The Community House is a facility which has been available to tenants of Donnington Wood, a priority neighbourhood, for over a year now.

A Housing Executive and a Tenant Liaison  officer work to bridge the gap between tenants and the Trust and offer support packages and closer liaison.

Traditionally, once a tenancy was offered there wasn’t much contact. But that has all  changed now as we work with partners to provide the right ingredients to make sure people succeed.

Young first-time tenants often lack the necessary skills and experience to manage their homes and their finances.

The team at the Community House has formed an exceptionally good partnership with the local Primary Care Trust to work to understand these problems and to support tenants at these difficult times.

As a result there have been a number of initiatives with the agencies that operate in the Donnington Wood area, (for example Sure Start, The Citizens Advice Bureau, Donnington Lifelong Learning Centre, Telford College of Arts and Technology, Donnington Health Practice and the Police), that have seen greater success since Community House was opened.

Initiatives such as financial inclusion, welfare benefit advice, debt counselling, computer courses and gardening clubs have given the community the opportunity to succeed in their tenancies where perhaps they may otherwise have failed.

Pre-tenancy interviews are now conducted to allow an assessment to be carried out. This will identify any services or support that each new tenant may need or want and gives an opportunity for information and advice to be given.

Results:

• Value for money - shopping parade units and accommodation in Trust flats is cheaper than  city centre office accommodation
• Opening times and services tailored to the needs of the local area
• Over the last three years, the number of tenants finding it is easy to get hold of the right person has risen from 65% to 76% (STATUS survey)
• New tenancies succeeding by working together
• Local presence makes estates better places to live.

For more information contact Andy Johnson on 01952 217143.