Pathways

‘Pathways’ is our in-house manual of tenant involvement. It provides a range of different involvement mechanisms to suit everybody who wants to get involved with the Trust. This is based on a traffic light system of red, amber and green which represent the following levels of involvement:

Red
You want to create the answer – this will involve a longer time commitment from you, perhaps a couple of hours a month over a 6 month period.

Amber
You want to help create the answer – this may need a couple of hours of your time but will involve no long term commitment.

Green
You want some answers or have some opinions – easy to get involved in and will only take a couple of minutes of your time.

What areas can I get involved in?

You are welcome to get involved in any of Trafford Housing Trust’s activities no matter what level. We have described these areas as ‘destinations’. Essentially these are particular goals you will be trying to achieve by being involved with Trafford Housing Trust. Destinations include:

• Improving the area where I live
• Creating safe and secure communities
• Creating quality homes
• Ensure access for everybody
• Youth as part of the community
• Good quality of life for elderly people
• Living in a healthy neighbourhood
• Maximising jobs, training and personal finance
• The future for Trafford Housing Trust
  
  

Within each of the above ‘destinations’ there is a range of involvement opportunities at different levels. For example, within ‘Ensuring Access for Everybody’ we have the following involvement opportunities:

• Speak to a member of staff
• Deaf Service User Group
• BME focus group
• Mystery shopping
• ‘Pulse’ editing panel
  
  

For a full explanation of all our involvement options, please download a copy of Pathways by clicking below.

How can I help?

Below is a selection of some of our most popular involvement mechanisms.

Take a photo of the issue
We have disposable cameras we can send you. This will enable you to take a picture, send us the camera and we will investigate the problem. A quick and easy method of involvement with no long letters or phone calls.

Coffee morning in the sheltered schemes
Talk to the Scheme Manager and raise questions about the scheme in a friendly environment. You could also invite another member of staff down to answer your questions face to face.

Trafford Trust 500
This is a method of gaining your views on our services which allows you to suggest new ways of working. A group of 500 tenants agree to be consulted by use of a postal survey at regular intervals. They are also invited to focus groups on a one off basis.

Estate Walkabouts
You can go on a walkabout with your Housing Officer and other service providers to point out problems in your area. There is no better way to raise a concern than first hand and this will give you the chance to meet other residents.

Committees and Board
The Board has 15 people sitting on it of whom five are independents, five are council appointees and five resident appointees. The Board is involved in providing the strategic direction for Trafford Housing Trust, in ensuring that it meets the need of its stakeholders and in being accountable for overall performance. This is the highest level of decision making and involves a high level of commitment. Every September a specific number of resident appointees stand down at the Annual General Meeting and it is at this meeting where new resident appointees can stand for election.

There are five Committees of the Board:

Neighbourhoods Committee – this covers the Trust’s services to customers and social inclusion activities along with the development of neighbourhoods.
Investment and Regeneration Committee – This covers the development of the Trust’s asset management strategy, including the improvement programme implementation.
Human Resources and Governance – This covers all aspects that relate to the employees of Trafford Housing Trust and management of the Board itself.
Finance – This covers all financial isses that affect Trafford Housing Trust.
Audit – This checks that all areas of Trafford Housing Trust are working efficiently and effectively.

Pulse
Pulse is a quarterly magazine which is sent out to our 10,000 tenants and leaseholders, keeping them informed of news and events for their local neighbourhood and community. We are looking for enthusiastic people to join our editorial panel to help write and design the articles and publish the Pulse magazine.

If you can spare 16 hours over a three month period for each edition, then please get in touch – you’ll meet people with a similar interest, be part of an editorial team and learn how to write, edit and produce a magazine. We will pay out of pocket expenses such as travel.

For further information about any of the above involvement mechanisms please download the Pathways document or contact any of the Tenant Involvement Officers.