Merry Christmas from Broadland Housing

Transcription

1 DOOR TO DOOR December 2017 Merry Christmas from Broadland Housing Our Christmas countdown has begun with only a few weeks to go. We would love you to join us at our Meet, Eat & Mingle event for all tenants and help spread Christmas cheer. This will be running across Norfolk from Monday 11th December. See more details on page 3. Check out the Broadland Housing online Advent Calendar on our website, and see our Facebook pages to keep up to date with local events, Christmas decoration ideas, top tips on saving money and the Housing Team s favourite recipes.

2 DOOR TO DOOR December 2017 End of year round up... Once again we ve had a fantastic year of tenant-led events, meetings and projects, and we ve enjoyed seeing community groups come together as we take on positive changes. We would like to thank everyone who joined us and took part. Here are some of the year s activities and we hope to have many more across Norfolk and North Suffolk in If you would like your community to be involved, please get in touch. Good Neighbour Awards at Woodcote Sheltered Scheme Residents loved getting crafty at St James Lodge painting morning Board members enjoyed meeting tenants as part of the Board Stock Tour First tenant to be enrolled on the New Horizons project Tenants get creative with garden design at York Place A beautiful day at Woodcote s 1940s family fun day Tenants & friends enjoyed Eco-fun at Sorrel & Campion 2017 Annual General Meeting Chris Ewbank (left) takes the position of Chair of the board following the AGM Community pumpkin carving and litter pick up at Shipfield

3 December 2017 DOOR TO DOOR This year s Out and About visits ran from April to October and we visited a total of 25 schemes in Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Dereham and King s Lynn. The Neighbourhood officers led the visits along with tenancy support co-ordinators who were able to refer tenants for help to sustain their tenancies. We also invited other teams in the organisation to attend the visits, to meet tenants and see the vast number of properties available. The visits gave us the opportunity to tell you about our new digital services and how you can engage with us without leaving your home. We also enjoyed finding out what s happening in your area and what matters to you. Look out for Out and About 2018 starting in January. We look forward to seeing you soon! Out and about % of tenants were visited at home 32% registered to Tenants Online 29% joined our Digital Panel 12% liked our local Facebook pages Our best bits...

4 DOOR TO DOOR December 2017 Meet Come your H and meet and e ousing team njoy a mince festive pie! Monday 11th December 10 am-12 pm King s Lynn Area Office, Pleasant Court, PE30 5PR Eat & Mingle Christmas opening hours Monday 25th December Closed Wednesday 13th December 10 am-12 pm Larners Way Community Room, Norwich, NR3 2FB Wednesday 13th December 10 am-12 pm Great Yarmouth Area Office, Regent Street, NR30 1RL Thursday 14th December 10 am-12 pm Dereham Area Office, 7 Aldiss Court, High Street, NR19 1TS Tuesday 26th December - Closed Wednesday 27th December pm Thursday 28th December pm Friday 29th December pm Monday 1st January Closed Normal hours resume from Tuesday 2nd January If you have an emergency to report to our customer services team at these times, please call and you will be transferred to our out of hours service. Countdown to Christmas with us online... Broadland Housing Group or tenantengagement@ broadlandgroup.org for your own online Advent calendar.

5 December 2017 DOOR TO DOOR Christmas lights checklist For a safer festive season This time of year is full of excitement but also when accidents can easily happen if you re not careful. After 12 months stored away, your Christmas lights can easily become unsafe. Below we have some tips on checking, using and storing your lights this Christmas to keep you and others safe when adding the festive touch to your home. Check for damaged or broken wires and sockets before you plug in your lights Don t use lights outdoors unless specially designed for that use Don t leave fairy lights on when you go out or when you go to sleep Don t overload sockets Keep lights away from flammable decorations Time to test Remember... When storing lights away, keep them in an airtight container away from damp and excessive heat It takes less than a minute to test your smoke alarm. This should be done regularly by pressing the button until the alarm sounds. If the sound is weak or non-existent, replace the batteries. As a minimum you should have an alarm on each floor and test them once a week. Norfolk Fire and Rescue Services recommend you #TestitTuesday before it s too late. Fire safety in your home in your responsibility. Never remove batteries from your smoke alarm to use in another item, such as Christmas presents, over the festive period. We will replace alarms if they are dated more than 10 years old. We will not be able to replace batteries. Please report any defects to our customer services team on For further information visit Norfolk and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Services website. You can also find out if you are eligible for a free home safety check.

6 DOOR TO DOOR December 2017 Helping combat loneliness across Norfolk Better Together Better family and friends. The team visited more rural On 27th November the Tenancy support team launched Better Together, a campaign to raise awareness of the impact of loneliness to our tenants, staff and stakeholders. The week included drop-in sessions at our area offices for tenants, who learnt how to use Skype and FaceTime to keep in touch with areas in North Norfolk and Forest Heath, which throughout highlighted the wide range of services, events How can you help? If you would like and activities available in the local community. Togethto support the Salvation Army s Tins & Toys A Christmas cake and biscuit decorating appeal, please take your donations to The workshop was organised at St Katherine s Forum, Norwich or any Salvation Army shop or sheltered housing scheme, where residents centre in Norfolk. For donations to your local invited the 11th King s Lynn Brownie unit along, Foodbank, please head online for a list of dropoff centres or call bringing generations together and helping the Brownies achieve one of their badges. The campaign also raised awareness of the issue of loneliness on our social media pages and internally to Broadland staff with pledges, videos and a range of tips on starting conversations and ideas on tackling loneliness in the community. Throughout the campaign and towards Christmas, staff at Broadland will be supporting Charity Sleep Out A group of five Broadland staff braved freezing conditions to take part in the Benjamin Foundation Sleep Out on 17th November in Norwich. The event helped raise money and awareness of the ever-increasing issue of youth homelessness. The event brought to life the challenges of sleeping outside and one staff member said 125 people came together and had the opportunity to make a difference. This just shone a very small light on the work of this charity and the part they are playing in the national End Youth Homelessness campaign. The group doubled their target and raised 1000 for The Benjamin Foundation who support local homeless young people. One donor commented online A really worth while effort. Could happen to anybody.well done from Broadland Housing. the Salvation Army s Tins & Toys and the Foodbank appeal to help those in need this Christmas. We have so far collected a large amount and would like to thank everyone for their generous donations. Going forward, Broadland will be working closely with Norfolk County Council, supporting its award-winning In Good Company initiative and will continue to combat loneliness across Norfolk into and

7 December 2017 DOOR TO DOOR Christmas events and activities near you... Norwich Every Wed from 6th Dec 2pm pm. Sing Your Heart Out. The Pheonix Centre, NR3 2LD. Join in & meet new friends. Free to attend *Christmas special 20th Dec 2pm - 4pm. East 8th Dec 5pm - 8pm. Time & Tide Museum, Great Yarmouth. Christmas Tide & Tidings with festive songs, crafts & characters. Free to attend. 25th Dec 11am - 5pm. St Andrew s Hall, Norwich. Open Christmas. Lunch & entertainment. Free to attend. Free transport provided. No need to book. 17th Dec from 10.30am. Gorleston-on-sea. East Coast Santa Dash. 5k or 2k fun run. All money raised to East Coast Hospice appeal. 25th Dec 11am - 5pm. Marina Centre Complex, Great Yarmouth. Open Christmas. Lunch & entertainment. Free to attend. Free transport provided. No need to book. From 1st Dec - 23rd Dec. Mid Norfolk Railway, Dereham. The Polar Express Train ride. Tickets and booking required. 12th Dec 7pm - 9pm. Christmas wreath workshop. Dereham library. All materials, drinks & nibbles provided. 20 per person. Booking required. 7th Dec 12pm - 8pm. King s Lynn Christmas market. Find unique festive gifts from a range of stalls. 21st Dec 9.30am pm & 1.30pm pm. Santa s grotto & Christmas party. The Community Cafe, Hillington Square for crafts & cupcakes. Dereham 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th Dec. 9.30am am. Knit and Natter. Dereham Library. Come along and meet new friends. King s Lynn 6th & 7th Dec 10am - 1pm. Christmas wreath & cracker workshops. St. Nicholas Chapel. Booking required. 5 per person. Please call for more information or head to our website where you will be able to find the links to the above events.

8 DOOR TO DOOR December 2017 Good to be Green For you Plan early- avoid the last minute rush, make a to-do list & get a head start. Go outside- improve your mood with lots of fresh air. Layer up and head to the coast or park with friends and family. Remember what is important- spending time with others, or those people around you who you don t see very often. For your home Declutter the house- a great time to ask children to sort their toys. Donate old toys to charity or give to a friend. Green Christmas check your local council to see if your wrapping paper is accepted with your recycling. Handmade Christmas- recycle your Christmas cards to make into gift tags for next year. Make your own Christmas Contest. We would love to see what Christmas decorations you can make from recycled bits and bobs around your home. Prizes to be won! Please send your photos to jessica.pye@broadlandgroup.org to enter. Winner announced on 31/12/17. Broadland Housing Group For your community Help others- donate to your local Foodbank to help others in need at Christmas. Endless opportunities- head along to your local library and find out what activities take place on a weekly basis where you can meet new friends and try something new. Make conversation- Invite a neighbour round for a cup of tea or make contact with someone you ve not seen or spoken to in a BroadlandHsg