believe housing’s day of action to help customers and tidy estate

Housing association employees took part in a community action day to help residents and tidy up areas of a County Durham estate.

People from believe housing’s neighbourhoods, tenancy sustainment, employability, and estates teams visited West Rainton, where it has more than 200 homes, on Tuesday, 14 March.

Employees from other parts of believe housing, who used one of their volunteer days to take part, and wardens from Durham County Council also supported the day.

They visited tenants to ask if they needed help with any issues, from building repairs and adaptations to support with work and money.

They looked at homes and gardens to identify any problems believe housing or partners needed to address and requested tenants to clear overgrown gardens or rubbish.

And they helped tidy up the streets and garage areas, picking up litter and removing other fly-tipped waste including an old Christmas tree and broken garden furniture.

Lydia Hodgson, a Neighbourhood Team Leader at believe housing, said: “As well as looking at properties and estates, it was about being visible and showing people we care.

“We reached more than 100 customers, picked up issues to take back to our own teams, and told customers about the range of support we can offer.

“We’re also going to make referrals to other services such as occupational therapy for people who didn’t know what help was available or who to ring.”

Georgia Barnes, the Neighbourhood Officer for West Rainton, organised the day.

She said: “I want people here to know we’re not just a landlord, we have a genuine interest in the community.

“We want it to be a nice place to live and to help people. If we cannot resolve something there and then, we’ll follow it up or refer it to the right partner agency.”