People First Housing Association was formed in 1993 when a group of residents in Hulme, Manchester decided to take control of the future of their tenancies.
The association now owns and manages almost 300 properties of various sizes in Hulme and its tenants are encouraged to get actively involved in making decisions about the future of People First and their homes by becoming Board members or helping with continuous review on important policies.
People First also provides and manages temporary accommodation for households presenting as homeless in partnership with Vale Royal council.
Influence National Housing Policy
The National Tenant Voice is an independent body
that is being set up by Government to enable social housing tenants to influence key national policy areas.
We want tenants throughout England to volunteer to
be involved in the National Tenant Voice.
For further details or to apply please visit: www.hays.com/jobs/ntv or contact HAYS on 0800 917 7396.
The closing date for applications is 16th October 2009.
Head of Housing
David Nugent joined People First in January, replacing Chris Page as the Head of Housing. We asked him about his experience and why he decided to join People First:
Where did you work before?
"I used to work for Equity Housing Group in Cheadle Hulme, where I was Income Manager. I managed a team of nine staff, who dealt with lettings and rent arrears."
Do you have any other relevant experience?
"I also worked there as Tenant Services Manager, dealing with complaints and tenant consultation, as well as communications like the newsletter and web site."
What about property management?
"I trained as an architect at University and I’ve also spent several years working as a surveyor, so day-to-day maintenance and planned repairs shouldn’t be a problem."
Why did you come to people first?
"I wanted to work more closely with tenants and have a wider brief: In my last job, I worked with tenants across nineteen local authorities, some of whom lived a hundred miles away from the office!"
Have you ever been to Hulme before?
"I remember visiting friends in Hulme during the early 1990s: Let’s just say the area has improved immeasurably since then!"
What are your first impressions?
"Everybody has been really welcoming, both staff and tenants. It was refreshing to walk around the schemes and see how much the area had improved. I think People First is an incredible success story and I’m looking forward to meeting more tenants in the coming weeks and months."
Equality and Diversity review
Have you ever thought that someone does not understand you, you are being fobbed off or you are not able to get where you want to go? When out shopping or dealing with agencies, if the person you are dealing with does not treat you with care and respect, are you put off making yourself understood?
There are many reasons why some people have better access to services than others.
If you are a parent with children, a wheel chair user facing a flight of stairs and/or English is not your first language you may have difficulties accessing services. You may also experience discrimination because of the attitude and approach of the person you are dealing with.
People First Housing Association wants to ensure that everyone who deals with us feels like they have been treated with respect and care. Moreover we want to ensure that all the people who use our services can gain access to us as easily as possible.
An Equality and Diversity Review Group meets regularly to monitor whether we are fulfilling our commitments. The Group needs feedback from the people who experience our services, both tenants and support clients . If you would like to attend one of the meetings, please contact Melanie Merchant on 226 1917 or to email us click here.
