Your Housing Group

Our Leadership Team enjoyed another Walk & Talk session on Wednesday, this time at Birchwood Forest Park. Everyone was encouraged to log off, bring along somebody from their team, and enjoy spending time together in the outdoors. 🌳   Colleagues formed into small groups for their walk and were encouraged to reflect on their year, whether personally or professionally, and also what they were grateful for.    Health, recovery, personal and professional highs, and a barbell PB were all captured!   Thanks to Jo Hough and Donna Ridings for organising the mince pie picnic and hot drinks! ☕   Another relaxed and meaningful Walk & Talk #TeamYHG, we're already looking forward to the next one! 

Mental health is one of the biggest health issues facing the UK today and sadly, our colleagues here at YHG are not exempt from that. However, we have done, and will continue to do everything we can to support the men and women that work in the business, after all, his is not just about awareness; it’s about action! This is why we were proud to invite Mental Health Charity #ANDYSMANCLUB into YHG headquarters this year for a couple of different sessions to not only raise awareness amongst our colleagues but also to give real world, practical examples of what we can all do in our everyday lives to help ourselves and those around us. The charity hosted a session in our Learning At Work Week focused on mental health and wellbeing which was open to all colleagues, not just the men. And our support for the charity has continued outside of our headquarters with banners being put up on a number of our sites, reminding colleagues and anyone that can see them that there’s always someone to talk to. 2024 has shown that by working with great partners such as Andy’s Man Club, it is possible to really start to make a difference for those that work within the organisation as well as the people around them. #Mentalhealth #Menshealthmatters #TeamYHG

It's all Mo'ver! As the curtain falls on another Movember, we are proud of each and every one of our male (and female) colleagues who have grown a mo or supported someone that is. Movember fundraisers are a global community of Mo Bros and Mo Sisters making a difference in mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. All this effort could help save a father, a brother, a son, a friend, a partner - a man’s life. Colleagues from across #TeamYHG joined the movement this year and all pledged to forego their face shave throughout November to raise awareness of men's health. Big congratulations go to • Chris Arkinstall , 1st Line Service Desk Analyst • Dan Hornby, Health and Safety Manager • Joe Masters, Fleet Manager • Matthew Grice, Procurement Officer • Tom Kelly, Health and Safety Manager • Ian Froggatt, Assistant Management Accountant There’s some impressive examples of a proper Mo here and we’re really proud of the effort they’ve made. It’s not just about the impressive facial hair though, everyone has their own reason for doing Movember and it’s important to remember this so we asked our Mo Bros to let us know why they did it. “In terms of why I do Movember, as someone who’s suffered for years with different forms of mental health, I know first hand the struggle of starting the conversation. Movember to me is a reminder that there a so many people out there with their own battles and although you may feel alone with what you’re going through, there’s a high chance there’s someone out there who can relate to you and give you that reassurance that everything is going to be okay. 👌” “I've joined Movember this year because I believe men's health, both physical and mental has historically been overlooked and it's time to change that. Too often, men feel unable to speak up about their struggles, which can lead to devastating consequences. Movember isn't just about raising awareness; it's about fostering conversations, providing resources, and encouraging men to take their health seriously. By taking part, I hope to have honoured my brother's memory and contributed to a future where no man feels he had to face these challenges alone.” You can read more on the Movember movement by clicking here - https://ow.ly/nrwW50UhoQw, and if you would like to donate to charity in support of our Mo Bros, please do. Any men’s health charity is a worthy cause, or you could donate to our Charities of the Year, CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) or Papyrus who work on the prevention of suicide of young people. Well done everyone!

This week we were very proud to welcome Knowsley Council leader Councillor Graham Morgan, Councillor Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, Kate Collins from Homes England and Gemma Hardy, Countryside Partnerships to acknowledge the fantastic progress being made on site at The Woodlands housing development, located at Halsnead Garden Village.  The £44 million development will offer a mix of shared ownership, rent to buy and affordable rent housing, whilst providing a range of 1 bed apartments, 2, 3 and 4 bed houses.   The first new homes remain on track to be handed over by early 2025, once complete the development will deliver 158 new homes by early 2026. This development underlines our commitment to building high-quality affordable housing, and creating thriving communities across the North-West. #affordablehousing #socialhousing #UKHousing #WeAreHomesEngland

This is such a well deserved award and we are proud to have played a small part in making this possible. We strongly believe in providing a safe place for people to call home and the Wonderland Community Centre CIC is a perfect example of this. Everyone should have access to the support places like this offer and we couldn't be happier to see this news. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Involving our residents in what we do and how we do it is something we're passionate about within #TeamYHG - and we're now doing just that with our corporate communications. We held our second #CommsCafe this week and had some great insight about how some of our residents feel about social media, accessing useful contact information, and the importance of the local touch - all invaluable feedback! #YouMatter #UKHousing #HousingCommunications #Comms

Men’s Health is not just for Movember, but it’s a good place to start. A number of our colleagues braved the face shave at the beginning of the month in preparation for growing some pretty spectacular ‘taches and we think they look great (nice work gents)! We’ll share the full results at the end of the month so watch this space. We also held an insightful and eye-opening men’s health webinar with Liam Holmes, owner of pH nutrition and an expert in nutrition and men’s health, talking about the simple steps men can take to improve their physical and mental health. Andy’s Man Club also join us for a session earlier this year which was open to all colleagues, not just men. But we know the work can never stop, so next month we’re bringing together colleagues from across #TeamYHG (not just men) to better understand how we can support their mental health, and physical wellbeing. This group will discuss and put into action ways of coming together to support each other. #mentalhealth #Movember #Andysmanclub #TeamYHG

This time last week, colleagues from across #TeamYHG came together to celebrate one another at our annual Your Colleague Awards 2024! 🏆 We want to say another huge congratulations to all of this year’s winners, finalists and everyone who was nominated. Also, not forgetting our colleagues who we celebrated on their long service achievements. We recognised all our colleagues who reached a milestone this year of 10, 20, 30, and even an amazing 40 years of service at #TeamYHG!   We’re so lucky to have the space to host this annual event to all of our colleague’s and it’s definitely not an easy task hosting in the room to all of our finalists as well as streaming on a live camera to everyone else across the business, but we did it! 👏   #YourColleagueAwards wouldn’t be possible without the support of each and everyone of our colleagues, our sponsors, and partners. We can’t wait to do it all over again next year! 🎉   Ashley & McDonough Compliance Services,Connolly Ltd, TF Jones, Crown Flooring Ltd, Hays, Beauparc, Devonshires   #YouMatter 

What a way to end the week for #TeamYHG as we held our annual colleague awards on Friday!   Huge congratulations to all our winners who were awarded for living and breathing our three values - Honest & Reliable, Caring, Respectful & Fair - as well as leadership, a safety star and some amazing collaboration and team work too!    Our awards are just one of the many ways that we reward and recognise our colleagues, and to be nominated by our peers makes it all the more meaningful - that's #TheYHGWay.   And we couldn't do it without our fabulous partners and sponsors so huge thanks to them! Ashley & McDonough Compliance Services, Connolly Ltd, TF Jones, Crown Flooring Ltd, Hays, Beauparc, Devonshires

Lest we forget... At Your Housing Group, our residents take pride in remembering our fallen servicemen and women and it's great to see some of the services and activities taking place across our properties. There have been parades, coffee mornings, 2 minute silences, readings, poppy waterfalls and renditions of The Last Post on the bugle and we couldn't be prouder of all they have done. We will remember them.