Posted on March 9th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
We’re helping young people who are leaving care, gain independence in their own home.
The House Project Coventry has officially launched, and we are working with Coventry City Council and registered charity National House Project to make it a success.
We will help by identifying suitable properties for around 10 young people aged 16-18. The group will form links with local companies and training providers to get the properties ready and build connections for pathways into work.
When the young people are ready, they will move into their home on an Equitable or Starter tenancy, with a view to converting this into a long-term tenancy.
The first young person has recently moved into their new home as part of this project.
Our Head of Housing Support Liz Carroll said: “It’s great to be involved in this project as we think it is really important to give people who are living in care the chance to move into their own home and support them to manage their own tenancy.
“At Citizen we believe most often a good home is all people need to thrive and when times get tough, we offer all the help we can.
“We are looking forward to seeing the success of the first group of young people who take part in the project. It’s brilliant to see the first young person move into her new home and we hope she is happy there.”
We became involved in the project after the Coventry Through Care team, part of Children’s Services at Coventry City Council, successfully applied to join the National Housing Project which is a registered charity.
The National House Project provides support and expertise to local authorities around the country to set up and manage Local House Projects so that young people leave care in a planned and supported way.
The House Project approach started in 2015 and was co-designed with young people from the start.
Young people support each other to develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to leave care in a planned and supported way and they work alongside adults to do up properties that become their homes. This provides a foundation for them to live independently and lead fulfilling lives.
Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Coventry City Council Pat Seaman said: “I’m so pleased to see the House Project up and running in Coventry. I’ve been a huge fan of the concept ever since I first heard about it.
“Every young person needs help when they first venture out into independence and this allows care leavers to learn those vital life skills whilst knowing the support is there when they need it.
“I’m looking forward to watching the progress of the first group and I wish them all the luck in the world.”
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Posted on March 4th, 2022 by Elaine Davies
We’re delighted to announce that Joseph Layfield has been offered a permanent position as Estate Maintenance Operative in our Maintenance Operations Team.
Joseph joined us in December last year as our first Kickstart Scheme work placement.
The Kickstart scheme was introduced last year and provides funding to employers to create jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds on universal credit and who are at risk of long-term unemployment.
Joseph said: “I’m really happy to have been offered a permanent role at Citizen just two months into my Kickstart placement. The Kickstart Scheme has given me a brilliant opportunity to learn a trade and to build up my knowledge and experience.
“I have always wanted to go into this type of work. I love working outside and I love being in a job where there’s no time or opportunity to clock watch.
“I’m looking forward to starting my career with Citizen and I would especially like to thank Ken for giving me this opportunity!”
Our Ground Maintenance Supervisor Ken Lindsay added: “Joseph has made a great impression on both me and the team. He’s a hard worker, eager to learn, and has got stuck into every task we’ve put in front of him.
“The Kickstart Scheme is a brilliant way for young people to gain work experience – it’s been a great springboard for Joseph.
“I’m really happy we’re able to offer Joseph this permanent position. I know he’s going to do a fantastic job and will be an asset to the Estate Maintenance Team!”
Congratulations on your new role Joseph!
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Posted on March 2nd, 2022 by Elaine Davies
Our Customer Experience Platform has been in place for two years now and we have recently received over 100,000 customer responses.
The platform allows us to send surveys to customers via SMS, email, or phone message and it gives them the opportunity to feedback on their experiences of repairs, customer service, lettings and much more.
We have produced an infographic which summarises the 100,000 customer interactions we have had since the platform launched.
Our infographic includes:
- Our customer satisfaction score breakdown
- Our average customer satisfaction score
- Our average comment sentiment score
- Our response rate and much more!
Our Director of Assurance and Business Services Katie Moore said: “This infographic really highlights the great work we are all doing to improve the standard of our services and our customer offer.
“The Business Intelligence Team manage our Customer Service Platform. Whenever I take a look at our latest scores, I always feel proud of everyone across our organisation for contributing to these impressive results.
“We know that our work to improve the experience of our customers is never done, but this is a mark of real progress.”
Our Insight Analyst Stephen Bethell added: “I’m really proud of the results we’ve achieved over the last two years. The information we get from our Customer Experience Platform is invaluable. The fact we have received over 63,000 comments from our customers on our services and have managed to highlight issues over 9,000 times because of this platform is fantastic.
“We are committed to constantly improving our offer to our customers and our Customer Experience Platform is vital in helping us achieve this.”
View our Customer Experience Platform 100,000 responses infographic here.
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