NEW GUIDE SETS THE STANDARD

Launched in July, and now in the homes of all CCHA tenants, is our first comprehensive guide to all our service standards.

The guide sets out our commitments to our customers. It explains the services that you can expect from us and how we aim to deliver them. We agreed the standards in consultation with our tenants and we intend to monitor them very carefully. We want to provide our customers with excellent service at all time. If we fail to live up to them we’ll apologise and put things right. If you’re a tenant of CCHA help us to achieve our aim by getting to know the standards and let us know if we fail to meet them. Feedback about our services helps us to improve them. You can now download a copy of our Service Standards from this site.

If you would like more information about our Service Standards, please contact Gareth Jenkins our Customer Services Co-ordinator

Tel: 029 2046 8442
E-mail: Gareth.Jenkins@ccha.org.uk.

RESTLESS NIGHTS… ABOUT TO END?

Our Community Solutions Team recently achieved a major success in combating anti-social behaviour. In partnership with South Wales Police we were granted an immediate Closure Order on a residential property in Splott from which the tenant and his associates had inflicted serious anti-social behaviour on neighbours and the surrounding community.

Incidents included:

• Known criminals attending the address
• Drug use and supply
• Prostitution-related activity
• Regular callers to the flat at unsociable hours

Neighbourhood beat manager PC Rachel Young said: “The behaviour of the tenant and his associates greatly impacted on the lives of people who live in Lamberton Street and led to an atmosphere of despair and fear.”

Under sections 1-11 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, the police have the right to apply for a closure notice if they believe that within the previous three months a person has engaged in anti social behaviour on the premises and they are satisfied that that the use of the premises is associated with significant and persistent serious nuisance to members of the public.

The flat will now be boarded up and the tenant will not be returning. The order also means it is an offence for anyone to enter the property in the next three months.

Commenting on the Order CCHA Chief Executive, Kevin Protheroe said, “We have been working closely with the Police for several months to build up the case against the tenant. We are delighted with the outcome particularly for the local residents, but also for the Police and our team who have worked so hard to bring this about.

"Most CCHA tenants are decent law-abiding citizens and we will do all we can to ensure that the lives of the quiet majority are not blighted by the anti-social behaviour of the utterly thoughtless minority.”

We’d like to thank the local community for all their support with this case and hope that life can now start returning to normal.

‘Browsealoud’ Goes Live

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve improved the service to our customers with visual or literacy difficulties by installing ‘Browesaloud’ onto our site.

You can now listen to the contents of our website being read aloud to you. You can access this service by downloading a free piece of software, called a plug-in, from the Browsealoud website. Just click on the icon in bottom left of any page on this website.

This software is used on over 2000 websites in the UK and USA.

How does it work?

Once you have downloaded the plug-in, the Browsealoud icon will appear in your system tray, which is usually found in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.

When you move your cursor over text, the relevant sentence is spoken aloud. You can choose to listen to selected sections of text or the entire page from where your cursor is pointed. There is also an option to see the words that are being spoken in large size at the top of the screen.

To customise your Browsealoud settings, right click on the icon once it is installed on your computer and choose 'Open Browsealoud settings' from the menu.

COMMUNITY LANGUAGES – ANNUAL REVIEW

Welsh Language Update

Every year we review our Welsh Language Scheme and our services for our customers with other communication needs. Our Welsh Language Policy and the services we provide are available on the website in either English or Welsh.

In the last year our Welsh service continued to be used only modestly. For instance:

• Only 1 tenant is registered with us as requiring communication in Welsh
• We received no requests for verbal communication in Welsh from our customers, other than one from the Welsh Language Board
• We translated less than 10 letters and emails into Welsh
• Our 2008 tenants’ survey revealed that 91% of our tenants never speak, read or write Welsh, and only 0.1% of our tenants want to receive documents in Welsh

Our scheme is approved by the Welsh Language Board and we want to provide a good service in Welsh to our customers. We think we’re doing that and, therefore, we will be making no changes to our Welsh Policy during 2009.

Somali Tops Community Language Table

Eighty-seven CCHA tenants are currently registered with us as preferring to communicate with us in languages other than English, with the vast majority requiring Somali or Arabic.

Last year we translated 17 letters into 11 different languages. So, community languages were more in demand than Welsh, but again the level was modest.

BOARD VACANCIES FOR CCHA TENANTS!

Our Board is responsible for the governance of the Association and its overall strategic direction. We are currently looking to recruit new members to our Board particularly CCHA tenants and people with financial skills, qualifications and business experience.

Is this for you?

Well it could be if:

• You believe people should have access to good quality, affordable housing
• You would like to make a positive difference to the neighbourhoods and communities in which we work
• You like the idea of an organisation that provides support to those who need help
• You have a firm commitment to excellent customer service and believe organisations should involve their customers in their work
• You would like to be associated with an organisation that has worked in Cardiff for over thirty years developing a wide variety of  new homes
• You would like to be part of a group of like-minded people who have a strong commitment to CCHA

Membership of our Board is a rewarding experience and is particularly suited to those who wish to give something back to the community. Housing association experience is not essential but an understanding of the importance of healthy communities and good housing is.

Who’s on The Board?

Our Board is made up of a wide range of people from different backgrounds and occupations. Everyone brings their own different life, educational and work experiences. Of our twelve Board members, four are tenants of CCHA – housing associations are pretty unique in having service users at the very centre of the decision-making process.

The other eight are made up of a variety of people e.g.  accountants; people who work in housing, and local government; people with community interests; a town planner and a university lecturer.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from all members of the community.

Board members spend around one evening per month on CCHA business – meetings start at six and finish by eight. All our Board members are volunteers with paid expenses. We provide training to help you make the most of the role and to familiarise you with the work of the Association. You will also have access to a variety of conferences, seminars and training courses to build upon your personal knowledge and expertise.

What is the role of a Board Member?

All Board members have statutory obligations to act in a lawful, ethical and justifiable manner. They must:

• Promote and support the Association’s work whenever the opportunity arises
• Play an active role in decision making, policy development and monitoring activities
• Demonstrate personal integrity, reliability and maintain confidentiality at all times
• Contribute, as part of the team, to the long term strategic development and shared vision of CCHA

What does the selection process involve?

You will first have to complete an application form. Once your application has been considered you may be invited along to an informal interview with the Chief Executive and Chair of the Association, as well as other Board members if appropriate. This will enable us to learn more about you, and you about us.

You could then be invited to attend up to three Board meetings before making a final decision.

For full details about what’s involved in becoming a Board member, please go to the Our Board section of our website.

If you are interested please download and complete Board Members – Application Pack following the guidance in the Board Members -  Information Sheet.

If you would like to speak to someone informally before applying please contact:

Dawn Murphy
Administration Officer
Cardiff Community Housing Association
2 Ocean Way
Ocean Park
Cardiff
CF24 5TG

Tel: 029 2046 8466
E-mail: Dawn.Murphy@ccha.org.uk

Or our Chief Executive, Kevin Protheroe

Tel: 029 2046 8470
E-mail: Kevin.Protheroe@ccha.org.uk

Late Updates - Summer CHAT Now Available.

The Summer 2009 issue of CHAT is now available to download on this site by Clicking Here.

Read about:

• Our new service for people with disabilities
• The up-and-coming WHQS roadshow
• All the latest from our schemes on site, including the new Trowbridge Community Centre

Folly Farm Fun for ALL on CCHA’s Summer Trips!

Thursday 20th August 2009

This year CCHA are organising a Summer Trip to Folly Farm, Pembrokeshire. A fun day out for all the family, whatever the weather with six fun-filled zones there's something for everyone.

With the Jolly Farm, the Funfair, Outdoor Play, Carousel Woods, Follywood Country Park and the Zoo, a good fun day out at Folly Farm is guaranteed.

CCHA will be providing a coach to take you there and back, with competitions and games on route. Transport, games and prizes will be free but entry cost will be met by those attending.  

For group bookings this will be:

• £5.00 for adults
• £4 for Senior Citizens
• £4.00 for 3-15 year olds
• Under 2’s free

A £5.00 fully refundable deposit is required at the time of booking.

For further information about Folly Farm their website is: www.folly-farm.co.uk. 

For further details on the trip contact the Community Development Team:

Nicky Condon
Tel: 029 20468416
E-mail: nicky.condon@ccha.org.uk

Sue Anscombe
Tel: 029 20468417
E-mail: susan.anscombe@ccha.org.uk
 
or write or visit us at:

Community Development Department
CCHA
50 Meteor Street
Adamsdown
Cardiff
CF24 0HE

Directions to our offices can be found by clicking here.

NEXT UPDATE: AUGUST 2009