Tenant Topics Autumn 2017
##pdf## Tenant TopicsAutumn 2017 Now hefs joined the Centigen grounds maintenance team and started a four- year degree course in engineering. Leighton (31), is being supported in his ambitions by the TRH David Garnett Bursary. Last year he applied to the fund for nancial support and was granted an award to help pay for materials he may need to further his studies. The bursary also offers him access to Two Rivers staff for mentoring support or work experience he may nd useful as he progresses. * See page 4 for how to apply for a TRH David Garnett Bursary award. in my career for a long time but itfs particularly hard with a young family, gHowever, I just needed to take the plunge and Ifm so pleased I have. gIfm really enjoying working with the Centigen team, which is more relevant to my future work ambitions than being a chef, and Ifm getting on well with my studies. gTherefs still a long way to go, but I have been getting 85% or more in all assignments to date which, in examination terms, is a edistinctionf. dream career, and Two Rivers Housing and Centigen are supporting his journey. Dad-of-two Leighton Wright has his sights set on being a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and is doing everything he can to achieve it, including changing jobs and studying part-time to gain the necessary qualications. First of all he juggled a part-time access course with long working hours as a head chef. Leighton combines working for Centigen with studying for a completely new careerInside this issueThis issue includes the Annual ReviewHappy holiday! Page 5Annual Review Centre pagesAll sewn up! Page 11 Leightonfs on the wright track!NEWSLETTER FOR TWO RIVERS HOUSING TENANTS were produced by the creative hands and minds that joined us for a fun afternoon in Ruardean. We organised a workshop for children entering the Ruardean Carnival competition and asked them to bring along some old plates that they could turn into miniature gardens. The results were exceptional and we really enjoyed helping them with the challenge. a plate Dan Jones proudly displays his wonderful decorated plate adjusted to make sure everyone pays their rent in advance, rather than in arrears. This has been in force for all tenants who joined us on or after April 2016 but, although it has always been a clause in their tenancy for everyone else, we have not enforced it h until now. This change will be most helpful for tenants claiming Universal Credit, and who face a delay of seven weeks or more before their rst payment comes through. Paying rent in advance will reduce the impact of this long period without the income from benets, and the potential for arrears. We appreciate this will be difcult for people to pay in a lump sum, which is why we are phasing it in over this year and collecting a little bit extra with each payment, until the adjustment has been made. If you are looking at your rent statement through eMy accountf on our website, please be aware the adjustment will not currently be reected in the balance you see. Therefore, you will need to take this into account when working out your balance. We are working to improve this. If you have any questions about paying your rent in advance, please contact a member of our Income Collection team. rafed to raise money for Macmillan cancer charity. It represents months of ne work by members of a textile group which meets at our Worcester Road Centre in Cinderford. If you would like the chance to win this, or one of the many other prizes on offer, you are welcome to attend the Worldfs Biggest Coffee Morning event on 29 September you can also enjoy cake, refreshments, a book stall, tombola, bric-a-brac and games. Last year they raised over s560 for Macmillan, and the organising team of Scheme Co-ordinators h Ann Pugh, Marianne Roy, Gina Facchiano and Paul Gale h are determined to exceed that this year, particularly with such a fabulous top prize on offer. Donations of rafe prizes before the day would also be very welcome.Coffee and quilt this spectacular handmade quilt as your prize! the summer, supporting various local charities and community groups. Taking time out of our normal working lives, wefve weeded, cleaned, pruned, planted and painted our way towards helping other organisations, and itfs great to see the results at the end of a busy day. So far, we have helped at local schools, the Orchard Trust, James Hopkins Trust, the ASHA Centre, Berry Hill Community Orchard and Cinderford Scouts, to name just a few. Applications are now invited for the third year of the TRH David Garnett Bursary. If you h or a close member of your family who lives with you h would welcome nancial support to help start or continue a period of study or learning that could help you into work, or improve your career prospects, you are welcome to apply. It could be an evening class, a one- day course or a longer-term study commitment like Leighton, whofs featured on our front page. You might use the money to fund childcare, travel expenses, materials, exams, afliation of a professional group or the course itself. The bursary has up to s1,000 available. The closing date is 1 December 2017 and further details, plus an application form, can be found in the eCareersf section of our website. If you are planning any structural changes to your home, you must write to us and gain our permission before the work is carried out. This is because we need to be sure the changes are safe and appropriate. We recently discovered a lean-to structure had been put up without permission, and a connection from the boiler ue made out of drainpipe and gaffer tape h inside the structure h put the occupants at serious risk of re or carbon monoxide poisoning. In this case we had to cap the gas supply until changes were made and we were satised the home was safe. All costs associated with making alterations and any follow-up inspections, will be met by the tenant, so please talk to us before you make any changes. Danger! with some weeding at the Orchard Trust Natalie Wilce, Owen Chandler, Angela Chambers, Simon Wheeler-Jones and Marlene Alford offer Helping Hands at the ASHA Centre will be out in the woods every day with his trusty camera and a whole heap of patience. But itfs easy to understand why, when the amateur photographer is rewarded with thousands of beautiful pictures that capture the wildlife in our forest, including some rare and precious moments. Some of his subjects are notoriously shy, such as hawnches, jays, woodpeckers, chafnches and redstarts, and Ken even hit the national headlines years ago when he caught an elusive white buck on his camera. Every day, the retired builder heads out to various hides and nest boxes and patiently waits. what you are going to see, took me months to properly capture a kingsher at Soudley Ponds, but it was a lovely reward when I did. Ken, who lives in Yorkley, has been enjoying his hobby for eight years and his pictures often appear in the local papers. with people and itfs great when the newspapers print them for others to see, get into the woods like I do and it is something I can share. gI love seeing the birds and animals and my photography skills are getting better with time and experience. It can be frustrating, but it is very rewarding, too. Soft bowls has really taken off locally, proving to be a great way to exercise, have fun and socialise, too! Existing groups in Sedbury and Ruardean are going strong and new ones are now joining the craze, bringing the whole community together and winning the support of GPs who see their patients getting tter. More than 70 people are playing soft bowls every month in Bream, Lydney, Mile End, Sedbury and Ruardean, and three groups now have their own set of bowls, paid for with a grant from the Barnwood Trust. The groups are open to people of all ages and abilities and we have two sets of bowls to loan to anyone wanting to get started. If youfd like to nd out what all the fuss is about, please contact our Community Engagement team for details of existing groups, or help with setting up a new one.Snapperfs patience is rewarded Bowled over! nature in the area where he lives Many hours of patiently watching and waiting were eventually rewarded with this excellent shot of a kingsher and her unusually large brood of 21 worth noting, but not usually by moving house! However, that was the day Ivor Ward signed the tenancy on his new home in Drybrook, signalling the end of his time in the Mitcheldean home where he lived for over half-a-century. Ivor h known to many as Paddy h has lived in the Forest all his life, broken only by a three year posting to Egypt during his time with the Army. The keen rugby player married Marion on his return to Gloucestershire and worked for many years at BRS in Mitcheldean as a lorry driver and tter. When the company closed, he went to work in the boiler house at Rank Xerox. Ivor marked his retirement by buying a caravan so that he and Marion could hit the open road on an adventure that took them throughout the UK and southern Ireland. Ivor lost Marion in 2000, but he loves spending time with his son Nigel, daughter Sue and h the apple of his eye h his great grandson Henry.Students have been visiting Two Rivers over the summer to get a taste of the working world. First were Year 9 students from Newent Community School who started their tour of local businesses from our ofce. Then we welcomed Ellie Tyler and Chloe Sutton from Forest High School, who spent a whole week with us to gain a broader and deeper view. With ve days to ll, the 15-year-olds were able to spend time with various departments and learn about the many roles our staff perform, and they had time to help with a few tasks, as well. We wish them all luck with their continuing studies and hope they took some useful learning away with them following their time with us. A regular games evening has started in Staunton near Gloucester and is drawing an enthusiastic crowd. On offer are darts, table tennis, crib, dominoes and soft bowls, which means there should be something for everyone. The games evening is held between 6 and 9pm in the communal room at Johnstone Close on the third Thursday of each month. It is open to the whole community and is free of charge, although participants are asked to make a contribution to the ebring-and-sharef buffet. Just turn up on the night, or speak to our Community Engagement team for more information. Good game! Ellie explained: involved in lots of different tasks and it has given us a good insight to what goes on. I enjoyed the time spent with the Customer Services team the most. Ivorfs moving on Centre will be much easier to prepare in future, thanks to a refurbished kitchen. Working with local buildersf merchant Travis Perkins, we used a small joint community fund to provide the Coleford centre with the units, leaving parents, friends and volunteers to t them. Aside from providing refreshments and an informal meeting space for the parents and professionals who care for children with diverse and complex special needs, the kitchen is also used to run courses to help families whose children struggle with eating. Are you concerned by the number of people struggling to feed themselves or their families? Does the increasing demand on foodbanks worry you? If so, you might be interested in joining our Tenantsf Forum h a new group set up to try and tackle local issues relating to the community or Two Riversf services. The Forum has attracted a great mix of tenants of all ages so far, and wefre keen to welcome more people who want to work with others to achieve positive change. Our September meeting was a discussion on the work of our Customer Services team and how they help our tenants, and now wefre looking ahead to our next meeting on Monday 13 November when we will debate the huge issue of food poverty. This will be held at our ofce in Newent, starting at 6.30pm. If youfre interested in being part of this, please contact our Community Engagement team for further details. Have you tried our brand new online repairs reporting and booking system yet? If so, what did you think? Many of you are now using the secure tenant area of our website called eMy accountf and the rst repairs were booked before the new system even launched, so some of you were very keen! Feedback so far has been extremely positive. Everyone tells us itfs quick and easy to use, and lots of people are using it when the ofce is shut, which means they can log the repair and make an appointment for it to be xed at a time that suits them. The registration process has been simplied recently and, with the instruction videos put together by our Online Tenant Information Service expert Otis, we hope everyone will ndf My accountf accessible. gI was otterly delighted with the response, the process as smooth as possible and the rst repair booked online was completed just two working days later h a great moment for me! I encourage everyone to give it a try and see how easy it is. Book your repair online difference facilities at the Childrenfs Opportunity Centre tea break Congratulations to all those who entered our summer crossword competition because every single entry was correct! They all went into the draw to nd a winner and the lucky name pulled out was that of Terry Lister of Aylburton. Well done Terry! Wefre doing a wordsearch this time, but with a very important difference h you can email your answer There is a list of 14 words underneath the grid, but you should only be able to nd 13 of them. When you know which word is missing from the grid you can either email that word to us your name and address to communications@2rh.org.uk , or you can post your entry form in the usual way: Communications team Two Rivers Housing Cleeve Mill Lane Newent Gloucestershire GL18 1DS Please send your entry to us by 31 October 2017 a s15 gift voucher. Have fun, and good luck! competition on our website to launch our new online repairs appointment booking service. Otis h our Online Tenant Information Service expert h offered a tablet as rst prize, and 12 runners-up prizes, in the end mef competition in the eMy accountf secure tenant area of our website. We had more than 50 entries and Otis was honoured to draw out the names of the lucky winners, including Paul Stephens of Coleford who won our top prize. If you havenft yet tried it, next time you need a routine or urgent repair (not an emergency), log on to our website, go to eMy accountf and report it h and book the appointment h online. Youfll be amazed by how easy it is! Otis draws the winning entry in our eMy accountf competition winners
