Contenders for the anti-racism oscars

Delivering public services can be a lonely business with few immediate rewards: feedback from service users only when things go wrong; no news, good news. So how do you know when you’re doing things well? Race Action Net’s annual awards celebrate what works in meeting the needs of society’s most vulnerable people, giving practitioners the recognition they deserve for excellence in tackling racial harassment.

Fifty-three projects and action examples have been entered for the awards – representing about one in 10 Race Action members. Entries have been received from across the UK and different sectors – from Dyfed-Powys Probation Service in Wales, to Grampian Race Equality Council in Scotland. Many entries came from housing associations.

Seeing is believing

Combating negative perceptions of black and minority-ethnic communities was the theme of Octavia Housing and Care’s entry. They developed a project in partnership with Photoworks Westminster to counter and challenge the misconceptions held by some people about the Muslim community and Islam. Photographs of Muslim tenants from Octavia taken at home and at work were presented in a notebook, which also contains fact sheets about Islam. Two thousand copies were produced and distributed to tenants, schools and libraries.

Meeting the needs of asylum seekers and refugees is also a strong theme. For social landlords in Scotland, the housing information and advice arm of Communities Scotland HomePoint, has produced a good practice checklist of information that local authorities could include when developing a welcome pack for refugees. The aim is to ensure refugees in Scotland get access to vital information on housing, welfare benefits, education, work, healthcare, legal aid and how to deal with racial harassment. The checklist is available in a range of languages on the HomePoint website.

Accord Housing Association wanted to encourage people to report racial harassment by improving the response it gives to incidents as an organisation. One thing it did was to develop a qualitative questionnaire to issue to victims to gauge their satisfaction with how the landlord responded to their situation. Feedback helps improve reporting records that the officers use and is used for in-house training for front line staff.

Knightstone Housing Association and Solon South West Housing Association worked with caseworkers and consultancy Support Against Racist Incidents to develop training to tackle harassment and ensure best practice in both service delivery to BME users and to BME staff. This led to the development of a standardised training seminar programme for all registered social landlords in the South-west.

Staff are now better informed about harassment, race equality, diversity and relevant law. They are also more aware of the remedies and support mechanisms available.

Canklow Black and Asian Women’s Group has helped members lead more independant lives and built up their self-esteem

The Bradford Homehunter project was developed by Bradford Community Housing Trust in response to the Chartered Institute of Housing report Breaking Down the Barriers (2002), which identified under representation of BME groups in social housing tenancies and the need for support services for vulnerable BME people. The trust now visits BME tenants to identify their needs and to tell them about the Homehunter service. Clients are helped to use the local choice-based lettings scheme and access social housing, as well as given emotional support. They get practical advice and support on benefits, budgeting, harassment, repairs, tenancy agreements.

Getting focused

After identifying a lack of information on the housing needs of BME communities in Newcastle, the Guinness Trust recruited and trained local people to run focus groups on BME housing needs and aspirations. Thirty-one focus group sessions took place with 277 participants from a range of local BME communities. The findings will feed into future BME housing strategy for Newcastle.

The Canklow Black and Asian Women’s Group, formed in 2001 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, supports women by providing a central resource for advice, support, education, welfare and training. Sanctuary Housing Association has backed this group by providing discounted accommodation, grants and assistance with applying for external funding.

The group has organised English language classes, computer classes and fitness classes, which have helped members improve their communication skills outside the home and lead more independent lives through building up their self-esteem and confidence.

Award winners will be announced at Race Action Net’s annual conference on 21 October 2004. For more information on the event, go to www.raceactionnet.co.uk or call 020 8348 8263.