UNIFY Network Webinar: Two Sides of The Same Coin
Diversifying Tenant Engagement in the UK Social Housing Sector
Host – Rosalyn Springer, UNIFY Network | Speaker: Kai Jackson, TPAS Associate | Date: Friday 19th July 2024
Powerful Reflections and Calls to Action from the Webinar
Safe Spaces create more safe spaces to hold colleagues and organisations accountable for not adequately protecting staff.
Basics First Let’s stop focusing on “innovating.” First, get the basics right: centre lived experience, listen, and treat residents with dignity and respect.
Front Line Approach Get out into the community, not just those who enter the front door.
Resident Groups Connecting with resident groups and organisations is essential.
Allyship Visible allyship from non-black and brown colleagues remains important.
Resident Data Good resident data is your friend. Use it!
Share and Educate Move away from silo working. Freely share good practices taking place in community investment teams (particularly on estates) with internal teams and other organisations.
Look Outward On best practice, look to smaller, resident and community-led organisations and initiatives for some excellent work that larger organisations can learn from.
Mindset Shift Get away from the transactional way of working with residents when it comes to generating ideas and collaborating.
Act As Facilitators Think about how we can invest in people, for the longer term. Do this more regularly and with time you can shift the power dynamic.
Staff Networks If your organisations have staff networks. use them as safe spaces to feedback, and share thoughts on what’s happening in the community. This can be a good way to influence up.
Sustained Commitment Importantly, long-term commitment to applying the suggestions above, can be great catalysts to building trust amongst your residents.
Informative Questions from the Webinar
Control of Narrative Who is designing and facilitating processes of engagement?
Visibility of the Marginalised Whose voices aren’t being heard and why?
Shifting Power Dynamics How do professionals in social housing improve engagement, shift power dynamics and build trust consistently with residents?
Protecting Staff How do we protect professionals from an ethnic minority background from seemingly shouldering the responsibility of ‘others’? who need to show up as allies in this space.
Business As Usual Allyship How can we encourage allyship, without ‘othering’ inclusive and anti-racist practices? This should be business as usual, regardless of cultural background.
