite all of this she is a happy, loveable young lady.<br />

Katie-Ellen was living in a three bed bungalow in Runcorn with her<br />

Mum - Kerry, Dad – Stephen and younger brother Tom. Unfortunately,<br />

the layout of their home wasn’t suitable and it wasn’t feasible to adapt<br />

it to meet all of Katie-Ellen and her family’s needs. Mum and Dad were<br />

providing the 24-hour care that she needs, taking it in turns to sleep<br />

in her room. They had the option of overnight, paid-for carers but<br />

the home layout meant this would disturb the rest of the family. The<br />

bathroom was very small with just a shower over the bath, which meant<br />

that it was difficult for her to be transferred in and out of the bath safely.<br />

The doors and corridors weren’t wide enough for her wheelchair and<br />

other equipment to be used.<br />

Cherrie Walker from the Trust’s Housing Options team was allocated<br />

the case in September 2015 and worked closely with Occupational<br />

Therapist (OT)-Anthony McDonald from Halton Borough Council,<br />

Knowsley Housing Trust, the Trust’s Property Services and the family to<br />

establish the type of property and adaptations that were needed as well<br />

as a suitable location.<br />

After identifying a potential property, Cherrie worked with Knowsley<br />

Housing Trust to find a suitable home for the outgoing tenant. OT<br />

Anthony viewed the house, confirmed its suitability and recommended<br />

specialist suppliers to make the changes. Although it meant uprooting<br />

the family from Runcorn to Widnes, Katie-Ellen and her family were<br />

happy with the house and its location.<br />

After receiving the property in August, the Trust began<br />

work to ensure everything was in place for the move.<br />

Changes requested by the OT included: a specialist<br />

high-low bath, ceiling track hoist, changes to the electric<br />

supply, external lighting and additional hardstanding<br />

for parking. We also provided a new family bathroom,<br />

plastered, painted and decorated throughout and cleared<br />

the overgrown garden. Dave Partington from Property<br />

Services co-ordinated a team of people from different<br />

trades who pulled together to get their new home ready<br />

as quickly as possible.<br />

The family moved in two months later, in September,<br />

and their new home has already made a big difference<br />

to their lives. Katie-Ellen now has her own room and<br />

her parents can now arrange for overnight carers so<br />

they can have a good night’s sleep. The hoist allows<br />

Katie-Ellen to use the bath with her Mum and Dad<br />

able to help safely.<br />

Katie Ellen<br />

The move was mainly about meeting the basic needs of<br />

Katie-Ellen, but it did impact on younger brother Tom. Although Tom<br />

had to leave his school and friends, he never complained and was happy<br />

and excited for his big sister. He loved that the garden was big enough<br />

for his Christmas wish list-a trampoline. The Trust gave him a big (and<br />

well deserved) surprise when he moved in, as sitting in the garden was<br />

a brand new trampoline and enclosure – Christmas had come early<br />

for Tom!<br />

The move has made such a huge difference to a deserving family. Mum<br />

Kerry said she couldn’t thank everyone enough who had worked so<br />

hard to make it happen.<br />

Katies brother enjoying<br />

his trampoline!<br />

10<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


TRUST<br />

SUPPORTS<br />

On 25th August the hugely popular Victoria Park<br />

Experience (VPX) held in Warrington for the past nine years,<br />

was brought to Victoria Park, Widnes, as an additional event thanks to<br />

PCSO Victoria Titherington and her colleague Karen Graham.<br />

The event, which was attended by over 1000 people, was part<br />

funded by Halton Housing Trust’s community sponsorship<br />

fund, receiving £1450 after Cheshire Police put in an application<br />

which was approved by the Trust’s Customer Forum.<br />

In applying for funding from the Community Fund, applicants<br />

must be able to demonstrate that the project meets one of<br />

Halton Borough Council’s priorities or one of Halton Housing<br />

Trust’s five priorities.<br />

Given the success of the Warrington event it was clear that VPX<br />

Widnes fit the funding criteria, as the aim of the event was to provide a variety of free<br />

sporting activities in a safe environment for the local community to try. The event also<br />

increased local club membership and tackled anti-social behaviour which peaks during<br />

this period of the school holidays.<br />

There were plenty to do for all ages and it was completely<br />

free for anyone to attend. Games and activities included<br />

rugby and football games, a climbing wall and bouncy castle<br />

as well as stalls offering healthy eating, arts and crafts and<br />

information points manned by the police, fire and search<br />

rescue teams.<br />

This is just one of the many projects that has benefited<br />

from Community Funding. To find out more about how our<br />

community sponsorship fund can benefit your local event or<br />

initiative, contact Debbie Jameson, Customer Engagement<br />

Officer, on 0151 510 5185 or Hannah Ireland, Customer<br />

Engagement Assistant on 0151 510 5181.<br />

PCSO Titherington<br />

said: “The funding<br />

we received from<br />

the Trust has<br />

helped massively in<br />

allowing us to make<br />

VPX a free event<br />

open to everyone<br />

in the community<br />

and due to the<br />

success of the first<br />

Widnes VPX, we are<br />

planning to run it<br />

every year”.<br />

Time to get<br />

Social Media<br />

Savvy<br />

Worried about using social media? Concerned you’re not up to speed<br />

with the channels your children are using? Check out the latest social<br />

media guide, brought to you by our Customer Social Media Group.<br />

Our Customer Social Media Group have been working hard in the lead up to Christmas<br />

to create a fascinating guide to social media. The guide aims to advise customers how<br />

to get the best out of social media and give people the confidence to use it, safe in the<br />

knowledge that they are following best practice principles.<br />

The guide includes a number of useful tips on how to use social media, as well as tips for<br />

parents in keeping their children safe online.<br />

A couple of top customer tips include:<br />

* Don’t give out your phone number, home address or email address<br />

* Be safety conscious when uploading photos of children or vulnerable people<br />

* Remember you always have the option to block somebody or report them if you<br />

find their comments offensive<br />

* If it sounds too good to be true it normally is. Don’t fall for online scams that offer<br />

gifts or money<br />

* Don’t accept random friend requests<br />

Click here to read the rest of the guide<br />

Thanks again to our Social Media Group, who volunteered their own time to create this<br />

really useful guide.<br />

11<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


HALTON HOUSING TRUST<br />

We’re moving home<br />

We’ve taken the decision to move our two offices under one roof - and<br />

we have some very exciting plans to create our own purpose built new<br />

home to suit our very individual culture!<br />

Our new home, developed in collaboration with Russel Construction, is being built on the<br />

site of our largest new-build housing development to date; Tan House Lane.<br />

With the project due to be completed in late summer 2017 we aim to be in our new<br />

home by September. With state of the art facilities, collaborative working spaces and<br />

the necessary digital technology in place, our new home is designed to be a future proof<br />

working environment that sends a statement of our digital intent.<br />

Keep an eye out for regular updates!<br />

12<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


A Man of Many Talents<br />

When it comes to keeping fit and staying healthy, you don’t need to look any further for<br />

inspiration than to 81 year old customer, Billy Bennet from Wallace Street, Widnes.<br />

While most of us are still tucked up in our beds, Billy, a retired<br />

builder, puts on his coat at 5am, gets out his trusty bike (which<br />

he’s owned for longer than he can remember), and heads out for<br />

his daily 30 mile bike ride, frequently venturing as far as Leigh,<br />

Chorley and Southport. In the summer months when the horse<br />

racing season is in full swing, Billy even hits the road on his bike to<br />

Chester Races, feeling rather pleased with himself as he passes the<br />

hoards of traffic heading in and out of the city.<br />

Being so fit and healthy certainly helps him. After a recent ride out<br />

to pick conkers for one of his many grandchildren, Billy picked up<br />

a puncture and had to push his bike all the way back home from<br />

Penketh. But this doesn’t put him off-after all, his bike very rarely<br />

lets him down. He laughs as he recalls the time when a friend of his<br />

needed to move an armchair further down the road. Ever the helpful<br />

neighbour, Billy came to his rescue; he strapped the rather large<br />

armchair to the back of his bike (and him) and off he went!<br />

Born in Broughton Cottages, Ditton Road, Widnes, Billy has always<br />

been a big contributor not only to his neighbourhood but to the<br />

local area as a whole. After his time as a chef in the army, Billy<br />

worked at the Golden Wonder factory in Ditton, then later as a<br />

builder on the Jubilee Bridge, the Thelwall Viaduct, (and prior to his<br />

retirement) on Churchill Mansions, where he was always the last man<br />

on the job, trowelling up before he could join his workmates for a<br />

well-earned pint at the end of the day.<br />

One proud moment for Billy was when he and his wife met Princess<br />

Alexandra at the opening of the Jubilee Bridge in 1961, on which<br />

he’d worked. With each of his five children in their arms, Billy and<br />

his wife eagerly awaited the arrival of the Princess, and the wait was<br />

certainly worth it when she stopped to talk to them personally. To<br />

top everything off, Billy along with his workmates were awarded a<br />

day off with pay, plus a bonus, in recognition of their hard work.<br />

Having lived at Wallace Street for over 12 years, Billy is well known<br />

and extremely popular amongst his neighbours as he always loves to<br />

help out whenever and however he can, whether it’s pieces of wood<br />

he’s collected, picking up prescriptions or even a spot of gardening.<br />

Billy shows us a picture hanging on his wall, given to him by one of<br />

his neighbours, carefully handstitched is the wording ‘a<br />

friend in need is a friend indeed’.<br />

If he’s not helping a neighbour in need, or cycling around<br />

the North West, you’re likely to find Billy in his garden.<br />

Billy was recently joint winner in the Trust’s Digital<br />

Garden Competition and it’s easy to see why. The hard<br />

work that goes into nurturing the wide range of flowers<br />

and plants includes making his own compost in a three<br />

stage process which starts with collecting the horse<br />

manure…on his bike of course.<br />

Billy’s ‘get stuck in’ attitude goes a long way back. For<br />

over seven years he worked tirelessly raising money for<br />

the charity Multiple Sclerosis, from collections at Alberts<br />

Walkaround to pram and trolley pushes. Whilst the<br />

fundraising may have stopped, Billy certainly hasn’t.<br />

His tip for anyone reading this? “You don’t need the gym<br />

or expensive exercise classes, be your own gym,” he says.<br />

“You can train with anything, it doesn’t need to cost-in fact<br />

save the money, give me the £10 and I’ll chase you round the block”.<br />

So, with Billy setting us all such a good example, we’ve no excuses<br />

have we?!<br />

LEIGH CHORLEY CHESTER SOUTHPORT<br />

13<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


A day in the<br />

life of an ICT<br />

Apprentice<br />

Fancy working at the Trust?<br />

Find out what it’s like to work for<br />

us from one of our ICT apprentices.<br />

My name’s Jonathon Provost. I’m 19 years old and I’m a First Line<br />

Support Technician Apprentice at the Trust.<br />

I’ve already completed a Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in IT, and<br />

studying for an additional Level 3 BTEC in IT Software Web and<br />

Telecoms. Most of my training is done on the job, with observations<br />

from my college tutor to complete the college units.<br />

I also run my own web and web app design and development<br />

business, which I started in 2012. I continue to run the business from<br />

the admin side, and my two employees run the rest of the operations.<br />

I’m passionate about motorsport and hoping to compete next year in<br />

the Ssangyong Racing Challenge 2017 (depending on finances)! I’ve<br />

been heavily involved in motorsport since 2009 and in the past year<br />

I’ve started training as a Clerk of Course with Motorsport<br />

Vision Racing.<br />

There’s never a typical day in ICT at the Trust as there’s always<br />

different problems and jobs to complete. Throughout the day we<br />

are on the phones to answer any calls and as first line support, every<br />

support call will come through us. For the most part we log and<br />

fix calls, ranging from anything from account lockouts and session<br />

restarts to device requests and office changes. The helpdesk can<br />

receive anything from 10 to 50 calls a day. We ensure that all issues are<br />

resolved or handed to the relevant person to correct.<br />

For more complex, specialised problems we have the IT specialists<br />

who can help with issues that we can’t fix. Specialists are essential<br />

to both the helpdesk, as well as innovation and progress of the IT<br />

systems and infrastructure. A major focus of the IT department is<br />

the new ways staff can work with devices such as mobiles and IPads.<br />

We also manage the upgrading of older devices to make sure they’re<br />

compatible with all of the systems that our staff use.<br />

The Trust is an amazing place to work, with a brilliant sense of family<br />

- everyone is friendly and always happy to help each other. I am<br />

thoroughly enjoying working here and hope that I’m able to stay here<br />

when my apprenticeship finishes.<br />

If you like what you<br />

hear and you’d like to<br />

learn more, why not<br />

visit our job vacancy<br />

page on our website?<br />

14<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


Baking up<br />

a Storm for<br />

Winter<br />

EVENTS IN YOUR AREA<br />

There are so many events in Runcorn and Widnes this winter to make<br />

you feel festive. Here’s just a few of our favourites.<br />

Customers living at our two extra care<br />

schemes have been supporting the<br />

Macmillan Biggest Coffee Morning.<br />

Two coffee afternoons were held at Naughton Fields<br />

and Barkla Fields on 30th September and 3rd<br />

October 2016 to raise funds for Macmillan.<br />

Refuel the Reindeer Workshop<br />

Green Oaks Shopping Centre,<br />

Widnes<br />

17th December<br />

greenoaksshopping.co.uk/<br />

refuel-the-reindeer-workshop/<br />

Cinderella at<br />

The Brindley Theatre<br />

17th December –<br />

15th January<br />

Tickets from £16<br />

thebrindley.org.uk<br />

£364 was raised through kind donations of cakes<br />

and beverages, and staff and customers all put on<br />

their bakers hats and rose to the challenge of cake<br />

baking. Both events were very well attended by<br />

customers, staff and visitors.<br />

Staff at the Trust’s Runcorn and Widnes offices<br />

also took part in the event, raising £192.<br />

Swinging 60s Christmas<br />

at The Studio, Widnes<br />

18th December<br />

Free entry (Limited tickets)<br />

thestudiowidnes.org.uk/<br />

Jellybeans Play Centre<br />

ChristmasParty, Widnes<br />

19th December<br />

£10 per ticket.<br />

Food and drink included<br />

jellybeansplaycentre.co.uk<br />

Catalyst Science<br />

Discovery Centre –<br />

Holiday Workshops<br />

20th – 23rd & 28th – 30th<br />

Dec. Tickets from £4.95,<br />

Under 4’s free of charge<br />

catalyst.org.uk<br />

Widnes Superbowl<br />

Discounted bowling<br />

and Laser Quest<br />

24th & 26th Dec, 1st Jan<br />

Admission from £3<br />

superbowluk.co.uk/widnes/<br />

christmas/<br />

15<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


Do you have:<br />

• A lung disease<br />

• Kidney or heart disease<br />

• Diabetes<br />

• Another long term<br />

condition<br />

• Or do you suffer from<br />

breathlessness?<br />

Cold weather can make you more<br />

likely to catch a winter illness<br />

that could become very serious.<br />

So even if it’s just a cough or cold,<br />

seek advice from your pharmacist<br />

before it gets more serious.<br />

Foodbanks<br />

and how they can help you over winter<br />

If you find that you’re struggling over winter and need a helping hand there are<br />

foodbanks across the borough that can help. We’ve listed Christmas opening<br />

hours and locations below:<br />

Widnes<br />

Monday 19th Dec<br />

Thursday 22nd Dec<br />

Friday 23rd Dec<br />

Runcorn and District<br />

Thursday 22nd Dec<br />

Friday 23rd Dec<br />

Saturday 24th Dec<br />

Sunday 25th – 27th Dec-closed<br />

Wednesday 28th Dec<br />

Thursday 29th Dec<br />

Friday 30th Dec<br />

Saturday 31st Dec<br />

12-3pm @ Deeper Life Bible Church, Bechers<br />

11am-1pm @ St Mary’s Church, St Marys Road<br />

10am-1pm @ St Marie’s Hall, Lugdale Road<br />

AND 1-3pm @ St Paul’s Church, Victoria Square<br />

Saturday 24th Dec - Tuesday 27th Dec closed<br />

Wednesday 28th Dec 11am-2pm @ Oak Meadow, Peel House Lane<br />

Thursday 29th Dec 11am-1pm @ St Mary’s Church, St Marys Road<br />

Friday 30th Dec 10am-1pm @ St Marie’s Hall, Lugdale Road<br />

AND 1-3pm @ St Paul’s Church, Victoria Square<br />

Saturday 31st Dec - Tuesday 3rd January closed<br />

Wednesday 4th Jan open as usual @ Oak Meadow, Peel House Lane<br />

1-3pm @ Christ Church, Castlefields<br />

1-3pm @ 139 Church Street, Old Town<br />

10am-2pm @ St Bertelines Church, Norton Hill<br />

2-4pm @ the Rise Cafe Shop, Castle Rise<br />

1-3pm, Christ Church, Castlefields<br />

1-3pm, 139 Church Street, Old Town<br />

10am-12pm, Bethesda Church, Palacefields<br />

Sunday 1st January-Tuesday 3rd -closed<br />

Wednesday 4th Jan-open as usual @ The Rise Cafe Shop, Castle Rise<br />

nhs.uk/staywell<br />

Leyla Hannbeck, Pharmacist<br />

Before you use the Runcorn and Widnes Foodbanks you should<br />

firstly call Halton Borough Council’s Discretionary Support Scheme<br />

on Freephone 0800 952 0016 as they may be able to assist you. To<br />

use foodbanks you need to be issued a voucher by one of the food<br />

bank local partner organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau, your<br />

neighbourhood officer or tenancy support team.<br />

16<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG


Where to<br />

Get Help this<br />

Christmas<br />

For many of us, Christmas is a time of celebration and joy but for<br />

others it can be a struggle. We’ve listed some key organisations<br />

that can help.<br />

DOMESTICABUSE<br />

NOEXCUSE<br />

Drug addiction/domestic violence<br />

Changing Lives www.changing-lives.org.uk<br />

- also help with other issues<br />

Mental Health -<br />

Runcorn/Widnes Mental Health<br />

Crisis team – call 01925 666647 if you or someone<br />

you know needs urgent mental health care.<br />

Loneliness in Older Peoplewww.thesilverline.org.uk<br />

Silverline is<br />

a free 24 hour phoneline that<br />

provides comfort and friendship to<br />

older people call 0800 4 70 80 90<br />

Homelessness – Housing Solutions,<br />

Halton Borough Council’s homelessness<br />

service – call 0333 000 4300 for<br />

out of hours emergencies<br />

Contacting the Trust over Christmas<br />

We close from 12pm on 23rd December and re-open at 9am on Tuesday 3rd January 2017.<br />

You can still call 0303 333 0101 to report an emergency repair or pay your rent. The Trust fully<br />

re-opens for all other enquiries on 3rd January. Why not make life a little easier in 2017 and try<br />

using our new and improved app to contact us. Download here<br />

DONʼT SUFFER IN SILENCE<br />

0300 1111247<br />

www.halton.gov.uk<br />

17<br />

<strong>REACH</strong><br />

WINTER 2016<br />

WWW.HALTONHOUSING.ORG

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