1

Have A StrAtegy to engAge tenAntS And Build reSilient

neighBour-hoodS

yourSay

Heading Text

Mr. Scott Duvall (Ward 7)Mr. Jason Farr (Ward 2)Mr. Lloyd Ferguson (Ward 12)Mr. Tom Jackson (Ward 6)

Board of Directors: CityHousing Hamilton

CH

H M

ISSI

ON W e p r O v I D e

a F F O r D a B L e H O u S I N g THaT IS SaFe, WeLL-MaINTaINeD, C O S T- e F F e C T I v e aND SuppOrTS THe D I v e r S e NeeDS OF Our MaNY COMMuNITIeS

“A strAtegy that puts tenants at the centre is something the board whole- heartedly endorses. tenants are the reason we are here.”

BrIaN McHaTTIepresident, CityHousing Hamilton

Mr. peter Schafft, vice presidentMr. Chris McLaughlinMs. patricia reidMr. alan Walker

A Message from the Ceo and the Manager of tenant engagement

Tenants are aT THe CeNTre OF

WHaT We DO aT CHH.

That is why last year, with the enthusiastic support of our Board of Directors, we embarked on a comprehensive process to develop a strategy to engage tenants in helping to make CityHousing Hamilton the best place to live. Over a period of about five months, tenants and other stakeholders were invited to provide input to the process we called Have Your Say. The input took a number of forms: conversation cafes, on-line surveys, written surveys, focus groups and presentations.

We have now concluded the strategy development process and have received the final report from the consultants. The

recommended strategy makes an important connection between engaging tenants and building resilient neighbourhoods – a key focus area of the City of Hamilton’s strate-gic plan. The full report is available on our website at www.cityhousinghamilton.com.

The strategy has been endorsed by the Board of Directors at a meeting in January 2012 and was presented at an open meet-ing of tenants in February.

We want to keep up the momentum and will be communicating regularly with ten-ants as we roll out the strategy over the coming months.

We want to thank everyone most sincerely who participated in the strategy develop-ment process. We could not have done it without the generosity of tenants and community service providers and the hard work of our CHH staff team.

Sincerely,

Brenda Osborne, CeO Kate Mannen, Manager

Contents1 ................... Introduction

2 ...................What we did

3 ...................What we learned

6 ...................The Strategy

8 ...................a Definition

9 ...................Tenants at the Centre

10 .................Outcomes

12 .................Measuring Success

14 .................What’s Next

15 .................acknowledgments

1introduction

Whyengagement

Tenant ?TeNaNT eNgageMeNT is a concept that has been gaining ground across Canada and around the world in recent years. More and more, housing providers are recognizing the benefits of actively and meaningfully involving ten-ants in the work of planning, monitoring and contributing to the quality of life in the buildings in which they live.

The reasons for and benefits flowing from active tenant engagement are becoming increasingly recognized. a large body of experience is building which will continue to influence the CHH Tenant engagement Strategy going forward. Spe-cific desired outcomes for the strategy at CHH are described in greater detail in the proposed Strategy section.

Tenant engagement has been happening at CHH, but not as part of a coordi-nated, system-wide effort. at this point, in response to emerging best practice in the field of social housing and in order to come into line with the new directions emerging from the Housing Services act 2011, CityHousing Hamil-ton wishes to make tenant engagement a coordinated, informed, consistent and measurable activity in which everyone plays a role and is working toward common goals.

The City of Hamilton as part of its strategic plan has identified resilient neighbourhoods as a key strategic priority and created a special office of Neighbourhood Development

reporting to the City Manager to lead this effort. CHH properties exist within city neighbourhoods, many of the same neighbourhoods the City wishes to strengthen. There is an obvious connec-tion, then, between the City’s strategic plan and CityHousing Hamilton’s tenant engagement activities. proactive and well-executed tenant engagement will increase the success of the City’s neigh-bourhood development strategy.

Heading Text2 What we did

THe gOaL OF THIS prOJeCT was to design and deliver a Tenant engage-ment Strategy that would enable CHH stakeholders to be effectively involved in working together to improve tenants’ physical and social living environments.

IN LIgHT OF THe SIze of the CHH business (7,000 units and over 13,000 residents), and the acknowledged diver-sity and complexity of the CHH tenant population, the proposed approach and methodology were designed to be both accessible and efficient, providing the most reliable information, gathered in an inclusive and barrier-free manner, while maximizing efficiencies wherever pos-sible. CHH staff and community service providers are important voices at the CHH table, so these groups were also consulted regarding the design of the strategy.

The ProcessMOre THaN 150 CityHousing Hamilton tenants participated in seven conversation cafes. CHH tentants also completed over 200 tentant surveys.

FIFTY-SeveN CityHousing Hamilton staff took part in a focus group and staff survey, while approximately thirty service providers participated in two focus groups.

a revIeW of the literature pro-duced current leading-edge research, frameworks, plans and strategies, poli-cies, and resources and tools related to the tenant engagement process.

If we create the right process, bring people together, and moderate properly, we’ll get great results... We need tenant teams that work together.”

“

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3What We learned

• MAintenAnCe And ProPerty

• SAfety And SeCurity

• relAtionS With Chh

• tenAnt teAMS

• SPACe And SuPPort for Children And youth

• tenAnt relAtionS / Build CoMMunity

would like the strategy to address

Key Issues

We want to feel safe and secure in our units, our building and our neighbourhood.”

TeNaNTS

“

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4 What we learned

facilitates Honesty and respect should be most im-portant in all orga-nizational groups. the trust must be there or else it will fail.”

WhatTenant Engagement “

• CreAte A PoSitive environMent

• ACCeSS

• hAve our voiCeS heArd

• reSourCeS: finAnCiAl / huMAn / eduCAtionAl

• CleAr CoMMuniCAtionS

• AddreSS diSCrePAnCieS BetWeen BuildingS/CoMPlexeS

• reSPeCt for different CulturAl grouPS, diverSe needS

• ShAre the “SuCCeSS StorieS”

• folloW-uP iS MoSt iMPortAnt of All!

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“give me the tools so I can be instrumental and give me a sound-ing board so my voice

can be heard.”that informSomE gIvEnS

ThE WorK:

DifferentLevels

Tenants

Boards/PanelsINFLUENCE

Dif fer ent Levels

ManyMethods

TLandlord

SKILLS/CONFIDENCE

Pyramid of Participation

Image copyright TPAS Cymru 2009

THe MaIN DrIver of tenant satisfaction is repairs and maintenance.

Tenants may be motivated to become involved if CHH demonstrates a commitment to improving the physical condition of the building or complex where the tenants live.

THere are DIFFereNT LeveLS of engagement—only a small percentage of tenants will become actively involved.

everyone does not have to be actively involved for tenant engagement to work.

DIFFereNT aCTIvITIeS will be attractive to different groups—some people will be comfortable with formal activities while others will prefer informal ones.

SpeCIaL STraTegIeS will be needed to overcome barriers experienced by some groups: seniors, ethno-racial and linguistic groups, people with disabilities, youth, gender.

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6 the Strategy

BaSeD ON THe LearNINgS of the conversation cafes, the tenant surveys,

the staff focus groups, staff surveys and service provider consultations, the

following strategic approach for the en-gagement of tenants within CityHousing

Hamilton has been developed. The recom-mended approach is not only a reflection of what was heard from tenants, staff and service providers who are all part of the

CHH picture, but is also informed by a thorough review of tenant engagement

activities in other jurisdictions from a wide variety of articles and websites.

THe reCOMMeNDeD STraTegY will be phased in over five years. each

phase builds on the previous one and the previous phase continues as a founda-

tional layer; thus, each layer extends the strategy towards its desired goal of en-gaged, involved tenants building resilient neighbourhoods. Within each phase are discrete components with actions and

leaders.

proposedAPProAChSTrATEgIC

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BOarD OF DIreCTOrS

CeO

STaKeHOLDer reFereNCe grOup

pHaSe IActivities • Address building issues • Cross-depArtment trAining And plAnning • mAintAin tenAnt ConneCtions

GoAls • restore ConfidenCe And build trust with tenAnts • shift in thinking Among Chh stAff And inCreAsed CollAborAtion between depArtments in putting tenAnts At the Centre • retAin Current levels of tenAnt involvement And CommuniCAte Chh ACCountAbility for the strAtegy

pHaSe IIActivities • three pilots • CreAte tenAnt working groups • trAin tenAnts, stAff &� pArtners • ConneCt to City strAtegiC plAn

GoAls • use three seleCted pilots to experiment with wAys for Chh And its tenAnts to work together

pHaSe III

ef fect ive cons istent communicat ion

pHaSe I: preparaTION / reaDINeSS

pHaSe II: parTICIpaTION BY TeNaNTS

pHaSe III: reSILIeNT NeIgHBOurHOODS

Activities • shAre results of pilots • develop Chh-wide themes • formAl struCtures • referenCe group morphs into tenAnt CounCil • Community mApping (relAte to other City initiAtives And serviCe providers)

GoAls • Apply the leArnings from the pilots into the struCtures thAt will support ongoing tenAnt pArtiCipAtion • City-wide tenAnt engAgement model leAding to more resilient neighbourhoods

Tenant as Customer Tenant as partner

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8 A definition

A Working Definition

TeNaNT eNgageMeNT is the process by which

tenants become involved in the activities and influence the decisions that affect their quality of life at CityHousing Hamilton. Tenant engagement includes preparing and equipping tenants and staff to participate, and involving tenants in monitoring and evaluating the quality of their participation.

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Heading Text 9roles and responsibilities: tenants at the Centre

CHH Board

CHH Staff

CHH Management

CommunityService Providers

TENANTS

• vision• standards• policies

• service• connection• advocacy

• leadership• capacity building• accountability

• partnership• common goals• community

development

• dignity• respect• diversity• in�uence

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10 outcomes

the gardens are a delight—thank you.”“

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pOSITIve OuTCOMeS are pOSSIBLe when tenant engagement is rooted in the local reality,

embraced as the “way to do business” and implemented in a measured and considered way.

Desired outcomes for a tenant engagement strategy for CityHousing Hamilton are:

• SuCCeSSful tenAnCy / Better oCCuPAnCy

• reSilient neighBourhoodS

• enhAnCed tenAnt relAtionS

• exPerienCe of equity

• More effiCient ServiCe ProviSion

• More effeCtive ServiCe delivery

• Better integrAtion of CoMMunity ServiCeS into Chh

• return on inveStMent

• SteWArdShiP of ASSetS

• Moving on to PrivAte houSing—PoSSiBly hoMe oWnerShiP

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12 Measuring Success

“Participation helps both tenants as well as the housing organization they are involved

with. [It] can play a part in building community capital and social inclusion.”

-Dr. tony gilmour

the strategy is an iterative process, a journey of tenants and housing provider together. While time frames have been provided, it is important to recognize that depending on the success of each phase, the timing of the next phase could be affected. Meeting exact timelines is less important than the forward motion and the sense of all concerned that progress towards the goal is being made. setting benchmarks and making them known to everyone will

be important to keep everyone engaged and motivated.

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We need to speak up together for our children, to grow up in a healthy place so they are not falling over broken bottles and playing on shopping carts and mat-tresses. We need to come together to do this. It is really important.”

“

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14 What’s next?

What’s next?The strategy has been endorsed by the Board of Directors of CityHousing Hamilton.

Staff of CHH are now incorporating the strategy into their 2012-2014 workplans.

The full report is posted on our website and copies of this summary will be printed and widely distributed.

We ask tenants to read and discuss the strategy with your neighbours; to stay informed of the progress of implementation; and most importantly to participate in the strategy in whatever way best matches your interests.

updates will be posted regularly on the CHH website. There will also be a Have Your Say corner in the tenant newsletter. and you are always welcome to call Theresa at ext 6679 for the latest information about the strategy.

The creation of the Tenant reference group will be a top priority between March and June 2012. a facilitated meeting to help define the membership and selection criteria for the Tenant reference group will be convened on May 12th. announcement of the Tenant reference group is planned for the picnic in the park in July.

We will be developing training plans for staff and tenants in the coming months too. Stay tuned for topics of interest to you.

this is a great first step in the right direction.”

“

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15Acknowledgments

brenda osborne, Ceo Cityhousing hamiltonkate mannen, manager, tenant engagement &� support servicestheresa phair, Community development Coordinatorlaura woodcox, Community relations worker Jeff du manoir, technical supportmike Acciaroli, technical support

susan goodman Catherine peadrachael berneysean Coughlinkate feightnersuzanne gibsondiane marino monica Quinlan

Consulting Team

Cityhousing hamilton Project Team

CONTaCT uS aTWeB aDDreSS: www.cityhousinghamilton.com/tenantengagement

eMaIL: tenantengagement@hamilton.ca

KaTe MaNNeNManager, Tenant engagement & Support Services

CityHousing Hamilton55 Hess Street S, 23rd Floor

Hamilton, ON L8N 4e5905-523-8496 ext 7317

kate.mannen@hamilton.ca

THereSa pHaIrCommunity Development Coordinator

CityHousing Hamiltontheresa.phair@hamilton.ca

905-523-8496 ext 6679

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The material in this publication is taken from the Have Your Say Final report available at the CHH Website www.cityhousinghamilton.com

unless otherwise noted, all quotations are from Tenant Survey responses.

“Housing [is] a verb”(with apologies to John F.C. Turner)

© 2012 CityHousing Hamilton