Housing News

A Doncaster housing organisation has responded to the credit crunch by launching a new website to give help and advice to council tenants on money matters.
 
St Leger Homes of Doncaster has just launched SLHD Moneywise, which provides information and help in a range of financial areas including benefits, how to budget, how to choose the cheapest energy supplier and what to do when money problems occur.
 
The website can be visited at www.slhdmoneywise.co.uk

 Judith Jones, Customer Services Director at St Leger Homes, said: “Tenants who want help to manage their money will find this website invaluable. A lot of advice is available at the touch of a button and tenants without computers, can access this information on computers at their local library.
 
“The website is packed full of easy to understand information about a wide range of important issues,” she added. “We’ve worked with customers to find out what matters most to them.”
 
St Leger Homes will also be including information from the website in future editions of ‘HouseProud’ – the bi-monthly magazine for St Leger Homes’ customers.
 

The Scottish Centre for Regeneration (SCR) has published a Learning Point - 'How housing associations can contribute to financial inclusion'. It identifies the issues, the importance of joining up work and involving tenants and the wider community. And looks at how housing management can have a positive impact and how housing associations can help provide financial services.

A Scottish Centre for Regeneration practice event – learning from others
 
Radisson SAS Hotel, 301 Argyll Street, Glasgow
Thursday, 20 March 2008, 9.30am–3.30pm
 
Who should attend?
This event is for those interested in community regeneration policy and practice such as:
• registered social landlords and housing associations
• community planning partnerships
• social economy organisations
• regeneration companies
• the Scottish Government
• local authority departments
• NHS boards and the wider health sector
• community and voluntary organisations
• Community Voices network and community representatives
• private sector companies with an interest in regeneration
• the built environment
 
 
For further details about the event and how to book please click on the toolkit section which is situated at the bottom of the news page and select Glasgow HA Event

Are you experiencing financial difficulties?  Do you want advice on how to better manage your money?  Do you want to know how to maximise your income?
 
If the answer is yes to any / all of these questions then this booklet can help you!
 
Sandwell Homes in partnership with Sandwell Citizens Advice Bureau, Sandwell Council’s Welfare Rights Unit and the 6 Towns Credit Union have produced the ‘Money Matters: money advice booklet’
 
The purpose of this booklet is:
-           To give you some basic advice to help you deal with your money concerns
-           To help you become more in control of your finances and help you better manage your money
-           To help you maximise your income and ensure you are getting all of the benefits you are entitled to
-           To provide details of agencies working within Sandwell who can assist you with your financial difficulties 

To download a copy of the booklet please look at the toolkits section.
 

North Wales Housing Association, Clwyd Alyn Housing Association and Tai Clwyd Housing Association have all agreed to pay the credit union membership fee for their tenants if they join the CU Christmas Savings Club. 

Rhian Hughes, Stakeholder Manager for north Wales worked on a design for the leaflet which encourages people to think of saving for next Christmas, with the incentive that their housing association will pay their membership fee.  The leaflet includes the contact details for all the credit unions in north Wales.
 
As all housing associations will be sending statements to their tenants in January, they will include this leaflet in all their mailings, which means that it will reach all their tenants at hopefully the right time.
 
This is a very encouraging move by the housing associations to show how they are eager to do more financial inclusion work within their organisations.
 
Rhian Hughes, Stakeholder Manager, North Wales
17^th December 2007 

Money Matters Partnership Forum

We would like to set up our first partnership forum for January 18^th at 10am in the Town and Country Housing Group offices in Monson Way. 
 
This will be the first of our quarterly meetings and will provide a forum for discussing the following:
 

• Good practice in the area of financial inclusion
• Ensuring that all organisations have access to effective referral procedures
• Sharing funding opportunities
• Sharing innovative ideas

 
I also feel that the forum is the correct place for discussion around setting up a Credit Union (CU) using Town and Country tenants as the common bond, and would like this to be on the agenda for each meeting. There are already at present Housing Associations who are in the process of setting up a CU ahead of the legislation change that the government has pledged to relax rules on credit union membership.
 
Please confirm your attendance by email to mark.faithful@tchg.org.uk
 
Look forward to seeing you there

 
Jenny Molloy
Stakeholder manager South East
Now Lets Talk Money campaign
Department for Work and Pensions.
 

The Bootle Times (6th December) reports that a housing association could be the first in the UK to lauch its own credit union. This is after the  Riverside Group secured £35,000 from the Department of Works and Pensions for a feasibility study.  The organisation is already committed to tackling financial inclusion.   The Riverside Group has seconded two experienced members of staff to the now lets talk money campaign.

Carlisle Housing Association paying £1.00 fee for tenants who join Carlisle & District Credit Union