Publications & Links

Publications

Complaints Guide for Residents of Sheltered Housing
Good Practice Guide on Engagement and Consultation in Sheltered Housing.

Part of the confusion evidenced by Help the Aged's report, Nobody's Listening, was how older people could take their complaints further, when their landlord had responded but they were still dissatisfied. In addition to the Ombudman services (the Housing Ombudsman and the Local government Ombudsman), there is now the regulator for social housing, the Tenant Services Authority, and the new tenants' body, the National Tenant Voice. This complaints guide has been written by HTA for the Chartered Institute of Housing to help older people identify which service they can approach, when and with what information, and how each might be able to help them. Hard copies are available from policy@cih.org

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Creative Neighbourhoods
The Role of the Arts in Building Sustainable Communities

Launched in 2005 and jointly funded by the Housing Corporation and Arts Council England, Creative Neighbourhoods is the first publication of its kind looking at the relationship between housing and the arts sector. A practical guide for housing managers, local authorities and resident groups, Creative Neighbourhoods provides advice on planning suitable arts projects, engaging the community, selecting artists and accessing funding.

Presenting a range of motivating case studies from successful projects in England and Wales, the guide demonstrates how the arts can be used to increase resident involvement and regenerate declining communities by developing residents’ skills, encouraging and improving communication and creating a stronger sense of community.

The guide was distributed around the country with the aim of encouraging more innovative approaches to supporting creative neighbourhoods in Britain.

Copies of the guide are still available, priced £5 plus £4.50 postage and packing, email astonhc@hotmail.com or call 020 8248 3267.

HTA have run a series of Creative Neighbourhoods training sessions and workshops in conjunction with Aston Housing Consultancy which can be repeated on an in house or public basis.

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Capturing the Past and HTA

The Gardens Reminiscence Project is the first project undertaken by a group HTA formed called Capturing the Past. We are all committed to using techniques such as reminiscence and oral history to help communities record and celebrate both their past and present communal life. We believe this empowers individuals to become active participants in developing their own communities, especially where they are undergoing regeneration and other major changes.

The report on the project has been produced with Hanover in Hackney (HiH) our major partner in the project: click here to read the report (PDF).

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Useful Links

This table lists useful links

Logo	Description
	The Housing Executive The Housing Executive is a flexible recruitment consultancy dedicated to managers and executives in housing and regeneration. Our unique business concentrates on forming lasting relationships and our growth has been based on excellent service and recommendation. Clients include beacon local authorities, regulatory bodies, major RSLs and national housing trusts, as well as many small and medium sized housing organisations. http://www.thehousingexecutive.com
	Skills & Projects Skills & Projects provide customer research, satisfaction survey, benchmarking, policy research and a wide range of training and development services. Skills & Projects specialise in working with small housing organisations. ttp://www.skillsprojects.co.uk
	Virtuosity Executive Support Virtuosity provides a professional virtual PA service tailored to your company's requirements, allowing you to work more efficiently, cost effectively and giving you back the time to run your business. A 'Pay As You Go' service with clients ranging from sole traders to multi-national companies. Services include: Secretarial/PA support Audio Transcription Services Board/Panel Administration Event & Travel Management Presentations Direct Mail Database Creation/Management Personal Life Management http://www.virtuosity-uk.com
	presstocontact.com presstocontact.com is an accessible, flexible and affordable press release writing, editing and distribution service able to craft lively and newsworthy press releases; research and distribute your release to a bespoke media list; advise on the timing of its distribution; and monitor subsequent coverage. http://www.presstocontact.com
	Work2Work Work2Work is a unique organisation that works with housing and other organisations and individuals to tackle worklessness. For organisations – we create partnerships to offer training and work experience for individuals. For individuals – we design and support a personal development programme to increase skills and confidence to enable individuals to take up training and employment opportunities. Our aim is to help transform lives. http://www.work2work.co.uk

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