News Extra Winter 2007 - South Staffordshire Housing Association

South
Staffordshire
Housing Association
Member of
WINTER
2007
News for residents of South Staffordshire Housing Association
A Merry
Christmas
and a Happy
New Year
to all our
readers
of Moseley Court in Essington at their Breakfast
Morning in aid of her nominated charity the
Cllr Patricia Griffin, Chairman of South
County Air Ambulance. For more details please
Staffordshire District Council joined the residents
see Retirement Housing page.
Retired headteacher
joins board
Carol Hurley from Wombourne, a former
Sandwell headteacher, has joined our board of
management.
As well as being a headteacher at Rowley Hall
Primary School in Sandwell for more than 10
years, Carol gained extensive local experience
as a non-executive director with South Western
Staffordshire Primary Care Trust. She also is a
volunteer with South Staffordshire Community
and Voluntary Action.
“Having spent more than 30 years in education
and over four years in the health service, I
Mill House celebrates
Awards for All
grant
Residents of Mill
House, our retirement
housing complex in
Kinver, are celebrating
their success with a
£9,000 Awards for All
grant, funded by the
National Lottery.
Funding will provide a
sensory garden at Mill
House, which will
include a seating area
for
disabled/wheelchair
users, a pergola and
water feature. The
garden has been designed by Kinver based
Horticulturalist and Garden Designer, Jill Hogan.
welcome the
opportunity to
continue with
this kind of
role,” said Carol.
“I want to bring
my consolidated
skills and
experience to
South
Staffordshire
Housing
Association, which I believe plays a vital role in
the life of the community of South Staffordshire,
and to play part in its development and
expansion.”
Much used kitchen equipment is to be renewed,
enabling social events to be organised for the
benefit of residents, their families and friends.
Other projects include the purchase of television
and audio equipment for the communal lounge,
a barbecue and gazebo and organised outings to
local places of interest and theatre trips.
Commencement of the main project, the
sensory garden, was marked on September 11
by a ceremonial cutting of the first turf by Ron
Cox. Ron, who is the oldest serving resident at
Mill House was born in 1923 and served in the
Royal Navy during World War II. He was part of
the Pacific and East Indies Fleet (known as the
Forgotten Fleet), which was sent from the UK
after the surrender of Germany to help end the
war with Japan.
The Awards for All project was led by Jan
Coleman, Secretary of Mill House and the
Burgesses Social Club with assistance from
Social Club Committee members, Eileen Lane
and Dan Oakley, and the support of South
Staffordshire Community and Voluntary Action.
Putting focus on customer care
Introducing our new managing director, Sue
Rowley. Sue has moved up from her role as
director of operations following the start of
the new housing group, Central Borders
Housing Group.
Debbie Griffiths (formerly Debbie Elliott), who
had previously been at our helm, is now chief
executive of the new group. This new group
will focus on new developments, selling
services to other organisations and seeking greater efficiencies.
“The managing director’s role is to concentrate on customer
service and the impact we have on people,” said Sue, who has
been with the organisation for four years. “It allows us to focus on
delivering the best service and growing as an organisation.”
“I will be concentrating on three main areas. The first is community
needs. We will respond to the services that are needed and, in
particular, those for our ageing population, to allow people to stay
in their homes and provide quality accommodation.”
“The second is customer service. We will focus on customer
needs, expectations and aspirations. Finally, we will ensure that we
involve communities and get people involved in decisions that
impact upon them.
“I am passionate about this new role. It means South Staffordshire
Housing Association can focus on customers. Central Borders
Housing Group will look at new developments and pushing the
business side of things to seek greater efficiencies which will,
ultimately, benefit all our tenants.”
Sue lives in South Staffordshire. Originally from Lancashire, she
has worked in a senior executive role for the past ten years. She
studied at Bradford University before gaining further qualifications
in housing and management at Salford and Huddersfield
respectively.
Who
does
what
Your council and
landlord have
clear areas of
responsibility. The
main areas are:-
We are responsible for
Repairs/maintenance of our
properties
Collection of rent and rent arrears
Allocation of our properties
Neighbour nuisance issues for
our tenants
If you have any queries regarding
these services please contact us
on our freephone number.
Welcome
to your
newsletter
Welcome to this issue of
News Extra, the newsletter
for residents of South
Staffordshire Housing
Association.
We need your
views, news and
stories
This is your newsletter, so
we want to hear from you.
Remember, there are many
ways that you can share
your news with us,
including : sending it to the address
on the back page.
handing it to any
Tenant Partnership
member (see Tenant
Partnership article)
asking any member of
staff to pass it on to us.
email to
news@ssha.co.uk
Make sure that you let us
know what is happening.
Your Council is responsible for
Refuse
Pest control
Noise Nuisance
Council Tax and Housing Benefit
Bus tokens/travel passes.
Street lighting
Any queries regarding these
services then please contact your
local council.
Famous
relative
They say it is a small
world and talking to Ida
Cliffords, a tenant of
Pendrell Court, Codsall,
we find she is related to
the famous Marshall Wyatt
Earp. Ida 93 says she
would love to visit Arizona but is unable to make
the journey due to ill health.
Ida’s mother’s maiden name was Earp and the
connection was discovered by research of the
members of the American township. In 1979,
Ida’s aunty, Lucy, was presented with a
reproduction of Wyatt Earp’s pair of revolvers by
an official from Tombstone on her 100th birthday
which also marked the Centenary of Tombstone.
Riverside House’s
20th Birthday
On the 19th September
2007, Riverside House,
Penkridge, celebrated its
20th Birthday.
To celebrate they held a Big
Breakfast and combined the
event with the Macmillan
Cancer fundraiser. Five of
our residents have lived at
Riverside House since the
scheme was opened. They are Betty Jennings,
Jean Pickworth, Phyllis Hewitt, Lily Proffitt and
Floss Hodson. To mark the occasion the committee presented these ladies with a bouquet. The
Big breakfast was a huge success and a total of
£254 was raised for the charity.
Correction : In the last issue we reported that Jean
Downton had knitted 32 blankets for the charity
Operation Elderly Charity Stitchers. We would like to
clarify that it was the whole group who knitted the
blankets.
Mollie’s Birthday
Mollie Burnside of Pendrell Court, Codsall
celebrated her 95th birthday in July.
She did not wish for any of the usual presents
but asked for donations to the Air Ambulance.
A collection was made by tenants and friends
£250 was raised. Mollie is pictured proudly
showing the Air Ambulance receipt.
Big breakfast
The Residents of Moseley Court in Essington
held a Breakfast Morning in conjunction with
Cllr Patricia Griffin, Chairman of South
Staffordshire District Council in aid of her
nominated charity the County Air Ambulance.
The breakfast was a huge success and they
raised £500 with a raffle, tombola and nearly
new stalls. They also held a balloon race.
Hello from
your Tenant
Partnership
Dear Tenants,
As we approach Christmas, there
are lots of things to do and to
think about.
Huntington
Kinver
Lower Penn, Trysull, Seisdon
Wombourne
If you would like to know more about being a
tenant representative or come along and see
what happens at our meetings then please
contact the Resident Involvement team on 0800
096 8690
Please remember that our housing association is
working for you and your ideas on how to
maintain and improve the services are really
valued.
New Resident Board Members
Please contact the association or your tenant
representative (see the list of names and
telephone numbers elsewhere in your
newsletter) if you have any issues you would like
to raise.
Eric has been co-opted onto the Board to cover
the absence of one of our Tenant Board
Members due to illness. We wish her well and
hope that she will soon be restored to good
health.
Come and join us
We are still looking to recruit tenant representatives in .
Bilbrook
Great Wyrley
Welcome to ....
Jean Shelton is your newly elected Resident
Board Member and Eric Holmes has been coopted onto the Board.
So finally, my best wishes to all - keep safe,
keep warm and have a wonderful Christmas and
a Happy New Year. I look forward to writing to
you again in 2008.
Cecilia
Our Board has ultimate control over all aspects
of all our work and ensures that financial and
legal responsibilities are fulfilled.
Jean has been a tenant in Brewood for over ten
years and is a former accountancy secretary.
She has a particular interest in sheltered housing
and extra care.
Jean said that she wanted to join the Board to
ensure the Board fully understand tenants’
needs and find out what tenants can expect for
the future.
Eric has been a tenant in Essington for over fifty
years and is a retired Electrical Chargehand.
We welcome Jean Shelton and Eric Holmes
(mentioned above) to the Board of the
Association as Resident Board Members.
He wanted to join the Board as he relished the
challenge of using his experience as a Tenant
Partnership Member as well as learning more
about how the Board works.
Bobbington
& Enville
Brewood,
Coven &
Bishops Wood
Brewood,
Coven &
Bishops Wood
Codsall &
Oaken
Codsall &
Oaken
Mrs Jane Tudor
01384 221362
Mrs Jean Shelton
01902 851487
Mrs Jeanette Edwards
01785 841549
Mrs Barbara Cooper
01902 847227
Mr Norman King
01902 846620
Cheslyn Hay
Featherstone
& Brinsford
Great
Wyrley
Himley &
Swindon
Pattingham &
Patshull
Mr. Brian Bladen
01922 415199
Mr Charles Baugh
01902 730886
Mr George Nightingale
Mr. Eric Lloyd
01384 402044
Mrs Cecilia Smith
01902 700822
Kinver
Penkridge,
Stafford &
Acton Trussell
Penkridge,
Stafford &
Acton Trussell
Perton
Saredon,Shareshill
Hatherton,
Hilton
& Essington
Mrs Kath Fletcher
01384 873182
Mr Michael Gallear
01785 713248
Mrs. Patricia Sherwin
01785 714545
Mrs Shirley Turner
01902 755564
Mr Eric Holmes
01922 408018
Wombourne
Wheaton Aston,
Lapley, Stretton
& Blymhill
01922 419095
Like to know more?
If you would like to find out more about what being a
tenant representative involves you can contact the
Resident Involvement team or any member of the
Tenant Partnership.
Mrs Joan Smith
01902 324792
Mrs Ann White
Out of hours
services
the future, we will be
able to give you the
exact time and date the
work will be done as
To further improve our services the out of hours
soon as you make the
repairs service has changed.
call.
You will still ring the normal freephone number
Remember if you ask us
but all calls will be dealt with by a dedicated out
to attend out of hours in
of hours customer services team. They will
non emergency
ensure that your call is handled accurately and
situations we will
dealt with as quickly as possible. There is no
re-charge you for the cost of the call out. It is
change to who carries out the work (our own
important that you only ask for an immediate call
operatives and contractors working for us).
out when it really is an emergency.
In addition the team provides additional services
Nuisance Monitoring
to our customers, including :-
You can also call us about nuisance or anti-social
Reporting non-emergency repairs
behaviour. These calls are recorded and the
Previously (outside of office hours) you could
information given can be used in any court
only report emergency repairs. Now you can
proceedings. This service is not intended to
report all repairs at any time of the day.
replace 999 for those in immediate risk, it is
Where an appointment is necessary we may
another tool to make our communities safer.
have to get back to you first thing the next day
This service has been introduced following
to confirm the exact time. We envisage that, in
feedback from our residents.
Christmas
Our offices will be closed from
Your household hints are still popular. For each one we
print, a £5 Argos gift voucher goes to the sender.
3pm on Friday 21st December and
To whiten grout between tiles use toothpaste and an
old toothbrush. Ms D, Great Wyrley.
The emergency repairs service will
Pack away your garden furniture for the winter and
when you fetch it out clean it with a dry cloth and
some normal furniture polish – it comes up like new.
Mrs W, Wombourne.
by calling 0800 096 8690
With a waste bin collection fortnightly we are all
worried about flies – spray your waste food matter
with a fly spray before putting it in the bin – no more
maggots. Mr O, Codsall.
Every care is taken in the preparation of these hints and
tips. However we will not be held responsible for
damage caused by this information.
will reopen on 2nd January 2008.
be available throughout the period
Shut that door
A resident called and asked if we
could highlight security of flats. He
said that tenants and visitors are
wedging open communal doors.
Please do not do this as it presents
a security and safety risk.
Thank you.
S e tt i n g u p a N ew C o m m u n i t y G ro u p
If you are thinking of setting up a new resident
or community group, then we are on hand to
help.
They have set up a social
committee and received
money for indoor games and
activities.
To help you get started, a free start up pack
has been produced. It is a step by step guide which shows you what
to do first and how to arrange meetings.
Start up grants
A start up grant up to a maximum of £200 is available to new resident
and community groups who meet our recognition criteria. The grants
are available to fund initial costs such as; stationery, printing, books
and venue hire. A number of new groups have already benefited from
this grant which we have been happy to support.
Training
As well as providing funds to help you get started, we have teamed
up with a range of specialist training providers. Together we can
deliver a variety of training sessions which can help both individuals
and groups develop.
Funding
We have recently purchased a computer
package which enables community
groups to access funding. Open 4
Community is a free to use grant
funding, organisational support and
information service. To access the site
simply go onto to our website –
www.ssha.co.uk/support
If you think your group could benefit from any of the above or would
like further information, please contact a member of the Resident
Involvement team on 0800 096 8690.
Dawn Northwood is our
new customer liaison officer.
She was previously a
customer service officer and
is our current employee of
the year. Her new role
includes logging and investigating complaints
and will be the first point of contact if you call
with a complaint. She also logs your
already helped include
Oak House, Great Wyrley
Start up packs
Welcome to...
Groups that we have
Pinfold House, Cheslyn
Hay
They have a set up a social
committee and have had
money for large print playing
cards, dominoes, carpet
bowls etc
Essington Junior
Youth Club
They have had money to set
up a ‘chill out’ room for the
young people to use.
Friends of Essington.
They have had money
towards protective
equipment for the volunteers
to use when working on
environmental projects.
Old School Court Fritillary.
They have set up a social
committee and have had
money towards indoor
activities for the residents.
compliments and comments, carries out analysis
of the surveys you return, deals with insurance
claims and helps vulnerable tenants during
improvement works.
Teresa Smith has joined us
a housing assistant.
She previously worked for
the Specialist Teacher Team
in Colchester as an administration assistant and will be
working with the tenancy services team.
Your
rights
If you want advice and information on your
rights when shopping, dealing with faulty
goods or scams then contact Consumer Direct.
This is the Office of Fair Trading funded
telephone and online service. It is delivered in
partnership with your Local Authority Trading
Standards Services.
Call Consumer Direct on:08454 04 05 06
or visit
www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
Fireworks
If you have concerns about shops selling
fireworks to underage young people, or issues
with the antisocial use of fireworks call
Staffordshire's fireworks hotline on 08454
020334.
Rogue Traders
To report counterfeiters or rogue traders to
Trading Standards anonymously call Trading
Standards Confidential on 01785 330 356.
Becoming a watchdog
There is advice on topics such as holidays,
buying electrical appliances and using
estate agents; information on particular
situations or issues like buying on credit,
counterfeit goods and doorstep selling; and
Giving
Respect
practical help with how to complain.
If you would like to become a
Watchdog and act as the
eyes and ears of your
community in the fight
against rogue traders and
scams please call Cath or
Gemma of Trading Standards on 01785 277835.
It is a year since we signed up
to the Government’s Respect
Agenda. This is an initiative to
tackle anti-social behaviour
(ASB), support good tenants and
create better neighbourhoods.
By signing up, we showed our
commitment to use all our
power to crackdown on the
small number of residents who
break their tenancy agreements
and make problems for other
residents. The standard
includes :
Protecting communities
through swift enforcement
Support to tackle the causes
of ASB.
We have a number of schemes
up and running, including :
Safe as Houses Scheme for
victims of domestic abuse
Greater visibility of our
officers on estates
A new support worker to
help very vulnerable tenants
Accountability, leadership
and commitment
Additional staff training in
dealing with ASB
Empowering and reassuring
residents
Sponsorship of community
groups
Estate improvement plans.
Prevention and early
intervention
Tailored services for residents
and provision of support for
victims and witnesses
If you have any ideas on how
we can further tackle anti-social
behaviour where we have
properties, please contact us on
the freephone number.
A successful year
With your newsletter you will find your 2008
calendar and annual report for last year.
The calendar is produced together with our full
annual report which details our performance for
the year. After receiving a “good” Audit
Commission report at the end of 2005, we are
pleased to report that we have continued to go
from strength to strength with new
developments and improvements to housing
services.
Some of the successes we
are proud of include:
Accreditation from the
Centre for Sheltered
Housing Studies for the
quality of our
sheltered schemes
Waiting times for
minor disabled
adaptations work cut down to 7
days
New repairs system introduced to cut times
for common repairs to be completed
A hi-tech appointment system brought in for
routine maintenance tests to improve
efficiency and convenience, and cut waiting
times and the amount of paper used by
New Dementia
Support Service
My name is Helena Payne and I
am the Dementia Support Worker
for people living in South Staffordshire. I am
here to support anyone whose life has been
affected by dementia, particularly for those
caring for someone with the disease.
Looking after someone with dementia can take
more and more of your time. You may be
concerned about your own health needs or
worrying about finances and how you will cope
in the future. Perhaps you want to know more
about dementia or who you should contact
around 100,000 sheets per year. Vehicle fuel
bills have also been cut as a result
Completing our first shared ownership
development, prompting national interest.
Sue Rowley, managing director of South
Staffordshire Housing Association, said: “It has
been an important year for us, celebrating our
10th anniversary and all we have achieved over
that time, so we are delighted to be able to
report so much positive progress.
“Over the ten years, we have fulfilled all the
promises we made before the former council
housing stock was transferred to us, spending
£70 million on improving tenants’
homes and providing more
than 500 new affordable
homes. We have also helped
tenants to secure more than
£1.5 million in unclaimed
benefits.
“We now have significant
experience in working with tenants
to deliver high-quality housing
services and we will continue to push forward,
breaking new ground and striving to improve
service further.”
If you would like a copy of the full annual report
please contact us or download one from our
website.
about other services available in South
Staffordshire. Sometimes you may need a
listening ear, so that you can offload your
feelings and know you are speaking to
someone who understands.
The new service is funded by a number of
organisations including your housing
assocaition, the local and county councils.
I am here to provide free, confidential advice
and support, either over the telephone or by
making a home visit if that is preferred.
If you would like any advice, information, or just
a chat about your circumstances, please do not
hesitate to call me on 01902 851900. I look
forward to hearing from you.
Currently we are building new homes
at :East Road, Brinsford
Four 2 bedroom bungalows for rent,
completion is due January 2008.
Hill Street, Essington
Six 2 bed bungalows for rent,
completion is due March 2008.
Redhill Avenue, Wombourne
One 2 bed bungalow for rent
completion due spring 2008.
Littleton Green, Huntington
A mixed development of over 90
properties that will be built over the
next three years.
Old School Court, Wheaton Aston
26 one and two bed shared ownership
apartments for over 55s, completion
due autumn 2008.
T h o u g h t yo u c o u l d n ’t
a ff o r d t o b u y a h o m e ?
Then check out the benefits of shared
ownership - the scheme to help first time
buyers buy a home.
Why not get the full picture by asking for a
copy of our free leaflet “New Build
Homebuy”. You can get this by calling 0800
096 8690 or downloading it from
www.ssha.co.uk/SharedOwnership
Currently we have for sale:Riverside Court, Cannock
Last few apartments remaining including a penthouse.
Littleton Green, Huntington (see below)
Four 3 bedroom houses available and more coming soon.
Yew Tree Lane, Coseley
Four 2 bedroom apartments.
Getting onto the
property ladder
Couples and families struggling to get onto the
property ladder in Staffordshire are urged to visit
a new development to see the type of home
they could afford through the HomeBuy scheme.
Over sixty homes are being offered at Littleton
Green, Huntington, near Cannock, for shared
ownership.
In October Council representatives and housing
association board members visited the
development to officially open the threebedroom show house.
The new homes are being developed as part of
a wider project over the next three years on the
site of the former Littleton colliery in Huntington.
Ursula Bennion, group director of business
development said: “The gulf between income
and house prices is larger than ever, making it
even harder for people to get onto the property
ladder. As a housing provider, it is essential that
we deliver homes that people can afford in areas
where they want to live.
“This
development
is doing just
that, as well
as helping to
regenerate
the area. The
homes are
finished to a high
specification but,
being offered as
shared ownership
purchases, are
within reach of
many more people
than if they were
for sale on the open market.Prices start from
£82,500 – based on a 50 per cent purchase – for
a three-bedroom house.”
Anyone interested in finding out more should
contact Jayman Estate Agent on 01543 505566.
A surprise for David
A couple of years ago, we featured David Barratt of
Codsall and his growing collection of key rings, which
are now approaching 6,000. One of David’s secret
ambitions was to be taken for a drive in one of our
trucks with operative, Kevin Browne. So, we arranged
a surprise with David’s mum.
He is pictured with Kevin (known to his workmates as
Rambo). “Kevin used to work for the garden contractor
and always had time to chat to David.” said his mum.
“David always looks out for the truck whenever Kevin
is collecting or delivering building materials”
I am often asked by
leaseholders whose responsibility it is to maintain the
hedges and fences that
surround their property.
Unfortunately I am not
usually able to answer that
question without first
inspecting the individual
lease for the property and
looking at the plans outlined within the lease.
Communal Gardens
Usually, if the property is a flat with a shared
communal garden the responsibility for
maintaining the hedges and fences surrounding
the block will lie with the association.
This means that if there is a hedge this will be
maintained and trimmed by our contractors and
the charge for each leaseholder’s share of the
cost of this service will appear on your Service
Charge certificate under Grounds Maintenance.
If there is a fence surrounding the communal
gardens again the responsibility for maintaining
this will usually lie with us.
The charge for each leaseholder’s share of the
cost of any work carried out to the fence, or for
its replacement will appear on the Service
Charge certificate under Maintenance Costs.
Shared Cost
Each leaseholder’s share of the costs is
calculated by dividing the total cost of the
works carried out by the number of properties
within the block, no matter what their tenure i.e
whether the other residents are tenants or
leaseholders. So, if there are four properties
within the block each Leaseholder will pay one
quarter of the cost of any works.
Sole use of leaseholders
If the property is a flat or maisonette with a
garden for the sole use of the leaseholder the
responsibility for the surrounding hedges and
fences will be outlined in the lease.
The lease defines the property and gardens for
the leaseholder’s sole use as the Demised
Premises. This is usually outlined in the plans
in red and is specified in the fourth schedule of
the Lease.
Fences or hedges for which the responsibility
for maintenance lies with the leaseholder are
identified by a small “T” shape on the inside
edge of the boundary line shown on the plans.
Boundaries which are not identified with a small
“T” may be the responsibility of the association
or they may be the responsibility of a neighbour
or other party. This would need to be
investigated should a query arise.
If you have any questions regarding your lease
please telephone on free phone 0800 096 8690
or you can contact us by email using our
dedicated leaseholder e-mail address
leaseholders@ssha.co.uk
Lynda Eyton
Top tips for
keeping warm and well
generates extra body heat, so any exercise or
Keep Warm Keep Well is a national campaign to
reduce cold related illnesses and deaths during
winter. The following are some of the tips
the campaign advises.
5. Stop smoking
activity will help keep you warm. If possible, try
and move around at least once an hour.
Stopping smoking will boost your health for the
winter, reduce your chances of a heart attack and
improve your body’s circulation.
1. Heat well
6. Get a flu jab
Try to keep a temperature of 21ºC
(70ºF) in the main rooms you use
during the day; your bedroom should
be kept above 18 degrees. Use a
hot water bottle or electric blanket
(not both for safety reasons) if
your bedroom is cold at night.
This is available free from your
GP if you are 65 or over, or if
you have a serious respiratory
condition, heart, kidney or liver
disease, diabetes or lowered
immunity, or if you have had a
stroke.
2. Dress well
Look out for neighbours
Wear plenty of layers and put
on a good coat, hat, scarf and gloves
when you go outside to help you keep warm.
If you have an older neighbour or
relative, keep an eye out for them in the
3. Eat well
winter months and make sure they are safe and
Food is a vital source of warmth, so try to have
regular hot meals and drinks throughout the day.
well.
4. Keep moving
contact 0870 155 5455 or visit
Moving around is good for your health and
www.direct.gov.uk/keepwarmkeepwell
Coming soon....
Digital TV
Service
You will soon be able to access a range of local
services from the comfort of your armchair
using your TV or mobile phone.
The service is available to all of our customers
with Sky or Virgin Media digital television, or a
Freeview box with modem.
You can also access the content through a
mobile phone with WAP or GPRS.
You will be able to: report a repair
report anti-social behaviour
request forms
apply for a new home
send us an email
For a copy of the Keep Warm Keep Well leaflet
.....and much more
You will be able to access services 24 hours a
day in the comfort of your home as well as on
the move.
Sky
Press the Interactive button on your remote
Select SKY Active
Select Interactive Services
Select Directgov
Select Looking Information
Select Looking Local
Cable TV
Press the Interactive button on your remote
Select Home and Away from the menu
Select Find It…. from the menu
Select Looking Local
You should check if you have to pay for any
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Colin's Corner
Advice and
support to
tenants
Our Advice and Support service assists our
tenants to manage their finances.
It is free and confidential. We can visit you in
your home, provide advice face-to-face, by
telephone, letter or email. Alternatively you
can book an appointment to visit us at our
offices.
Advice is provided on issues relevant to your
home, such as benefit entitlement (including
assistance making claims), money advice,
disabled access and adaptations.
Managing your home brings many pressures
and we aim to support tenants to ensure
these pressures do not become
overwhelming. We are also aware that
information on advice relevant to managing
your home may not be easily accessible.
Our service is available to all tenants. If
English is not your first language, we have
access to a translation facility, either over the
telephone or in writing. This enables us to
communicate effectively with any tenant.
This helps to ensure that everyone is able to
manage their home, be part of the
community and ease family pressures.
Christmas
Try and spread the costs out saving a little
each week and avoid borrowing money from
expensive loan companies with high interest
charges.
Remember to pay your rent on time as well
as your other priority debts and you will take
away a lot of the stress involved in this busy
period.
Remember if you do find that you are experiencing difficulty paying your rent or you are
having problems paying bills, then we are
here to help.
Our service is completely free and
confidential and we can be reached by
By calling 0800 096 8690
By visiting our late night Advice surgery at
Acton Gate on the first Thursday of every
month between 5-7pm. Please ring for an
appointment.
If you want more information about the advice service ring 0800 096 8690
and speak to Colin Spires or Janice Bliszczak.
K Using Your
I Christmas Cards
D
S
S
T
U
F
F
Instead of re-cyling your Christmas cards,
why not use them for crafts.
Here are a few ideas to get you going.
Christmas card jigsaw game
Gather 10-20 cards and cut each one into 3
or 4 pieces, using straight lines. Shuffle
them all up and then put them together
again as full cards - a great team game
Christmas window decoration
Choose a colour of card which suits your
usual decorating scheme (all gold and
silver, red and white, etc).
Cut pretty Christmas shapes out of the
cards and stick them back to back,
sandwiching a piece of clear thread or
fishing line between them as you do so.
Make the length of each line different.
Suspend in a window for a pretty "mobile"
decoration.
Napkin rings
Make simple napkin rings for the
Christmas table by cutting colourful strips
from your Christmas cards and stapling
them to form a loop.
Help and advice
Please ask for help if
you have any difficulty
understanding this
publication.
ER
WINT
2007
South shire
Stafford tion
Housin
g Associa
S uth
ws for
Ne
ation
g Associ
ire Housin
Staffordsh
of South
residents
y
A Merr s
a
Christm ppy
a
and a H ear
New Y ur
to all o
readers
This publication is also
available in other formats.
Please contact us if you need
any of these formats.
Large Print
Tape or CD
Braille
Different Languages
Closing Date - 3rd January 2008
Win a Digital Camera
Can you spot the six differences that our artist
has made to the photograph? If so, mark the
or DAB Digital Radio
differences on the second picture.
The first correct
entry drawn can win
one of the following
prizes.
If I win, I would like
(tick) :
A Digital Camera
A DAB digital radio Please remember
t o p u t yo u r n a m e
o n t h e r ev e r s e o f
this page.
COMPETITION TERMS & CONDITIONS
1. All entrants are deemed to have accepted
the rules and agreed to be bound by them.
2. The entries will be judged after the closing
Brian Pountney and
his wife Angela moved
into Deansfield
House, Brewood in
April 2007. He was
allowed to look after
part of the communal
garden. A number of
residents have
contacted us to
compliment his work.
B r i a n ’s
Corner
date shown and the winners will be notified
by post and/or telephone. 3. The
competition is open to all tenants, shared
owners and leaseholders of the association’s
dwellings. 4. Only one entry per household
is allowed. Responsibility cannot be accepted
for entries lost, damaged or delayed in the
post. Illegible applications will be declared
invalid and proof of posting will not be
accepted as proof of receipt. 5. The prize is
as stated and not transferable, no cash
alternative will be provided. 6. Judge’s
As mentioned in our last
issue, the spot the
difference competition
winner was Angela Pountney
decision is final. 7. Entrants agree to any
publicity related to the competition.
(Brian’s wife). She is pictured
with the DAB radio that she
chose as a prize.
Printed on re-cycled paper.
Would you like more information on any of the items mentioned in
your newsletter? Then use this form, put your name and address on
it and post it to us at the address below.
Please send me details on:........................................
My tip/story is : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Post Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Tel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Send this slip (no stamp needed) to :The Editor,
South Staffordshire Housing Association,
FREEPOST, MID19970, STAFFORD ST18 9WX