Family Housing Staff and Tenant Duo Win TPAS Award

Family Housing is committed to involving tenants to have their say and be involved in shaping the services they receive. We wanted to ensure tenants were involved in the recruitment process as their views and insights are so important when considering who to employ in the role of a support worker. Tenants provide valuable insight into gauging a person’s suitability for the role. They often pick up on whether someone is empathetic and is genuine in nature, traits that are important in this type of work and really matter to tenants.

Tenants referred to Robense House would be unable to function well within a community setting without a very high level of support in many areas of their lives. Emma is one of our current tenants, has lived here for nearly 3 years and has settled in really well.

Emma was approached by staff asking if she would like to take part in the recruitment process. To make this work for Emma and others our training department delivered the training in a way that was easier for Emma to access and feel comfortable with, and in turn, it built up her confidence and resilience. This was a great credit to Emma as she had to overcome many difficulties that others may not face to achieve her goal.

Emma has subsequently sat on a number of interview panels when we are recruiting for any of the schemes within supported housing and not just the one she lives in. Emma brings many skills to the role and she is seen as a positive addition to the interviewing panel members.

Experienced staff members have gained more insight into what a tenant wants from support staff. Whenever there are interviews, we always ask if Emma is available because her contribution is invaluable.

We are so proud that Emma and her support worker Laura’s effort have been recognised by the TPAS Awards. They came second in the Participation in Supported Housing category and it is fantastic for Emma to know that her work is beneficial to the progress and shaping of Family Housing.

You can see the full list of winners here.