COPY: Stories matter

Now more than ever, housing organisations must tell their residents’ stories.

It’s safe to say housing is back on the agenda. In fact it couldn’t be a more important time. The government has committed to tackling our housing crisis and announced its plans in last week’s Autumn Statement.

But if we really want to convince policymakers to back housing, if we seriously want this government to back the work we believe in so passionately, then we have to be better at shouting about its real value.

“Showing the difference the work of housing organisations can make must be a fundamental part of making our case to the people who matter.”

This year the Chartered Institute of Housing celebrates its 100^th anniversary and there can be no doubt that housing organisations have done incredible work in the past century. They have created homes and communities from which people can flourish, and quite literally built a better future for millions of people. What could possibly be more important in achieving Theresa May’s pledge to make a “country that works for everyone”?

Yet so often we see talking about our work as a luxury we cannot afford; something which is secondary to our day-to-day business. But the reality is that showcasing what we achieve is every bit as important.

There’s nothing like working in local journalism to expose you to some of life’s harsh realities, but I can say without a hint of dishonesty that nothing has moved me more in my career than visiting residents and seeing how their lives have been utterly transformed by the work that housing organisations do.

A couple of those visits will always stick in my mind. During one, I spoke to an older couple to see what impact moving into an extra care scheme had made on their lives. I’ll never forget the look on the face of a charming old fellow called Norman as he glanced over at his wife of 60 years with a glint in his eye and then said to me: “It is the best thing that has ever happened to us.”

There was a man who had worked as a maxillofacial consultant for decades. Someone who had contributed a huge amount to society but, after reaching his 80s, he and his wife needed a little extra support to live an independent life. He was someone who needed the right home to live the life he and his wife deserved, and a housing organisation had been able to give them that.

On a separate visit I met a mild-mannered chap called Simon who had battled drug addiction, homelessness and suicidal tendencies to get a job and a home, and thrive, thanks to the support of a housing provider in Northamptonshire. “I didn’t have a life before; now I have one,” he told me.

Norman and Simon are just two examples of the kinds of people housing can help. But they stand out to me as people who really epitomise why housing organisations exist and why they are so important. Everybody, regardless of their circumstances, should be able to access a decent home; a place from which they can have the best chance to lead a fulfilling life. That is the foundation of a fair society.

Showing the difference the work of housing organisations can make to the lives of individuals, couples and families everywhere must be a fundamental part of making our case to the people who matter.

So we must talk to our residents and find ways to tell their stories.

We owe it to ourselves, but more importantly we owe it to the many millions of people we help and the many more we could help with the right support.

Steve Hayes, communications manager, Chartered Institute of Housing