Housing Plus Group

We have been helping to make sure families in Staffordshire and Shropshire don’t go hungry this Christmas. We have awarded much-needed grants to local food banks providing Christmas parcels to struggling families in the communities we serve. The grants from our Homes Plus My Community Fund were awarded to House of Bread and Rising Brook Food Bank, in Stafford, Kingsway Food Bank, in Wombourne, Cannock and District Food Bank, in South Staffordshire, and Foodbank Plus at Barnabus Community Church. The donations will help many facing challenging circumstances to access the essentials they need over the festive period. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e6pvHdic

We are celebrating the positive difference our involved customers have made over the last year. We invited our Customer Partnership Panel (CPP) to our annual Away Day, to reflect on the wide-reaching impact our involved customers continue to play in shaping the services we deliver. Members of the CPP have expanded their knowledge and understanding of our work, by attending several ‘meet and greet’ sessions with different teams from across our organisation and thanks to their feedback a total of 55 changes were made to our policies and documents. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eDR7b8UU

We are approaching an exciting milestone as we prepare for the formal approval of our newly merged organisation. The formal merger will be completed on January 6th 2025, at which time The Wrekin Housing Group will become part of the new Housing Plus Group. This merger represents an incredible opportunity to combine our strengths and do more for our customers. When the two organisations merge in the New Year, the new Housing Plus Group will become one of the largest housing associations in the West Midlands with more than 33,000 homes and we are looking forward to the increased social and economic impact we will make in communities right across Shropshire, Staffordshire and Telford & Wrekin in the next five years. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eXFtqk2i #BeMoreHPG #SocialHousing #Merger

We’re celebrating our colleagues who have taken time out of their day to participate in experience sessions across the organisation. It involves spending time with other teams from a different department to gain a greater understanding of the work that they do, the needs of our customers and how we can help make a positive difference. The sessions can also help support personal and career development. Our People and marketing director, Tony Bishop, recently took part in an experience session with the Voids and Lettings team. He said: “There is such value in shadowing colleagues and learning from them. I’m grateful to the team for showing me more about their roles and I'm pleased that this is something we can offer at Housing Plus Group.” Read more here - https://lnkd.in/e3eGux6m

We have celebrated colleagues who have gone above and beyond to live our values and make a positive difference at our annual Show Your Appreciation Awards 🌟 Over 3,000 votes were counted to reveal the 2024 Show Your Appreciation Awards winners in 11 categories. Through our staff intranet, colleagues leave messages of recognition and appreciation for each other every day. In the last year, we had over 1,100 messages from people right across the business! Pictured is David, winner of the HPG Voice Forum Award, with Chief executive Sarah Boden. Read how hero David, jumped into action to administer emergency first aid to a poorly baby boy, here - https://lnkd.in/dbnd-GgD Well done, to all our winners and finalists! 👏 #BeMoreHPG

We’re making a stand against domestic abuse during the International 16 Days of Activism campaign (25 November – 10 December). It's estimated that 1 in 5 adults in the UK experience domestic abuse during their lifetime*. At Housing Plus Group, we’re part of the national ‘Make a Stand’ campaign to support people living or working in social housing who are experiencing domestic abuse. Kevin Davies, Head of neighbourhoods and Make a stand champion, said “We’re proud to be part of The Make a Stand campaign – a pledge that was developed by the Chartered Institute of Housing in partnership with Women’s Aid and the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA)”. Karlene Harwood, Head of people, said “We always take all reports of domestic abuse very seriously. Our zero-tolerance approach means that we will always support victims and treat every report as an emergency, responding within 1 working day. The 16 days of action campaign is a great, annual opportunity for us to raise even more awareness about the support we offer to both our colleagues and customers, all year round.” Read the full story to find out how we support both our customers and colleagues – https://lnkd.in/eUAS7CAN #BeMoreHPG #NoExcuse *source - https://lnkd.in/ebnaQadd

If you’re visiting St Mary’s Christmas Tree Festival in Stafford this weekend, keep an eye out for our ‘ReConnected’ tree. Supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, the Reconnected project hosts a variety of free events for people aged 55 and over in Stafford Borough and South Staffordshire. Its aim is to enhance the lives of older individuals - encouraging physical activity and social interaction. For the last couple of months, our ReConnected members have been busily preparing handmade decorations to adorn the branches. The tree was carefully decorated by our volunteers Janet and Margaret, pictured, along with ReConnected project coordinator, Lisa. It features paper angels from our book club, bows courtesy of our ‘knit and knatter’ goers, diamond art, and plenty of other crafty delights from our Cannock over 55s club.

It’s International Volunteers Day! ❤️ Our Homes Plus My Community Fund supports voluntary groups, charities and grass roots organisations in our communities. Thanks to this fund, we have been able to pledge our support to help create a sensory garden at the Shropshire Youth Association (SYA) centre in Shrewsbury. With artificial grass so that it can be used all year round, shaded areas and a wealth of potted herbs and other scented plants, the garden has been designed to provide a peaceful and relaxing environment for young people with special educational needs and disabilities. As well as our donation, two of our electrical apprentices used their ‘Giving back day’ to start work on creating this special place last month with help from our Grounds Maintenance team. All our colleagues are given one ‘Giving back day’ a year to volunteer and give back to their communities 🙌 The My Community Fund, delivered in partnership with Jewson and Efficiency East Midlands Limited (EEM), supports grass-roots organisations in Staffordshire and Shropshire. Local charities and voluntary groups can apply for grants online at: https://lnkd.in/eAReTYhG #IVD2024 #Volunteering #InternationalVolunteersDay

Every year, the United Nations encourage organisations across the world to unite to end gender-based violence with their International 16 Days of Activism campaign. At Housing Plus Group, we’re proud of our domestic abuse confidants. These volunteers offer confidential help to colleagues who have experienced – or are currently experiencing – domestic abuse, alongside their usual job roles. Our domestic abuse confidants have all received specialist training to offer colleagues initial support through non-judgemental listening, guidance and signposting. #BeMoreHPG #NoExcuse

#BeMoreHPG has arrived at Meole Community Hub in Shrewsbury. Come and speak to us until 2pm to find out more about careers in care, neighbourhoods, property and central services with Housing Plus Group. The team will also be offering same-day interviews for vacancies at The Sandford, to anyone with a current CV and photo ID. Can’t make it this time? Don’t worry, you can learn about current vacancies and find your next career move on our website - https://lnkd.in/dqGUX-Jz