It expressed what a few of us here think.
We find it so disheartening when we put much time and effort into arranging an event only to have it poorly attended, but now we are encouraged that we are not alone in our efforts. If only those at the top of the tree could take it on board.
Hazel Egan, housing officer (administration)
Suffolk Housing Society, writing in a personal capacity
Please tell me that Tony Soares' opinion piece was a hoax. It is no surprise that a housing officer should feel this way, but it is a shock that he expresses his opinion in such a disrespectful and inflammatory manner.
His assertion that tenants who get involved in cooperatives or tenant-controlled associations "are likely to be more interested in their own pockets than housing for other people" is a disgusting slur against thousands who give huge amounts of time voluntarily for the benefit of their communities.
Trevor Bell, coordinator, National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations
Tenants know to avoid a cafe in which the owner never eats; they also know to avoid those who pretend to provide a service without bothering to ascertain its effectiveness.
Being "pro-tenant" from behind a desk is a form of disrespect that engenders the very apathy Soares finds so reprehensible.
It's not for me to say what value I, as a tenant, might be to my housing association but I certainly know the effect I've had for some of the users of the services.
Teamwork and partnership are the real factors with which to achieve success and excellence of service. A more positive approach would help to create the climate needed for meaningful involvement.
Andrew Clark, resident member, Northern Counties Housing Association, Wakefield
Soares' interpretation of tenant participation is too narrow. He seems to think it's all about meetings. Tenants want a real say but don't necessarily want to spend hour after hour locked in turgid meetings.
They do, though, want to be asked for their opinion on services and improvements. Giving tenants a choice of what bathroom suite or kitchen units they'd like is one element of this.
Participation is also not necessarily about tenants delivering their own services. This is what they pay the officers to do.
If organisations are implementing tenant participation to "look good in annual reports or to regulators", their motives should be questioned, not the principle of participation.
Ashraf Ahmed, tenant participation manager, Chartered Institute of Housing
Tenant participation is the fundamental building block for all neighbourhood regeneration and social cohesion work.
To create sustainable futures for tenants, we must do more than simply improve the condition of stock or control rent levels. Giving tenants a meaningful say in shaping our work and deciding how money is spent is the key to the success of any such programme. Instead of dismissing consultation and empowerment, we should be more ready to listen – to learn the tough but valuable lessons about the depth of conventional governance, and how the fragile regeneration process can be undermined by failures in service delivery.
David Seviour, group chief executive, Leicester Housing Association
If Soares has never been asked "why we organised meetings for which there was no demand", he has been paying the wrong consultants. For many years I have run training on tenant involvement which includes the question "is your meeting really necessary?".
But I am encouraged that Soares endorses the idea that tenants should always have the right to board membership and to take control over their associations if that is what they wish. Agencies like mine are inundated with work from tenants who want to take responsibility for their neighbourhood services. Soares is quite right to imply that such power can only go to people who are willing to accept the responsibility and accountability that goes with it, and the issues this raises would be explored in a competent training programme.
He is also right to say that participation must provide good value for the costs, which includes the time that tenants asked to put in.
The Association for Tenant Involvement and Control is aware that isolated examples of poor quality and ill-informed "participation" can be used to discredit a whole movement.
Its policy conference on 6 September, Backlash or Breakthrough – what's next for tenant empowerment? will consider this very problem. For details, go to www.atic.org.uk.
Paul Lusk, director, Partners in Change
I have worked in tenant involvement for six years and have never heard anything but praise and relief from customers that they have a say in the services we provide. At Wear Valley, customers are willing and happy to be involved in shaping our policies, setting budgets and having a valid say in the future of their homes and housing service.
Community involvement works well if the culture of the organisation embraces consultation with customers. It is a waste of time if staff are just paying lip service.
Louise Butler, community involvement officer, Wear Valley District Council
Source
Housing Today
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