United Welsh leads the way 

United Welsh Housing Association has again been recognised for its work within the housing sector of Wales. They have walked away with first prize in the “Val Feld Communication in Housing” Award and the “Effective Engagement of hard to Reach Groups” Award at the 2008 TPAS Cymru Participation Awards held at the Angel Hotel in Cardiff. 

The TPAS Cymru Participation Awards, also known as the “Participation Oscars” celebrates and recognises the work of tenants and landlords in their communities who work together to make improvements to services and neighbourhoods. 

The ‘Val Feld Communication in Housing’ Award was presented for ‘The Focus’ magazine, a quarterly publication targeted specifically at supported housing tenants. It is produced for and by supported housing tenants of United Welsh and covers issues which are relevant to the needs of people living in supported housing accommodation.

Chris Rutson, Head of Supported Housing for United Welsh said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive this award on behalf of all our tenants and the staff both from United Welsh and the Support Providers with which we work. They all work so hard to make ‘The Focus’ such a fantastic success. The articles are always interesting and the readership is increasing at an encouraging rate. Tenants are fully involved in the production of the magazine, being members of the editorial team and contributing to articles. Good two-way communication is central to our work at United Welsh and this award is acknowledgement that this process is working well.

“Our work with tenants in developing a supported housing compact has also been recognised through the ‘Effective engagement of hard to reach groups’ Award. We wanted to ensure that all our customers had the opportunity to become involved in the management of their home at a level which suited their needs. By conducting consultation around issues which were important to tenants we were able to identify clear levels of involvement for everyone. Again, the Support Providers are key to this achievement. We value the contribution they have made, and continue to make, to the success of the compact.”

June 2008

Chris Rutson and Joseph Redmond collect the awards on behalf of United Welsh tenants and staff