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Our new sector-wide campaign in Northern Ireland aims to promote social housing

Ben Collins outlines the aims and objectives of a new initiative to promote the social and economic benefits of social housing

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Ben Collins of @NIFHA outlines the aims and objectives of a new initiative to promote the social and economic benefits of social housing in Northern Ireland #ukhousing

Our new sector-wide campaign in Northern Ireland to promote social housing by Ben Collins of @NIFHA #ukhousing

Contribution to the economy, training, combating isolation and promoting community cohesion... A new campaign by @NIFHA aims to promote the benefits of social housing. Ben Collins explains more #ukhousing

The Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFA) is bringing together a range of stakeholders this month to develop a Benefits to Society campaign.

The organisations taking part represent stakeholders from across local and central government, housing associations and other interest groups in the housing sector.

The purpose of this initiative is to raise awareness and promote understanding of the social and economic value of social housing, as well as the contribution made by housing associations.

This will be done by creating shared resources of evidence and case studies showing what social housing means to tenants, their local communities and to the economy of Northern Ireland.

“The purpose is to raise awareness and promote understanding of the social and economic value of social housing”

These resources will be available for housing associations and other sector stakeholders to use when lobbying elected representatives, working with local councils on planning and community development, dealing with the media and in public awareness campaigns.

NIFHA’s campaign is inspired by the Benefit to Society campaign launched last year in England, modified to reflect the specific issues the sector faces here.

While the English campaign focused on overcoming stigma associated with social housing, the aim of the Northern Ireland campaign is to raise awareness of the added benefits of social housing, as delivered by housing associations.

These include everything from the health benefits to tenants associated with having a quality, secure home to the millions invested each year in services such as:

  • Training including job skills, enterprise initiatives, household budgeting, healthy eating and digital skills
  • Programmes to combat isolation and promote community cohesion
  • Foodbanks and fuel buying schemes
  • Support for people with dementia, disabilities and other health issues
  • Community facilities such as play parks and community centres
  • Contribution to the overall economy in Northern Ireland, value for money and savings on acute services that would be needed if housing associations had to curtail some of their support services

In addition, Benefits to Society will compile and disseminate information about the diversity of people who live in social housing, what having a home means to them, how they feel about where they live and the ways in which they contribute to their local communities.

This campaign is in part prompted by recent research, including:

  • The NIFHA and Department for Communities report on the potential of mixed-tenure development, which identified issues in relation to perceptions about the value of social housing
  • The Charted Institute of Housing (CIH) Rethinking Social Housing report (UK-wide), which recommends that the sector emphasise the role of social housing as a ‘social good’, tells the positive story of its role and purpose, and challenges negative perceptions of social housing and the people who live there
  • CIH Rethinking Social Housing’s Northern Ireland report, which recommends that the sector engage with Northern Irish political parties to make the case for the value of social housing to society
  • Benefit to Society campaign findings which, although specific to England, indicate that there is a similarly positive story to be told

This Benefits to Society campaign is being launched at an opportune time.

Each of the local councils in Northern Ireland are currently working towards their new local development plans (LDPs).

These set out the frameworks for the next couple of decades about how they want their local communities to develop, including the provision of housing. We welcome this opportunity to engage on this and believe that now is the time to pursue a more cohesive mixed-tenure approach.

Tip O’Neill, former Speaker of the US Congress, once said “all politics is local” and there is nothing more local than the provision of housing. We want to work with councils to help manage the important balance of maintaining and growing communities in a sustainable manner.

New housing must not be developed in isolation and it is crucial that this is done within the wider context, bearing in mind the need for infrastructure investment and other facilities. We hope that this campaign will help ensure that housing associations and our tenants remain at the heart of that process.

Ben Collins, chief executive, Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations

NIFHA's Benefits to Society campaign

The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the added benefits of social housing in Northern Ireland, as delivered by housing associations.

Partners in the campaign include

  • Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Assocations
  • Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland,
  • The Department for Communities,
  • The Northern Ireland Housing Executive
  • The Department for Infrastructure,
  • The Northern Ireland Local Government Association,
  • Belfast City Council,
  • Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council
  • The Rural Community Network and the following housing associations: Abbeyfield & Wesley, Alpha, Apex, Ark, Choice, Clanmil, Connswater, Co-Ownership, Radius, Newington and NB Housing.

 

 

 

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