Residents of An Garrán estate in Tramore on Saturday held a community outdoor fun day to celebrate European Neighbours’ Day 2022. The event, organised by An Garrán Residents’ Association and supported by Tuath Housing Association and Waterford City and County Council, featured a host of fun activities from tree and bulb planting to promote biodiversity in the area, traditional Irish music, an estate cleanup, and a children’s competition to design a logo for the Residents’ Association and much more. There was also a raffle held for promising local boxer Dyllan Rocket, who recently won an All-Ireland medal, to raise funds to further his coaching and training. James O’Neill, An Garran Residents’ Group said “It was wonderful to see our residents, Waterford City and County council, Tuath Housing and a courtesy call from our local garda station all mixing together which created a real feeling of community spirit and that’s precisely what we are trying to achieve”

First launched in 2000, European Neighbours’ Day, which officially takes place on every last Friday of May, brings together neighbours and local people and encourages community cohesion through resident led events and activities. The An Garrán Residents’ Association had plans to celebrate the schemes 10-year anniversary in 2020, but ultimately had to cancel due to Covid-19 restrictions in place. The community event this weekend gave residents an opportunity to come back together and celebrate the missed milestone. Tuath Housing Association, an approved housing body that manages over 8,500 social homes nationwide, provided Birch and Maple trees on the day as well as compost and summer bedding plants for planting by the residents. Tuath was delighted to support An Garran Residents’ Association, of which some of its members are residents in Tuath managed homes.

National Tenant Forum 2021

Our third annual National Tenant Forum takes place on Thursday 25th November at 5.30pm. The National Tenant Forum is an opportunity for residents to share ideas, experiences and to give feedback on housing services and policy so that we can further improve our services. We will also have guest speaker Conor Pope consumer advice expert, Irish Times journalist and broadcaster speaking on consumer affairs advice and tips.

This is an online forum via zoom for Tuath tenants. To register for this free event please click on the link https://forms.office.com/r/1ewgPahbHv

RESIDENTS GO GREEN IN KNOCKNACULLEN

The Knocknacullen Residents’ Group, in partnership with Tuath Housing Association, held a summer event on Sunday 25th July that included the launch of a biodiversity programme of landscaping, signage and gardening projects in the area. As part of the event each household received a pollinator friendly window box along with activity packs for children and care packs for adults. The day also saw a host of fun activities including balloon making, plate spinning, sports, and games, as well as the announcement of the winner for the The Meadows Summer Art competition.

Funding to the value of €20,000 for the biodiversity programme was procured by Tuath Housing, on behalf of the Knocknacullen Resident’s Group, through Cork Northwest Quarter Regeneration’s Social Economic and Environmental Plan. The funding will be used to support the development of community integration and environmental projects in The Meadows scheme in Knocknacullen. There are approximately 300 homes in the area with an estimated 1000 residents. In early 2019, Knocknacullen Residents’ Group was established. The committee was formed with residents from Tuath Housing, council homes and private owners.

Speaking at the event, Margaret Hanrahan, Tenant Engagement Officer at Tuath Housing, who works closely with the Residents’ Group said “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with the residents’ group and residents of Knocknacullen. The funding received from Cork Northwest Quarter Regeneration and Cork city council will go a long way in supporting this local community.”

Also announced on the day were the winners of vouchers for the The Meadows Summer Art competition which was open to all children in the community 14 years and under. The winning entry will have their design painted as a wall mural in The Meadows as part of a landscaping community project.

We are launching an exciting new employment and training programme called “Stand out from the Crowd” which will begin this September. The programme is a series of webinars to help Tuath residents build confidence and find supports in a competitive jobs market. With the support of expert speakers from Empower, Dress for Success, Carr Communications and Grow Remote we have created a series of free webinars that will run throughout the month of September. This four-week programme will help break down barriers into employment and help attendees with their job applications, C.V preparation, mock ZOOM interviews, learning how to dress the part for interview and much more.

There are 4 free webinars in the programme;

Empower – Getting Started – where to find local supports available for you – Wednesday 8th September, 5.30pm-6.30pm

Carr Communications – Build your confidence, CV preparation, mock and Zoom interviews – Wednesday 15th September, 5.30pm-6.30pm

Dress for Success – What to wear and how to present yourself well at interviews – Wednesday 22nd September, 5.30pm-6.30 pm

Grow Remote – Remote Working – opening new career opportunities – Wednesday 29th September, 5.30pm-6.30pm

For more information on the trainers please click on the links below;

Empower: empower.ie

Carr Communications: carrcommunications.ie

Dress for Success: dressforsuccessdublin.org

Grow Remote: growremote.ie

Participants will also be in with a chance to win a prize worth €200. The prize package will consist of a one to one consultation with Dress for Success and a €100 Dunnes Stores voucher towards getting interview ready.

*Participants must be Tuath residents and attend all 4 sessions to be included in the draw. Participants who attend all 4 webinars will also receive a certificate of participation from Tuath Housing,

To register for all or any of the webinars please complete the application form here https://forms.office.com/r/ZCHzVkUyBW or email [email protected]. If you have any questions or require assistance to set up zoom online for this programme please contact our tenant engagement team.

Tuath Housing is offering one resident the opportunity to do an accredited online course with An Cosan with all course fees covered. This opportunity is worth approximately €2,300. Tuath Housing can also provide the participant with a laptop if needed*, the participant will need to have to have their own reliable internet connection. For more information, please see the flyer or contact our tenant engagement team at [email protected] by Friday 16th July.

Responsive Repairs Team

We are delighted to launch our new Responsive Repairs Team!

At Tuath Housing, we are constantly striving to improve our tenant’s experience. Our dedicated team will be on hand to assist with repairs in Tuath Housing Homes, nationwide, to ensure that all repairs are dealt with as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

If you are a Tuath resident, you can contact our Responsive Repairs Team by calling your nearest Tuath Housing Branch, emailing or by logging a repair on our website

We are delighted to launch our home and garden competition 2021. This year includes a new category – Best Communal Space/Residents’ Group Garden. Closing date for entries is now extended to Friday 30th of July 2021. See flyer below to get involved

Tuath Joins Supporting Communities

Members of Tuath’s Tenant Engagement Working Group

Tuath Housing joins Supporting Communities

In 2018, Tuath Housing embarked on one of the organisation’s most ambitious initiatives to date with the introduction of the Tenant Engagement service. In 2019, their housing team took part in a Tenant Engagement workshop facilitated by Supporting Communities, an organisation that champions tenant and community participation.

Alison O’Gorman, Director of Housing, said, “We researched many organisations in the UK and Europe providing tenant participation support. Supporting Communities was the right fit for us because they shared our vision of tenant engagement. Supporting Communities outlined how we could work in partnership with our residents, using new technologies to increase accessibility to information and to provide feedback, ideas, and information to improve tenant engagement and put effective tenant participation practices into effect.”

Since that initial engagement, Tuath has gone from strength to strength and now have three dedicated Tenant Engagement Officers who work hand in hand with residents, residents’ groups, housing service coordinators, and all departments within the Association. In addition, Tuath have established a range of ways for residents to get involved and contribute to the improvement of the organisation.

In 2019, they created a National Tenant Forum, which is open to all residents to give feedback on Tuath’s services. Then, in March 2020, the first meeting of the tenant engagement working group took place. The consultation group is made up of Tuath Housing staff and Tuath Housing tenants. Its purpose is to enable staff and tenants to work together to improve Tuath Housing’s services and communication with residents.

The tenant engagement working group is currently reviewing and updating Tuath’s Tenant Engagement Strategy for release in 2021. The strategy sets out key objectives that will help Tuath achieve its vision of being a leader in tenant engagement, delivering first-class services to tenants, and leading the way in governance and accountability through tenant engagement and participation.

Sean O’Connor, the CEO of Tuath Housing, added, “Our vision is for Tuath Housing to be a leader in tenant engagement in the Irish voluntary and cooperative sector, delivering first-class services to our tenants and leading the way in governance and accountability through tenant engagement and participation. We want our tenants to become an integral part of our business, influencing how services are provided, how decisions are made, and how money is spent”.

Margaret Hanrahan, Tenant Engagement Officer, told us, “Engaging with our tenants and establishing a sense of community has always been a top priority for us. As a responsible landlord, we believe that our responsibilities go beyond simply maintaining warm, safe, and secure homes. As well as ensuring safe physical surroundings, we want to make sure that tenants do not feel isolated or disconnected from their surroundings.”

During Covid-19, it became clear that connecting residents with their communities and Tuath staff alike was more crucial than ever before. As a result, in 2020, the organisation achieved significant changes in how they communicated and engaged with tenants, especially older residents.

The digital training provided built tenants’ confidence to use online resources to help them stay connected with their families, communities, and Tuath. Digital resources also enabled tenants to take part in a host of virtual events.

Margaret explained, “The new virtual and digital tenant service ensures that our commitment to tenant engagement and excellent customer service is at the forefront of the tenancy services we provide. We are excited to become a member of Supporting Communities so that we can develop and grow a blended approach of face-to-face and virtual tenant participation with our residents.

“We look forward to working with Supporting Communities to put in place the highest tenant participation standards possible and creating a best practice model for the Association. We believe that by listening to, working in partnership with, and providing good information for our residents, we can provide excellent tenancy services.

We are extremely proud of the progress we have made so far. We look forward to growing and developing our tenant-led approach from our membership with Supporting Communities, which is fundamental to Tuath Housing and creating sustainable communities.”

Sheenagh McNally, Head of Corporate Services at Supporting Communities, added, “Back in October 2019 when Siobhan and I travelled to Dublin to deliver the TP workshop at Tuath, it was clear we were pushing an open door. The energy and commitment from the staff to embrace and grow their engagement activities was so very evident. It is hardly surprising to learn of the immense progress they’ve made in such a short period of time, especially when factoring in a global pandemic! Tuath’s organisation will be all the richer with their tenants front and centre in a meaningful and genuine partnership. Supporting Communities is extremely proud to welcome Tuath as a member and we look forward to continuing to provide advice and support in the years ahead.”