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Michael Shelton retires from the BoardPage: 2

Remembering Rev Bocking and his daughter GillianPage: 3

Tenant Diversity.Susan Robinson’s typical dayPage: 5

Tenant Satisfaction Survey 2019 results Page: 6

newsletter Spring 2020

T H I S I S T H E N E W S L E T T E R F O R T E N A N T S O F H A R R O W C H U R C H E S H O U S I N G A S S O C I A T I O N

Karaoke Fun!

PHOTO

: LUCY BAKER

About twenty tenants dressed up or put on red outfits and joined in the Ewart House Valentine’s Day Karaoke party. The love songs playlist was chosen by tenants and included hits by Westlife, Abba, Tom Jones, Elvis, and Rod Stewart.

Scheme manager, Luca said, ‘I know how much our tenants enjoy singing karaoke and thought it would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day themed afternoon. We bought balloons, cakes and drinks and decorated the windows with paper hearts.’

Ekky, our activities coordinator, provided a Valentine’s quiz and word search and our staff member, Ade, set up the equipment and helped with the musical lineup. Everyone had such a fun time!

Tenant Marian pictured on the left said, ‘I’m always singing in my flat. So whenever we do karaoke I have a go, I like singing Shirley Bassey songs.’ Our Head Office staff often hear Marian singing around Ewart House and so it was great to see her pick up the mike and join with her neighbours in full song. Continues on page 2

Tenant Marian singing karaoke.

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It is with great gratitude and thanks that we announce that Michael Shelton has stepped down as Chair and a Board member after more than nine years of service. I am sure you will all join me in wishing him well.

During his time, he has overseen our expansion across West London and further afield delivering additional homes. He intends to carry on serving on the Boards of at least two other organisations housing older people. He is far too modest to mention the other charitable work he undertakes. He is actively involved in fundraising for the NSPCC and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, to name but two. Thank you Michael, we shall miss you.

Petra Gratton is our new Chair. She is a lecturer at Brunel University with experience in facilities management, construction and engineering. She is active in promoting women in engineering, and it is

with these skills we celebrate the first woman to chair HCHA. I wish her well as she takes up this challenging role.

Christopher Holley, Chief Executive.

Karaoke Fun! continued from page 1. Ewart House tenants and staff sing their favourite love songs on Valentine’s Day.

HCHA Annual Report Out Now!

To request a free copy please ask a member of staff or visit our website and download it from www.hcha.org.uk/publications

Annual Report 2019

A Trusted Partner

Harrow ChurchesHousing Association

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Paxfold, Dashwood Court and Ewart House tenants have recently been treated to Motown classics performances by entertainment company ‘It Takes Two’. The musical tour by duo Sapphire and Philip delighted tenants with hits including ‘My Girl’, by the Temptations, ‘September’, by Earth Wind and Fire, and the duet, ‘Endless Love’, sung by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross.

Ekky Archibong, Activities Coordinator said, ‘It was great to see our tenants enjoying the showcase. Many said that the songs brought back good memories. The entertainers were very engaging and made it a very interactive session, and the tenants joined in with applause, dance and requests.’

In 2016, former HCHA Board member, Rev Karlene Kerr moved from Harrow to Norfolk and accepted a post as Team Vicar in Gaywood Parish. Rev Kerr recently wrote to us to share a coincidence that she thought would be of interest to readers of the newsletter.

Rev Kerr wrote, ‘On Palm Sunday of last year, I attended an Ecumenical service in Norwich and during the evening, spoke with a lady, Audrey Elliott, the church secretary for the local United Reform Church. The next day Audrey decided to ‘Google’ me for more information and she learnt that I had previously been a HCHA Board member and this struck her because Audrey’s father was the late Reverend Ronald Bocking, the founder of HCHA!’

Audrey Elliott recalls, ‘I remember sitting around the dining table for a meal and Dad trying to explain to us children the importance of HCHA, I suspect this was just after it was founded. There was an elderly lady who lived in a bedsit in nearby Hindes Road. In those days, a bedsit basically meant a bedroom with a sink and electric or gas ring in it and you shared a toilet with other residents. In 1960s’, I think it accepted when

Motown comes to HCHA

A Strange Coincidence! PHO

TOS: EKKY ARCHIBO

NG

Tenants watching the Motown show. Top photo at Dashwood Court, Bottom photo at Paxfold House.

Above left: Audrey Elliot, daughter of the late Rev Bocking with Rev Karlene Kerr, ex-Board member of HCHA Above right: Gillian Bocking, daughter of Rev Bocking.

Above: The late Rev Ronald Bocking and the first-ever HCHA share certificate in his name, donated to HCHA by Audrey Elliot, now proudly displayed in our offices at Ewart House.

people were working, but when they retired, it was very different being confined to one small room. This was the mid ‘60s, so due to both world wars, there were a lot of women in this situation - women who had either not gotten married as there were fewer men around or women who had been widowed. The HCHA was formed, particularly to help these women have a better, more fulfilling and less lonely lifestyle.

At the same time, I have a vague memory of being told about another group of women for whom the Association was a lifeline, i.e. elderly widows who had no children and were living alone in huge houses that they could not maintain, but there was nowhere else to go. By moving into one of the Association's flats, they were freeing up their large house to be sold for families, something which was also desperately needed at the time. I remember Dad's excitement when Wolstenholme was converted and opened and then when Gillian House was purpose built. Gillian House was named after my sister Gillian Bocking, who died of acute myeloid leukaemia in October 1971 aged 15.’

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Meet our Board member Avani Modasia

Goodbye to Marc Ward Board member

When did you join the HCHA Board?I was voted onto the Board in March 2019 at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

What was your last job before joining the HCHA Board?I was the Chief Executive of Age UK Harrow for 12 years. Last year Age UK Harrow underwent major restructuring and there was a merger of Age UK Harrow, Brent and Hillingdon, so I took voluntary redundancy.

What inspired you to join the HCHA Board?25 years ago, I actually worked at HCHA as a PA to the then Chief Executive. I have known HCHA’s current CEO, Christopher Holley, for a long while because Age UK Harrow and HCHA had a lot of synergy and a lot has changed for the better at HCHA. When Age UK Harrow’s funding for its aids and adaptation service ended, we referred our clients to HCHA’s ADAPT service. Also, Age UK Harrow staff were invited to visit Ewart House when it was completed. Christopher Holley encouraged me to join the Board once I had left Age UK Harrow. I think many housing associations don’t have diverse enough board - that’s another reason why I wanted to join when the Board invited me.

What key skills do you believe you bring to HCHA’s Board?I believe that my skill set makes me suitable. Firstly, I have vast experience of charity governance. Before joining Age UK Harrow, I used to be CEO of Watford Council for Voluntary Service (CVS). My job was to train trustees on the their roles and responsibilities and get them to understand the importance of governance. I know what Board members should do. Also, having been a CEO, I understand the boundaries between the CEO and the Board. I don’t know much about how housing associations work, but I do know about how

charities operate. I understand about pension liabilities, having had to deal with two pension liabilities. I have quite a lot of experience about managing staff and HR having managed staff of up to 21 members.

I hope to be on some of the subcommittees of the HCHA Board. In particular, I’d like to be looking at risk management and HR issues.

From your time on the Board so far, what do you think are HCHA’s strengths?From what I’ve seen, I think there’s a good mixture of Board members with different skills including legal expertise. There’s a good staff structure. HCHA has a sound set of reserves – those are the strengths. The challenge is that like any organisation, HCHA is going through change and that’s where good governance comes in. When I came to the HCHA AGM last year, I saw the diversity of tenants, which was not there when I worked in the organisation 25 years ago. This is a credit to HCHA who’ve embarked on a mission to reflect the diverse society that we live in today, particularly in Harrow. HCHA now truly reflects the community.

What do you like doing in your leisure time?I am now an independent consultant working on providing training and writing bids for small organisations. I was also involved in a social prescribing project, assessing clients referred from GPs and making recommendations.

In my spare time, I like to go to the gym, travel and go to the theatre. I love reading and at the moment I’m reading books by Jeffrey Archer. I’m hooked on his books, they’re brilliant!

Marc Ward at our AGM last year.

We were sorry that Marc Ward stepped down from the Board and as Chair of our Finance Committee last year. His expertise, great support and advice are already really missed. We would like to thank him for his service to HCHA and wish him well in all that he has planned for the future.

PHOTO

: LUCY BAKER

PHOTO

: LUCY BAKER

5Susan Robinson is our scheme manager for St Barnabas Court. We asked her to tell us about her typical work day.

9am I arrive at the scheme, open up the office and conduct health and safety checks of the building including the fire exits, doors and hallways. I speak with our offsite overnight security. Then I start the morning call round speaking to tenants using the intercom system. We have about 40 tenants aged between 58 to 85 years old. Not everyone wants a morning call, so I call about 25 tenants.

10am At the moment we have four vulnerable tenants. I visit each one, and also conduct the weekly check on their emergency pull cords to make sure they’re in working order.

11am I log onto my computer to check emails and deal with anything that requires attention. Our finance department has notified me that a tenant’s rent payment direct debit has been rejected so I have to deal with the correspondence for that. I write to my tenant informing them that they are in arrears and that they need to repay this money, and if necessary we can work out a budget with them that they can afford. Follow-up conversations can be difficult as not everyone likes talking about money, but we have to face up to the situation and address this issue which is an important part of my job. I’m glad to say, there aren’t many tenants who are struggling to pay their rent and the arrears are low at my scheme.

11.30am I deal with an emergency repair- we’ve had a leak in the passageway from the wet room in the flat above. I get a workman to come to fix the problem. I then arrange at a later date when the wall and ceiling will have dried for our maintenance team to make good the area.

1pm lunch break

1.30pm One of our tenants is in hospital, so I contact their next of kin and liaise with them. You’ve got to be tactful as these are often delicate situations. Another tenant asks me to book the guest room as a close family member is visiting her for a few days.

Susan Robinson Shares Her Day2pm I join the tenants in the communal lounge in the daily tenant-led coffee afternoon, this is the best part of my day! I like it because it’s nice to have some social contact with our tenants. I’ve been here 10 years so I know everyone quite well. I like having a chat with them, they’re like my second family. But you’ve always got to be mindful that you don’t overstep the mark.

2.45-4.45pm A tenant pops into my office to ask me for help to set up her TV licence direct debit. We do this successfully and she now looks forward to watching TV in her flat.

Throughout the afternoon I assist tenants that need advice or help with various issues. Quite a few of my tenants have English as their second language. Some of them ask me for my help with phone calls and although this is not part of housing management, I will help them if I have the time, or if I am busy I encourage them to try themselves.

4.45-5pm I turn on the out-of-hours call system over to Careline. I check the building is secure and lock the office. I enjoy being of help to people. I see myself as a service provider and I do whatever it takes to provide a service to support our tenants. Then I go home feeling happy!

PHOTO

: SONI SHAH

Susan Robinson at her desk.

Diverse LivesEvery year we ask tenants responding to our Tenant Satisfaction Survey to self-identify their ethnicity.

Although just a sample, their responses are important to us. This year it has told us that the ethnicity of our tenants is generally becoming more diverse, a welcome sign that we are attracting a wider range of people into our schemes and homes.

Ethnic Ethnic Diversity in Diversity in

HCHA Housing HCHA Housing 20192019

4141%%

1818%%

77%%

77%%

55%%

55%%

44%%

44%%22%% 22%%

11%%11%%

22%%

White English, Scottish or W

elsh

Indi

an

Black African

Other

Asian/Asian British

White Irish

Any other white background

Any other Caribbean background

Black CaribbeanW

hite/Black CaribbeanW

hite/Black AfricanPakistani

Other Asian

EthnicDiversity in

HCHA tenants2019

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Edited by Soni Shah, Communications and Projects Manager, HCHA.Graphic Design by nim design www.nimdesign.comPrinted by St.Austell Printing Company Ltd on 100% recycled paper.

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HCHA ■ Ewart House ■ Ground Floor ■ 9 Richards Close ■ Harrow ■ Middlesex ■ HA1 2BEtel 020 8424 2776 email info@hcha.org.uk www.hcha.org.uk

Every year we send out a Tenant Survey and publish the results. Some of the survey questions were new this year, some were repeated so that we can compare the answers to previous years, and some we use to compare with other housing associations.

Every comment that you write is read by a member of our senior management team and new information is given to the right team to follow up. We wish to thank the 103 tenants who took part and helped with this important annual questionnaire.

We are very pleased that the service provided by our in-house maintenance team has improved by 24% over the past two years. We are also very proud to see

Overall Service 81% very or fairly satisfied

Housing Quality 86% very or fairly satisfied

Repairs 78% very or fairly satisfied

Maintenance Service 77% the same or better than last year

Value for Money 79% good or very good value for money

Safety 85% feel safe or very safe

ASB 5% of respondents reported a problem of whom 42% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the response

Complaints 49% were satisfied or very satisfied and 34% not satisfied

Reporting Abuse 85% of HCHA tenants would feel very confident or confident reporting abuse to us

Trust HCHA to Manage 88% very much or generally trusted HCHA

Treated with Fairness and Respect 89% always or generally

Listening 75% said we always or usually listen and act on your views

Opportunities to Express Views 78% were satisfied

Tenant Satisfaction Survey 2019 Resultsthat once again on issues of trust, being treated fairly and with respect, and on reporting abuse, we continue to score highly.

The Tenants Survey results are summarised in the table below. If you would like a more detailed report you can download the HCHA Tenant Survey Results 2019 from our website hcha.org.uk/publications or ask a member of staff for an electronic or paper copy. Alternatively, you can email info@hcha.org.uk or give our reception desk a call on 0208 424 2776 during working hours and ask us to send you an electronic (emailed) or paper copy.

‘If I don’t get the opportunity to talk about my problems, I can always leave a note and I always get an answer quite quickly, which is lovely.’ Tenant Survey 2019

‘Our managers are efficient and helpful while dealing with all manner of complaints and concerns, personal worries and practical problems.’ Tenant Survey 2019