Get Connected Summer / Autumn 2018

THE MAGAZINE FOR RESIDENTS
Summer/Autumn 2018
Thrive
is alive!
Our community space
and café is buzzing
We’re building new
affordable homes in Birstall
A peep into our new income
policy and Universal Credit help
1

In this issue:
3 High Five
Latest news and events
Welcome
4
6
7
8
10
12
Get involved
Our resident’s
federation AGM,
estate checklists and
a new competition
New
development
Information on our new
homes in Birstall
Rock ‘n roll
royalty
Our older people’s
activities
Thrive
Updates from our
community café/space
Neighbourhoods
What we’ve been up to
in the community
Homes
An update on our
planned maintenance
We hope you have all had a
wonderful summer, enjoyed
the heatwave and are
going into the autumn in
good spirits.
In this edition we have
enclosed a summary of our
tenant report. It gives insight
into how we are doing, and
how the Connect Residents
Federation (CRF) scored
our performance.
In our involvement page
we report on the CRF and
what they got up to at their
sprightly AGM, host a new
competition, and report
on our estate checklist
volunteers findings.
We have a new development
that we’re excited about
at Bridge Street, Birstall
and we’ve shared details on
the availability of the homes.
Our older person’s scheme,
Hawthorn Mill celebrated the
royal wedding and held a 50’s
style rock ‘n roll summer fete
for the community.
Thrive in Dewsbury has
been tantalising everyone’s
taste buds and gives us a
guide to what’s on there
this autumn.
We report on our annual
programme of planned
maintenance and how we
have been improving homes.
Spice up your autumn
palate with a recipe for a
family meal with our new
recipe feature.
We explain our new income
policy and how our Money
Matters Team can help with
benefit changes.
We hope you enjoy this issue
of Get Connected –
happy reading.
Share your
thoughts
Get in touch by
phone, email,
Facebook or Twitter
0300 5000 600
communications@
connecthousing.org.uk
/ConnectHousing
@ConnectHousing
13
14
Spice up your
Autumn
With this belly warming
seasonal recipe
New income
policy
Our new policy
explained and benefits/
universal credit support
Thank you
We would like to give a warm thank you to everyone who has
been a part of pulling this edition of Get Connected together.
Particularly our front cover stars from Thrive, Natalie and Tracy.
A big thanks to the Connect Residents Federation (CRF), and
the six tenant estate checklist volunteers. Thank you to the
Get Connected competition winners Emma, Josephine and
Susan. Thanks to the Otley community who contributed towards
the Otley Memory Wall and thanks to you, especially, for reading
our newsletter!
2

High Five
News you can use
Delve into Connect
Our annual report is now out. Find out what we have been up to
and how your rent is re-invested back into services, affordable
homes and local communities. You can view the report on
our website: www.connecthousing.org.uk/AR18
Domestic abuse
support
We offer support to any person who is
experiencing domestic abuse. This includes
our refuge and a visiting support service
in Kirklees.
If you or anyone that you know is experiencing
domestic abuse and would like help, contact
us confidentially on:
Tel: 01924 465238 (9am-5pm weekdays)
email: nkwr@connecthousing.org.uk
There is also a national 24 hour hotline:
0808 2000 247.
If you are in immediate danger call 999.
Hidden
Memories
Every month the kettle’s on at Hawthorn
Mill in Leeds for the Dementia Café.
The café offers support to people who
suffer with any form of memory loss.
Carers and relatives are also welcome.
The next cafés are on:
Thursday 4th October
Thursday 1st November
1pm to 3pm
To RSVP call: 0113 2311 561
or email: louise.clark@
connecthousing.org.uk
Keys open
funding for local
church
How are
we doing?
We’ve included the Tenant Report
2018 summary. This shows how
tenant representatives rated our
performance. View the full report:
www.connecthousing.org.uk/
TR18.
We are supporting a new initiative
run by local partners Access
Locksmiths which involves
donating disused, old keys to be recycled and raise
money for St. Aiden’s Church.
We actively support the scheme by donating our
old keys that are no longer compatible, useful or
are broken. If you have any old keys that you’d like
to donate, please give them directly to Access
Locksmiths, who you can contact on:
enquiries@locksmithsleeds.co.uk.
3

MONEY
INVOLVEMENT
MATTERS
CRF AGM
The Connect Residents Federation (CRF) recently held their annual
general meeting in Heckmondwike, where they elected new members,
welcomed a special guest from Engage Leeds Dementia service, learnt
from our repairs team and held quizzes and charity raffles.
CRF Chair, Eunice Clarkson
rounded up the past year
and thanked members for
their hard work. They’ve
helped shape and improve
performance of Connect’s
services such as repairs
and anti-social behaviour.
Matthew Metcalfe from
Engage Leeds used an
interactive presentation
to show how they support
people who experience
dementia or dementia
‘type’ symptoms.
Engage Leeds Dementia
Support is open to anybody,
you don’t have to be one of
our tenants. If you would like
to find out more about
the service call:
0113 380 7615 or email:
referrals@engageleeds.org.uk
Our repairs technicians
also ran a minor repairs
workshop throughout the
day and handed out tips
to members.
Malcolm Goodall entertained
the members by hosting a
few games of bingo.
The charity raffle raised
£65.00 towards the much
needed Dementia Pod for
the Engage Team.
If you’d like to attend a meeting or find
out how to join the CRF, please contact:
Lisa Longbottom, Tenant Involvement Officer
T: 0300 5000 600
E: lisa.longbottom@connecthousing.org.uk
Join in
The CRF is run by
tenants for tenants and
is always looking for
new members.
They scrutinise Connect
and help shape and
improve services.
Meeting dates
Tuesday 9th October 2018
1pm - 3pm in Leeds
Tuesday 12th March 2019
1pm - 3pm in Leeds
Tuesday 9th July 2019
Time / Venue TBC
4

Tenant volunteers ensure
well-managed estates
After completing a comprehensive training programme, a team
of six tenant volunteers carried out checklist inspections across
eight of our estates.
This resulted in 62 items being reported
back to a Connect group made up of repairs,
planned maintenance, estate and housing
management staff.
Action plans have been drafted up and the
volunteers will be updated on progress
after six weeks, with a final update in
three months.
Being involved with the inspection is a
good way to have an impact on your local
community for a small investment of time.
If you would like to be involved, or get more
information, contact Lisa Longbottom on:
lisa.longbottom@connecthousing.org.uk
The checklist items were categorised as:
13
32
8
9
Estate
Housing
management
Day-to-day
repairs
Planned
maintenance
management
issues
Horticulture
competition
Emma bags
star prize
Connect tenant Emma Starkie was awarded
the gold prize of a £30 shopping voucher in
our Get Connected survey prize draw. Emma
of Dewsbury led the pack ahead of Josephine
Evans and Susan Raper both of Leeds who
won silver and bronze respectively.
We would like to congratulate all our prize
winners and thank all our tenants who
took part in the survey. Your feedback is
appreciated and will help us improve this
newsletter in future.
This is an opportunity to show us how green
fingered you are in our garden and plant
photo competition.
To enter, all you have to do is take a photo of
your garden, house plants, or anything you’ve
done that’s green fingered and creative and
send it to us before Monday 19th November.
The photos will go to our panel of judges
who will pick their favourites and award a
£20 shopping voucher to the winner.
You can submit photos through our website at:
www.connecthousing.org.uk/greenfingers
or email:
communications@connecthousing.org.uk
5

DEVELOPMENT
Affordable new
homes in Birstall
We have made a positive start to work on a new development called
The Smithies in Birstall, Kirklees. This modern high-spec development
contributes good quality accessible homes to the area.
v
v
Set in a vibrant
neighbourhood, close to
the site of a former roman
road, The Smithies offers
10 new homes for social
rent and 11 for shared
ownership sale.
Built in partnership with
Strategic Team Group,
this development helps to
address the shortage of
affordable social housing
in the area – offering easy
access to local towns and
cities with main commuter
routes located close by.
The 21 new homes
will play a big
part towards our
commitment to
grow our stock of
truly affordable
homes by 2%
every year and
provide affordable
housing around
the M62 corridor.
Phil Lacey
New Homes
Project Manager
Interested?
If you want to apply for
one of these homes,
or would like more
information, visit:
www.connecthousing.
org.uk/thesmithies
Our homes
We know that everyone
has different needs when
it comes to housing.
So we develop homes to
suit a variety of needs,
be this to rent or homes
to buy.
6

v
OLDER
PEOPLE
Rock
n’ roll
royalty
Hawthorn Mill is our older people’s sheltered housing scheme situated in
in Leeds. They’ve had an exciting Summer with plenty to celebrate from
The Royal Wedding to their own Summer 50’s rock ‘n roll themed fete.
ROYAL WEDDING
CELEBRATION
Back in May, Prince Harry
and Meghan Markle tied the
knot. Hawthorn Mill had a
party in celebration of the
happy couple.
Everyone was dressed for
the occasion in their finest
wedding clothes. Queens,
princesses and royal
baby ‘Charlotte’ were also
in attendance.
‘Pin the veil on Meghan’,
fancy dress and art contests,
sing-a-longs and dancing
were enjoyed by all.
A cake was cut by a princess
followed by a toast to the
happy couple and rendition
of ‘God Save the Queen’.
This marked the special
occasion beautifully.
ROCK AROUND
THE CLOCK
On 5 July, Hawthorn Mill’s
tenants opened their doors
to the community and shared
their rock n’ roll themed
Summer Fete.
The place was buzzing with
traditional garden games
such as a coconut shy, 50’s
fancy dress, table top stalls,
raffles and quizzes.
They had their own American
style diner that served hot
dogs with fries and banana
splits, which brought back
great memories for all
present. The day was a huge
success and enjoyed by
visitors as well as residents.
If you’d like to find out more about our older
people’s scheme, please contact:
Sarah Lumb, Senior Scheme Manager
T: 0113 2311 561
E: sarah.lumb@connecthousing.org.uk
7

MONEY
MATTERS THRIVE
THRIVE IS ALIVE!
Since the community interest
café in Dewsbury opened to
the public, it’s been buzzing
with activity.
The café serves tasty breakfasts,
lunches and snacks freshly made
from locally sourced produce to
the public and groups that use
the community spaces.
You can relax and eat-in or
take-away if you are on the move.
You can’t beat the coffee either,
supplied by the Bean Brothers.
There is free Wi-Fi and plenty
of power sockets for those that
need to log-on and charge
up whilst enjoying some
tasty refreshments.
OPENING TIMES
Monday to Friday
9.15am - 3.15pm
(from 10.30am on Wednesdays)
21 Bond Street
Dewsbury
WF13 1AX
DAILY MENU THEMES
MEATFREE
MONDAY
CHEESY
TUESDAY
WHOLESOME
WEDNESDAY
TOASTY
THURSDAY
PIEDAY
FRIDAY
8

HIREABLE
As well as the bustling café,
we also have two spaces that
host a range of activities such as
community groups, events and
corporate meetings.
If you’re interested in
hosting a group or hiring any of
our spaces, for prices visit:
www.connecthousing.org.uk/
thrivebookings
50% off for
non-profits/
charities
WHAT’S ON?
• KIRKLESS VISION
IMPAIRMENT NETWORK
• DIFFERENT STROKES
STROKE SUPPORT
• HEARING VOICES GROUP
• PAIN PEER SUPPORT GROUP
• MUSIC AND MEMORY
• KIRKLEES DEMENTIA HUB
• BOND STREET CRAFTERS
• SURVIVORS GROUP
These are just a few of the
groups that use Thrive.
Find out more about the groups
and how to join at:
www.connecthousing.org.uk/
thrivewhatson
VOLUNTEER AT THRIVE
The café is looking for volunteers.
It offers valuable work based experience
and ‘on the job’ training. If this sounds
like something you’re looking for, please
register your interest by visiting:
www.connecthousing.org.uk/thrivevols
CONTACT US
0300 5000 876
hello@thriveatconnect.org
/thriveatconnect
@thriveatconnect
9

NEIGHBOURHOODS
Meet Hannah
Faulkner
– the new
Community
Housing
Officer (CHO)
Hi, I’m Hannah
Faulkner, the
new Community
Housing Officer
for the East
Leeds patch.
Some of you may
recognise me as
I was previously
an apprentice
at Connect
and I am really
excited to start
this new chapter
working with
tenants in my
patch. I’ll be
conducting
insight visits
and estate
walkabouts, so
if you see me
in your street
please stop me
and say hello. I
look forward to
meeting you all
very soon.
Out and about –
Have you met your
CHO yet?
The Community Housing Officer’s role is to help you and the
people in your community to create a good neighbourly place
to live. Connect is working towards supporting communities,
enabling co-operation and bringing neighbourhoods together.
Working with you and partners, CHO’s are getting to know
your neighbourhood with the aim of building safe, neighbourly
places to live, through forming relationships and supporting
people so that they can create for themselves the lives and
neighbourhoods that they want.
If you would like to have a chat with your own
Community Housing Officer, please contact us on:
T: 0300 5000 600
E: hello@connecthousing.org.uk
10

Newall wall ignites
memories old
and new
Tenants at Newall Close,
Otley displayed their
memories in photos
and text form on a
community memory
pin-up wall that
we erected in their
communal garden.
The wall displayed memories
from people at the scheme
and was successful in
bringing the community
together – generating
conversations about the
history of our residents.
The board was created as
part of the arrival of the Tour
De Yorkshire through Otley.
It was great
to hear from
residents about
how important
the area is to
them and the
local feeling of
belonging. It’s
also great to see
how Connect fits
into the history
of social housing
in the area.
Gemma Thompson
Community Housing Officer
Your memory
wall
Would you like your
neighbourhood/scheme
to have a memory
wall too?
The pin board is now
available for its next
adventure. We can install
it, help you promote and
gather memories from
people in the local area.
Let us know if you want
to try it, contact us on:
T: 0300 5000 600
E: chogroup@
connecthousing.org.uk
Leave it as you find it
A few members of our
Voids/Reactive Maintenance
Team whose job it is to get
properties ready for the
next tenants after they
become vacant.
Every year we spend
a substantial amount
clearing up empty
properties when tenants
have moved homes.
On average it costs around
£400-£500 per property
to clear up, not including
staff time.
If you decide to end your
tenancy and move home,
your property needs to be left
as it was at the start of your
tenancy. If not, you could end
up with an unexpected bill or
a negative influence on any
future property references
you might need.
If you are having any
problems moving your things
then please call us on:
0300 5000 600.
We may be able to extend
a notice period, or give you
details of local charities that
can take items away and
recycle them.
11

HOMES
691
We are committed to
investing in good quality
homes. Every year we
carry out a planned
maintenance programme.
This represents a
significant percentage of
the money we spend.
THE SELECTION
We pick the replacements
based on cost, energy
efficiency and quality.
However, if you’re property
is due any planned works,
you can choose in the
following areas:
BATHROOMS
You will be able to pick from
a range of tiles, floorings
and a choice of fixtures
and fittings.
KITCHENS
Oakwood Kitchens supply
our great kitchens, built
from materials sourced from
sustainable forestry. You’ll
be able to pick from a broad
range of handles, worktops
and units.
WINDOWS
Where practical, we install
white uPVC windows which
are picked for their style and
excellence. They are made
from 80% recycled materials.
BOILERS
We currently install Ideal
Logic combi boilers which
give an efficient output of
heating and hot water.
They are convenient in size
and cost effective to run.
This year the work includes the following improvements:
150
New boilers
£410,000 investment
60
New kitchens
£250,000 investment
New roofs
135
New bathrooms
£400,000 investment
85
Properties with
new windows
£275,000 investment
11 250
£150,000 investment
PLANNED MAINTENANCE NEWSLETTER
The Connect Residents Federation (CRF)
review our performance against the planned
maintenance programme annually. This
year, instead of a meeting, we produced the
information in an easy-to-read newsletter.
If you want to find out more, visit:
www.connecthousing.org.uk/maintnews
Homes
decorated
If you have any queries about our planned
maintenance programme, please contact:
Vicki Dooley, Project Manager, Development
T: 0300 5000 600
E: vicki.dooley@connecthousing.org.uk
12

LIFESTYLE
Spice up
your Autumn
After receiving your feedback on the last issue
of Get Connected, lifestyle tips and recipes
were a popular choice. Therefore, we have
included this recipe for a tasty, spicy dish to
fill your stomachs as the summer begins to
fade and autumn appears.
Spiced chicken, spinach and
sweet potato stew
Ingredients
• Three sweet potatoes
• 190g bag of spinach
• One tbsp of sunflower oil
• Eight chicken thighs, skinless
and boneless
• 500ml chicken stock
• Two onions (for paste)
• One red chili, chopped (for paste)
• One tsp of paprika (for paste)
• Grated thumb-sized piece of ginger (for paste)
• 400g can of tomatoes (for paste)
• Pumpkin seeds, toasted
• Two preserved lemons, deseeded and chopped
• Four naan breads, warmed
Method
1. Put the sweet potato in a large, deep
saucepan over a high heat. Cover
with boiling water and boil for 10
mins. Meanwhile, put all the paste
ingredients in a food processor and
blend until very finely chopped. Set
aside until needed.
2. Put the spinach in a large colander in
the sink and pour the sweet potatoes
and their cooking water over it to drain
the potatoes and wilt the spinach at
the same time. Leave to steam-dry.
3. Return the saucepan to the heat,
then add the oil, followed by the spice
paste. Fry the paste for five mins until
thickened, then add the chicken. Fry
for 8-10 mins until the chicken starts
to colour. Pour over the stock, bring
to the boil and leave to simmer for 10
mins, stirring occasionally.
4. Check the chicken is cooked by cutting
into one of the thighs and making sure
it’s white throughout with no signs of
pink. Season with black pepper, then
add the sweet potato. Leave to simmer
for a further five mins. Meanwhile,
roughly chop the spinach and add to
the stew. At this point you can leave
the stew to cool and freeze for up to
three months, if you like.
5. Scatter over the pumpkin seeds and
preserved lemons, and serve with
warm naan bread on the side.
13

MATTERS
MONEY
MATTERS
New
income
policy
to launch
v
How this affects you
In October 2018, Universal Credit will be in place for
all of the areas we operate in. This means claimants
will get one monthly lump sum payment for all of
their living and housing costs and will be responsible
for paying their own rent and managing their
finances. We are aware that some people may need
support through this transition, which our Money
Matters Team can help with.
Rent is our main source of income and pays for most
of the services we provide, so it is important we have
a policy that minimises the risk of losing income.
About
the service
Money Matters is a free
and confidential service
that provides:
Help with Universal
Credit and benefits
Budgeting and debt
advice
Ways of reducing fuel
costs and improving
energy efficiency
v
Digital skills training
If you are concerned about Universal Credit
and how it will affect you please contact:
Michelle Cox, Money Matters Team
T: 0300 5000 600
E: moneymatters@connecthousing.org.uk
Help creating CVs, job
searching, volunteer
and apprenticeship
opportunities
Health and wellbeing
support
14

Our new policy will come into force in the coming months and the main
changes will be:
HOW WE
CONTACT YOU
Our strategy is ‘Digital First’
where possible. Unless we
feel we need to see you in
person we will be contacting
you by email, letter, telephone
and text. We will continue
to visit tenants who need
help from our Money
Matters Team.
PAYING RENT
ON TIME
We expect you to pay your
rent on time in accordance
with your tenancy agreement,
in advance. If you pay weekly
your rent is due on the
Monday. If you pay monthly
your rent is due on the first of
every month.
Paying rent in advance means
your rent statement should
never show in arrears. You
can still pay on any day of the
week if you wish. However,
if you are currently behind in
your rent, we will be asking
you to increase your current
payments until you get
in front.
Ultimately we would like
all our tenants to pay one
month in front. Particularly
those who will transition to
Universal Credit so they don’t
fall behind. Universal Credit
can take seven weeks to
make the first payment,
which is causing difficulties
for tenants.
REFUNDS
We will not refund account
credit below one month
in advance if you are on
Universal Credit (until one
month after you leave your
tenancy). This is to ensure
there is enough credit to
cover your rent for the month.
IF YOU CANNOT PAY
It is very important that you
speak to us if you cannot pay
your rent. If we do not know
what issues you’re facing
we will start arrears action
for non-payment. If you are
struggling to pay, we can
help. Our Money Matters
Team can assess what
benefits you are entitled and
help you to maximise your
income so you can pay your
rent. If you have multiple
debts we can also help you to
access debt advice and offer
budgeting support.
YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY
If you have problems with
your Housing Benefit or
Universal Credit you must
liaise with the council or
DWP to sort this out quickly.
It’s your responsibility to
pay your rent. If you tell us
about any vulnerabilities that
mean you are unable to liaise
with relevant services we
will ensure you will receive
support from our Money
Matters Team.
How to
pay
We will continue to
accept a variety of
payment methods so
that you can pay your
rent on time.
We encourage tenants
to pay from a bank
account by direct debit
or standing order.
The principle behind
Universal Credit is to
make it like receiving
a salary, so it will be
easier to pay your
rent in one lump sum,
monthly, straight from
your account.
More
info...
If you would like any
more information, you
can contact our
Senior Manager –
Income Services,
Ilyas Lunat on
ilyas.lunat@
connecthousing.org.uk
or call: 0300 5000 600
15

Get in
MONEY
MATTERS
touch
0300 5000 600
www.connecthousing.org.uk
hello@connecthousing.org.uk
Connect Housing is
a charitable housing
association.
Our passion is for a
fairer society, where
people’s homes, health
and happiness matter.
/ConnectHousing
@ConnectHousing
Leeds Office
205 Roundhay Road
Leeds, LS8 4HS
Mon, Tues, Thurs: 9am - 5.30pm
Weds: 10.30am - 5.30pm
Fri: 9am - 5pm
Dewsbury Office
21 Bond Street
Dewsbury, WF13 1AX
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 9am - 5pm
Weds: 10.30am - 5pm
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