This crisis is a huge test, but we must remain professional

Comment02.04.20by Gavin Smart

The coronavirus pandemic means the housing sector, like many others, is facing an unprecedented challenge. But it is vital that housing keeps delivering services in a professional manner, says Gavin Smart

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The #coronavirus pandemic means the housing sector, like many others, is facing an unprecedented challenge. But it is vital that housing keeps delivering services in a professional manner, says @GavinSmartCIH #ukhousing

“Those of us who work in housing have a huge role to play delivering vital services, but also supporting the physical and mental well-being of those we serve,” says @GavinSmartCIH #ukhousing

“Our job as the voice of housing is to make sure that governments don’t take their eyes off those challenges in the short-term need to fight the outbreak,” says @GavinSmartCIH #ukhousing

Never before have the people and communities we serve needed housing professionals more.

What we provide – a safe, secure place to live, and now, for many of us, to work – is at the heart of a happy and healthy life. Now more than ever, home really is where we start from.

This disease and the restrictions on work and everyday life that come with it are affecting all of us, but they’re hitting the most vulnerable harder than most.

We know how years of failing to invest in adequate social housing and benefit cuts have left too many people struggling to make ends meet – and the damage the outbreak is doing to our economy will likely only make things worse.

In such a situation, those of us who work in housing have a huge role to play delivering vital services but also supporting the physical and mental well-being of those we serve. They’re relying on us, and we must not fail them.

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That’s why it’s more important than ever for us to be, and to demonstrate that we are, true professionals. Our communities need to see us alongside the other trusted professionals they rely on to keep them safe, and they need to trust us to keep them safe in their homes.

Right from the start of the outbreak, we at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) recognised that our members and the whole sector were going to need more support from their professional body.

I’m pleased to say we’ve stepped up, posting factsheets and good practice guides, moving more of our training online and setting up webinars, video calls and Twitter chats to make sure you’re bang up-to-date – and wherever possible, ahead of the game.

“Those of us who work in housing have a huge role to play in delivering vital services, but also in supporting the physical and mental well-being of those we serve”

And like you, we recognise that we can’t do everything ourselves.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with the Institute of Leadership & Management to deliver daily webinars on a vast range of issues. We’re also working with organisations from across the housing sector to bring clarity to issues such as compliance that are affecting housing professionals, the organisations they work for and the communities they serve.

That’s why we’re continuing our work with Mind, the mental health charity, to promote our Shine a Light campaign to encourage mental well-being and with Women’s Aid to remind the sector of the pledges they made as part of our Make a Stand campaign against domestic abuse.

We’re also continuing our work to keep housing at the heart of government agendas across the UK.

We all know the challenges facing housing before this outbreak began.

As this year’s UK Housing Review amply demonstrates, we’ve seen seismic shifts in funding levels for housebuilding and affordability over recent years. And when we come out of this current crisis – as we will – those challenges will remain.

“Our job as the voice of housing is to make sure that governments don’t take their eyes off those challenges in the short-term need to fight the outbreak”

And we know many of the solutions. As a member of the Affordable Housing Commission, I was delighted our report was published last week. It’ll be a major contribution to the debate around the future of housing, along with the New Approaches to Housing Management report that CIH published recently and many others.

Our job as the voice of housing is to make sure that governments doesn’t take its eyes off those challenges in the short-term need to fight the outbreak.

Because all the signs are that it’s going to make them worse, and that once again it’ll be the most vulnerable in our society that bear the brunt.

So, working with our friends in trade and other representative organisations across the UK, as well as partners such as Shelter and Crisis, we’re going to be keeping up our calls for more social homes to be built; for better standards for new and existing homes; for welfare reform that delivers fairly for those in need; and for housing professionals to be recognised for the work they do alongside medical colleagues and other trusted professionals.

These are trying times. We face huge problems. But if we maintain our professionalism, keep ahead of this disease and keep making the case for housing, I know we’ll not just come through intact, but strengthened and with the renewed trust of the people and communities we serve.

Gavin Smart, chief executive, CIH