Sovereign Twynham Press Release
Date: 30 January 2012
Young Enterprise boosts deprived communities
A project to help young people gain and develop a range of skills to prepare them for future employment is underway in Bournemouth and Christchurch.
The project, ‘One Community: Prevention, Intervention and Direction’, involves three schools from Boscombe and Somerford, two areas that are among the 20 per cent most deprived areas in the country.
More than 550 young people, aged between 13 and 17, will attend three workshops, where they will learn about business and learn about the skills required to improve their employability and succeed as an entrepreneur.
The initiative is led by the business and enterprise education charity Young Enterprise and funded by the multinational banking corporation JP Morgan, which has offices in Bournemouth. Staff from Sovereign Twynham are volunteering to help run the sessions, which begin on 1 March.
“The young enterprise One Community project is a collaboration between local organisations, united to raise young peoples aspirations and prepare them for further education, employment and life,” Hannah Cook of Young Enterprise, who has organised the project explains. “We are grateful to Sovereign Twynham for pledging their support and time to help deliver aspects of the project."
The project includes youth centres, community-based organisations and secondary schools, including The Grange in Somerford, and Avonbourne Girls School and Portchester Boys School, both near Boscombe. Sovereign has several properties near these schools.
Other organisations involved in the project include BCHA, Next Generation, Bournemouth and Poole College, Brockenhurst College, AFC Bournemouth and Dorset Fire and Rescue.
“With such a range of organisations involved, we believe this project will be very successful,” Ann Brown, Senior Resident Involvement Officer at Sovereign said. “We were involved in something similar last year at the Grange school last year, but on a smaller scale, so when we got approached by Young Enterprise directly we decided to get involved again.”
Notes to Editors
* Sovereign Housing Association is a charitable body. It comprises Sovereign South+West, Sovereign Twynham, Sovereign Kingfisher and Sovereign Vale, which were merged into a single legal entity in October 2011. Sovereign Housing Association includes the non-charitable Sovereign Living Limited. Sovereign is one of the largest providers of affordable housing in the south and south-west of England. It owns or manages more than 33,000 properties, offering a variety of tenures.
* If you would like more information, please contact Roy Probert, Public Relations Manager for Sovereign, on 01635 277406 or 07827 356479, or email roy.probert@sovereign.org.uk
Monday 30 January 2012
Thursday 19 January 2012
Social landlords support Bristol residents back into work
Sovereign South+West Press Release
Date: 19 January 2012
Social landlords support Bristol residents back into work
All social housing tenants in Bristol now have access to support to find work, thanks to a joint initiative from the housing associations that make up the Bristol Housing Partnership (BHP).
The social landlords have made a commitment – the BHP Bristol Offer to Assist Residents into Work - to provide all residents with clear information about the services available to them and the paths they need to take to find employment, as well as support throughout a person’s transition to work. The ‘Bristol Offer’ initiative came about through an offshoot of BHP’s subgroup ‘Into Work’, which focuses on worklessness.
Despite its thriving economy, Bristol still has areas affected by long-term unemployment, and a substantial proportion of the people affected live in social housing. Social housing providers estimate that 60 per cent of their tenants are out of work, representing around 75 per cent of unemployed people in Bristol.
Many unemployed people living in social housing face barriers to getting back into work, including a lack of relevant skills and experience, disabilities or caring responsibilities. All of these can lead to a loss of confidence.
“They need a lot of support to overcome these obstacles. While a network of support agencies exists, many people need support in finding out how to engage with them,” said Sarah Jones, Neighbourhoods Regeneration Manager at Places for People.
“For someone who has been out of work for a long time, the path back to employment can seem long and daunting. This is a concerted effort by Bristol’s social housing providers to tackle this problem and help people who have found it hard to engage with support agencies to access vital information and training with a view to finding sustainable and worthwhile employment.”
As part of this effort, earlier this year, with funding from Bristol City Council, the partnership appointed a dedicated full-time Employment and Learning Officer to support unemployed residents back into work and training.
“The landlords represented in the partnership have a big stake in Bristol, and are keen to play our part in tackling deprivation in the city,” said Gez Bentley, Employment and Training Links Coordinator with Sovereign South+West. “Housing providers are ideally placed to help identify those in need of support. We already have contact with them and enjoy a degree of trust.
“By joining forces, we can offer a consistent level of support to a much greater number of residents, and this will result in efficiencies. Ultimately we hope that this will result in fewer social housing residents being on benefits, which will result in a reduction in rent arrears and property maintenance costs,” he added.
Notes to editors:
* The members of the Bristol Housing Partnership are: Bristol City Council (BCC), Places for People, Sovereign South+West, Bristol Community Housing Foundation, Knightstone Housing Association, 16-25 Independent Living, Solon South West Housing Association, Redland Housing Association and Second Step.
* If you would like more information, please contact Roy Probert, Public Relations Manager for Sovereign, on 01635 277406 or 07827 356479, or email roy.probert@sovereign.org.uk
Date: 19 January 2012
Social landlords support Bristol residents back into work
All social housing tenants in Bristol now have access to support to find work, thanks to a joint initiative from the housing associations that make up the Bristol Housing Partnership (BHP).
The social landlords have made a commitment – the BHP Bristol Offer to Assist Residents into Work - to provide all residents with clear information about the services available to them and the paths they need to take to find employment, as well as support throughout a person’s transition to work. The ‘Bristol Offer’ initiative came about through an offshoot of BHP’s subgroup ‘Into Work’, which focuses on worklessness.
Despite its thriving economy, Bristol still has areas affected by long-term unemployment, and a substantial proportion of the people affected live in social housing. Social housing providers estimate that 60 per cent of their tenants are out of work, representing around 75 per cent of unemployed people in Bristol.
Many unemployed people living in social housing face barriers to getting back into work, including a lack of relevant skills and experience, disabilities or caring responsibilities. All of these can lead to a loss of confidence.
“They need a lot of support to overcome these obstacles. While a network of support agencies exists, many people need support in finding out how to engage with them,” said Sarah Jones, Neighbourhoods Regeneration Manager at Places for People.
“For someone who has been out of work for a long time, the path back to employment can seem long and daunting. This is a concerted effort by Bristol’s social housing providers to tackle this problem and help people who have found it hard to engage with support agencies to access vital information and training with a view to finding sustainable and worthwhile employment.”
As part of this effort, earlier this year, with funding from Bristol City Council, the partnership appointed a dedicated full-time Employment and Learning Officer to support unemployed residents back into work and training.
“The landlords represented in the partnership have a big stake in Bristol, and are keen to play our part in tackling deprivation in the city,” said Gez Bentley, Employment and Training Links Coordinator with Sovereign South+West. “Housing providers are ideally placed to help identify those in need of support. We already have contact with them and enjoy a degree of trust.
“By joining forces, we can offer a consistent level of support to a much greater number of residents, and this will result in efficiencies. Ultimately we hope that this will result in fewer social housing residents being on benefits, which will result in a reduction in rent arrears and property maintenance costs,” he added.
Notes to editors:
* The members of the Bristol Housing Partnership are: Bristol City Council (BCC), Places for People, Sovereign South+West, Bristol Community Housing Foundation, Knightstone Housing Association, 16-25 Independent Living, Solon South West Housing Association, Redland Housing Association and Second Step.
* If you would like more information, please contact Roy Probert, Public Relations Manager for Sovereign, on 01635 277406 or 07827 356479, or email roy.probert@sovereign.org.uk
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