Foundation News Page 1

From April 2012, the period for which a tax credit claim and certain changes in circumstances can be backdated will be reduced from three months to one month, so please inform Housing Benefit of any changes straight away.

From January 2012, lone parents whose youngest child is aged five or above will have to claim Jobseekers Allowance, not Income Support.

In the future, the Government is planning for all benefits including housing benefit to go to each tenant, who will then have to

pay the rent; housing benefit will not be paid direct to BCHF as the landlord. You will therefore need to budget carefully to ensure your rent is paid. The best way is to set up a Direct Debit from your bank account so that the right amount of rent is taken out.

If you do not have a bank account and you want help setting one up, please contact Amy, our Tenancy Support Worker, on 0117 9319785. We also have leaflets in Reception. Even if you have been refused by one bank, you will be able to set up an account with another. You can also set up a bank account with the Credit Union, which has a drop-in at BCHF office every Tuesday 2pm-3pm. Direct Debit payments can be made from a Credit Union account but not from a Post Office account.

We are trying to help you to think ahead and get prepared for all the changes on their way!

Welfare Reform – Changes afootFrom April 2012, to qualify for working tax credit, couples with children must work 24 hours between them, with one person working at least 16 hours.

Thank you to everyone who completed one of the Survey questionnaires; more than half of BCHF’s tenants filled one in and we have been given some good feedback. The three winners of £100 shopping vouchers have been notified.

We were very pleased to see that 93% of respondents said that they are happy with the services provided by BCHF. Many of you said that you think of BCHF as a local organisation, and 92% said you felt this had a positive impact on the services we provide. There was less satisfaction with value for

Survey results

Foundation NewsWinter 2012

Wishing you a very happy 2012

Newsletter of Bristol Community Housing Foundation

money, particularly for people who pay service charges, and younger people in general were less satisfied than people aged 60 or over.

66% of residents expressed a positive view about their neighbourhood but 15% expressed a negative view. We will be finding out more about the areas of dissatisfaction and the reasons behind this. The top three issues causing problems are rubbish and litter, car parking, disruptive children and young people.

85% of respondents expressed a positive view about the repairs

service so we know we have to aim higher. A consistent theme for all the services that we provide is that we do not feed back to you well enough about progress or what is happening behind the scenes. Although we keep you informed, we need to act on the views that you give us. We should also improve the usefulness of the website and newsletters.

As a staff team, we will all be looking at how we can change for the better so that in two years’ time, when we will carry out another Survey, we will have addressed the issues that you have raised.

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are currently getting support from an organisation or project you think could benefit other tenants, please tell us about it by calling Kate on 0117 9319788 or emailing kate.balloch@bchf.co.uk. If there is any help you need but are not sure where to get it from, please also get in touch as we may be able to point you in the right direction.

If you need more information on central heating controls please contact us on 0117 9319771.

again at the end of the week. Next leave the heating on all day (regulated by the thermostats) for the following week and take another meter reading.

The difference between the readings will tell you which was the most economical, if the weather was similar for both weeks. This is also a useful test for assessing the most effective way for you to heat water, using gas or electric.

The first business was set up by Jamila Mohamud of Horfield. She has set up a domestic cleaning company called Heavenly Clean. Jamila is now offering domestic cleaning services in north Bristol and south Gloucestershire and you can learn more by visiting her website: www.heavenlyclean.co.uk.

Rohini Clapp, also from Horfield is a qualified homoeopathist offering holistic therapies derived from natural plant substances and minerals. Rohini trained with the British School of Homeopathy and is a fully insured practitioner. If you would like to find out more contact her on 0117 9697813.

If you would like to find out more about setting up your own business you can contact Lydia Samuel of Outset Bristol on 07825 634323

or by emailing Lydia.samuel@outsetbristol.co.uk.

We also caught up with BCHF tenant Ali Mills who is now working for Clean Slate Ltd as an Employment Support Worker in the Lockleaze area. She is currently helping some BCHF tenants on their journey into employment and can be contacted through Amy Oxenham at BCHF. Clean Slate have Work Champions helping people with employment issues throughout the city. To find out if there is one in your area please call Clean Slate Training and Employment on 0117 9829513.

BCHF is always keen to hear about courses and organisations tenants have found useful. If you

This time of year more than any other you might find a loan shark knocking on your door trying to persuade you to borrow more money to pay off an existing loan/help out with your debts. They may come across as friendly and seem as though they are doing you a favour but, DON’T BE TAKEN IN!!!

If you need help there are other places to go rather than have to pay money back to a loan company at huge interest rates.Contact your housing officer, or Amy our support worker, direct on 0117 931978. If we are unable to help you, we will put you in touch with someone who can and follow up afterwards. Be careful, stay aware and get help from people who are genuine.

BCHF Tenants mean business!

Loan Sharks

everyone has been to able to benefit from this so we have agreed that the money raised from the feed in tariff will be put towards community and environmental projects so that all tenants can benefit from the project over time.

Mr and Mrs Singh, were amongst the first residents to get their panels installed. “We were worried that we might not get the panels and we’re really happy now that they’ve been put in. We’ll be hoping for lots of sunshine this winter so that the panels can attract as much electricity as possible to reduce our bills.”

We are looking for tenants to join BCHF’s Board of Management. This is an opportunity to gain valuable skills and learn about running an organisation. The Board meets six times a year and we provide training and support and cover travel and other expenses. If you would like find out about what becoming a Board member might mean, then please contact Oona Goldsworthy on 0117 9470501.

New Tenant Board Members

Wanted!...to our two newest members of staff Amy Oxenham and Victoria Gallagher. Amy started working with us in August as a Tenancy Support Worker and has already made a difference to many of our tenants lives helping them in keeping their tenancy and offering financial guidance.

Victoria joined us in September as our Customer Service Assistant and has settled in well, assisting in co-ordinating repairs and ensuring you receive excellent customer service.

Welcome! Is it cheaper to run my central heating all day or use the timer?Generally only use heating when you need it. Systems that are run all day raise the average internal temperature of your home, which costs. The more control you have over the time your central heating and hot water are on or off, the more you save on fuel costs.

You can work it out for yourself if you have a gas fired system. First read your gas meter and then run the system for a week using the timer, then read the meter

We are proud to say that some of our tenants are going from strength to strength. With the help of Outset Bristol, two of our tenants have managed to take their first steps in turning their business ideas into reality.

Sunshine Roofed!

December saw the last of our roofs receiving the ‘sunshine’ treatment. This is the largest solar panel project so far in Bristol. However, it could be the last as in early November the Government announced the feed in tariff subsidy payment was to be scrapped from 12th December. This could have put an end to BCHF’s plans, but our installer Glevum, pulled out all the stops and worked flat out for four weeks to complete the installations by the deadline date.

BCHF has invested over £1m in funding the installation of 130 Photovoltaic (PV) Panels. Tenants will benefit from savings in their electricity bills and help the environment too. We know that not

Office Opening Hours:Monday: 9:00am - 5:00pmTuesday: 9:00am - 5:00pmWednesday: 10:00am - 5:00pmThursday: 9:00am - 5:00pmFriday: 9:00am - 4:30pm

For out-of-hours emergency services, please refer to your Tenants’ Handbook.

BCHF is a charitable housing association.

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You said... We did!

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Produced by Bristol Community Housing Foundation400 Filton Avenue, HorfieldBristol, BS7 0LJ. Tel: 0117 947 0501 email: info@bchf.co.uk www.bchf.co.uk

The event told us that your top four priorities are:

■■ Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and the way BCHF deals with it■■ Tenant Responsibility to look after their home■■ Local Surgeries giving local information and advice■■ Making events more social and enjoyable

It was clear that ASB was very important to the tenants who came along to the event. We have been working on the way we deal with ASB over the last few months and

as a result have agreed to change our approach. Over the next couple of months we will be holding an informative session on our new approach to ASB and what it means for tenants. If you would like to come along please contact Kate Balloch on 0117 931 9788 or by email on kateballoch@bchf.co.uk.

The other three priorities made by tenants will be looked at over the next few months. A plan will be put in place to action them. We will report back to you through the newsletter and the website as updates come through.

Hate Crime? …So do we. That is why BCHF operates a Hate Crime Policy. Hate crime applies to incidents of a racist nature and other forms of harassment and hate crime which can include religion, belief, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, gender or transgender, disability, health or mental health or age. BCHF is an official Hate Crime reporting centre. This means that if you experience Hate Crime you can report it to our office or by email to rachel.cobb@bchf.co.uk and we can help you in solving the problem.

Thank youTo those who attended the Tenants’ Open Forum back in October, despite the low numbers a lot of useful information was uncovered. From the feedback you gave us, we are currently putting together an action plan to make sure what you said is taken on board.

Update on Repairs

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At BCHF your feedback is very important to us and helps us adapt our services to suit you. Recently, the Repairs Service has undergone a few changes as a result of your feedback.

Following a complaint received about gas safety letters we have now changed our letters to make them more tenant friendly.

At Marsh Street it has been reported that areas get dirty very quickly and tenants requested that cleaning was carried out more regularly, so cleaning will now take place more frequently.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, tenants of Macauley Road Flats said that their communal area was being cleaned unnecessarily often and so will now be cleaned less frequently.