Exciting partnership means hundreds more tenants to gain independent living skills after success with Saffron
Hundreds more tenants across the East of England are to benefit from tenancy and independent living skills as East Anglia-based social enterprise Your Own Place CIC offers its workshops to three other housing associations who are part of the Independent East group.
After the success of providing support via their uniquely engaging Tenancy and Independent Living Skills (TILS+) workshops with Saffron Housing Trust tenants last year, the workshops are now being offered to the tenants of Freebridge, Orwell and Broadland housing associations.
Starting in January, the workshops will be a mix of digital and face to face at locations across Norfolk and Suffolk, providing opportunities for people of all ages to develop and build on existing skills. The workshops cover a wide range of topics, such as – saving and budgeting, self-care, wellbeing, and digital skills – with the aim of making a positive difference to the lives of tenants through developing confidence and resilience.
The partnership with Your Own Place is the first collaborative initiative for Independent East with the aim of helping more people into employment, reducing rent arrears and reducing potential future evictions.
CEO of Your Own Place, Rebecca White, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be working not just with the residents of four regional housing associations, but with four housing associations that want to collaborate, support residents from across East Anglia and recognise that our Tenancy & Independent Living Skills Plus (TILS+) are beneficial for any person in any situation. Their compassion and understanding that having an impact on lives goes way beyond just being their landlord is why we want to work with them and be a part of building on the skills that tenants already have. We know that the residents we work with are experts in their own lives, we respect their experiences and contributions and love the two-way learning. Fun, participative and engaging workshops will be delivered with 400 tenants during 2022 across eight different locations – with the aim of building the skills to be happy in their homes and ultimately prevent homelessness.”
Catherine Little, Executive Housing Director at Broadland Housing Association, said: “Helping people to sustain their tenancies is a central part of what Broadland do, we are thrilled to be part of this partnership with Independent East and Your Own Place to invest in more support and training for many more people.”
Paula Tuck, Assistant Director of Customer Services at Saffron and member of the Independent East Residents Group, said: “We have been really pleased with how well the workshops have been received by Saffron’s tenants and it’s fantastic that it’s now going to be delivered by Independent East to help even more tenants across the region. Not only is it a great opportunity for them to learn new skills, but it provides scope for tenants to meet those from other housing associations, share their experiences, support one another and help create cohesive communities.”