By Rob Gooding and Rachel Cole, The Tenant Involvement Team
Back in June, text messages were sent out to several council tenants under the age of 40 asking if they would like to be part of the new tenants’ connectors pool. Tenants that expressed an interest, were then contact by telephone to enable us to obtain their details for the pool. One of the questions on the form was if they would be interested in getting involved in one of our main panels, Scrutiny, Housing Involvement Panel and Screen Team.
Following on from this, Rotherfed’s Tenant Involvement team, in collaboration with RMBC, held an event for engaged residents on Wednesday 24 July at Springwell Gardens.
Fifteen enthusiastic tenants who had expressed their desire to actively participate in shaping the future of Rotherham’s housing services attended the event. The event provided them with the perfect platform to learn more about RMBC services, the main panels and explore various ways to get involved.
The event featured 14 existing panel members who shared their experiences, motivations and reasons for contributing to housing services and being part of the panels. The firsthand perspective from existing tenants will be invaluable for new potential tenants seeking to make a difference in their communities. We had three separate tables, one for each of the main panels, where existing panel members sat and spoke about their involvement and experiences. The new tenants spent time at each table listening and getting an understanding of what each panel involved, this gave them the opportunity to decide which panel, if any, was best suited to them and their situation. For tenants that wish to go further, it marks the start a very important process of peer mentoring and support for the new members of the panels.
The Rotherfed Tenant Involvement Team and RMBC are committed to empowering tenants and ensuring their voices are heard in matters concerning their housing environment. This was the first session held, additional sessions will be held for tenants who couldn’t attend this one. For the residents who could attend and are interesting in becoming future panel members, they will now be contacted to organise the next step.
