BME Communities, Housing, Health & Covid-19 Our joint seminar with BMENational explored the housing and health implications of the pandemic and looked to what the future might bring. As evidence emerges on the social and economic patterning of the virus and the economic aftermath, it is clear that our most disadvantaged people and communities are taking the brunt of the Covid shock. It is also clear that a decade of austerity has left public services at breaking point, and our communities are now at more risk of harm, both directly from the virus – and from its social and economic [...]

Black Lives Matter - Time for Change A thinkpiece from Tracey Gore, Chief Executive of Steve Biko HA, one of our members It has taken me sometime to be ready to put my thoughts down on paper in respect of the murder of George Floyd and the reverberations that have been felt right around the world, I have been hurting like everyone else. At a time when we are all dealing with COVID-19, the horrific impact that it is already having on our community, so many of us have lost family and friends to this disease, the restrictions of [...]

Will #BLM change the housing world? Mushtaq Khan, Interim Chief Executive of HDN So last week corporations on both sides of the Atlantic sided with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in response to the latest incidents in America. Usually shy of getting involved in anything deemed political they obviously made the call that taking a stand against racial injustice and police violence was now on-brand although obviously the irony was lost on some (really Washington Redskins?). A day or two later and some housing organisations tweeted black screens and hashtags supporting the BLM movement, others said nothing at [...]

1st June 2020 Dear Colleagues   COVID-19 and HDN Staff Mentoring Programmes 2019-2020 and 2020-2021   I wanted to update you regarding the above.   Completion of 2019-2020 Staff Mentoring Programme    Group Workshops:  Even before the national lockdown, most organisations had introduced their own policies with regard to social distancing and restrictions on travel, so the decision was taken early on to cancel any planned face to face group sessions and move them online.  To-date, East, London and NW regions have completed all group workshops.  The Midlands, NE, Yorks. & Humberside and SW regions will complete these by 22 June 2020.     One-to-ones:  We highly recommend that mentors and mentees continue their discussions and 1 to 1s (5) using remote collaboration tools, and act in a manner consistent [...]

Yvonne Davies, HDN Associate Consultant reflects on the first 18 months of the Board Diversity Programme. Here are a few headlines from my perspective on the programme. Good Governance We work with housing associations to identify gaps in diversity at board/committees whilst also considering where natural vacancies might emerge in future years. The programme enables Boards to realise potential for diversity of thought in the boardroom and committees. This is essential to god governance. Supporting Sector Diversity A crucial part of the programme is the premise that no trainees on the Board Diversity programme are guaranteed a position on [...]

The Gender Confidence Gap – Our Next Webinar I’m Jane Atherton, Associate for Housing Diversity Network. I have worked in and around social housing for over 30 years in Organisational Development and Human Resources. For the last two years I’ve been supporting different organisations as an independent consultant. From an early age, I have been interested in issues that affect women and so I’m looking forward to hosting a webinar exploring Women at Work – the Gender Confidence Gap. Join us on our webinar the 18th May at 2pm when we’ll look at some of the research in this area, [...]

     Support Your Teams in Challenging Times With Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Workshops We’ve developed a workshop programme to support our colleagues in these unprecedented times. Staff working remotely have reported heightened levels of stress and anxiety. Feeling isolated from peers is often a contributing factor and can impact health and wellbeing. Thankfully there are skills and practical strategies we can learn that make a real difference and help us to thrive – even during a global pandemic. We are now offering mental health workshops online. As always, our training does not see mental health as ‘problem to be [...]

Mental Health and Housing Anita Birchall, HDN Associate, reflects on housing and mental health and how a single incident can have far-reaching implications. Question: How do you house someone who categorically refuses to sign the tenancy agreement because he believes you are collecting data about him to share with the government? Two things struck me about this problem when it was presented to me last year.  One is that he is right; we are collecting data about him to share with the government; and two, there is no way we can grant a tenancy without the requisite paperwork and [...]

Title of consultation: Equality Objectives Source of consultation: Regulator of Social Housing Date: 25th March 2020 HDN Response to the RSH Consultation on Equality Objectives We have responded to the Regulator for Social Housing’s consultation on its Equality Objectives. Our response sets out the key principles which we believe will fundamentally enhance and contribute to the development of regulation in the housing sector. We believe that housing organisations have an essential role in improving equality outcomes for their communities. This is not just achieved through meeting legal obligations but by working in a cohesive manner, embedding equality activity across a [...]

COVID-19 and HDN Activity 16 March 2020 The continuing spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus is extremely concerning and, in line with other organisations, has already caused significant disruption to our activity. There is potential for further disruption in the months ahead. This update is designed to pick up some of the common questions that we have been asked in terms of HDN activity. Of course, our approach may change in light of new information or guidance. HDN Office It is business as usual and the HDN office is currently open and staffed. All staff have facilities to work from home, [...]