Category: Tenant Involvement

By The Tenant Involvement Team

Bridgette has been helping a gentleman for the past couple of months, who was concerned about the online safety of his personal information and bogus job offers on websites. This gentleman had been made redundant and was extremely competent in his field but lacked experience in using online tools to search for employment. 

Bridgette has been instrumental in building this gentleman’s confidence, helping him recognise whether a website is safe and check the privacy policies of sites such as Indeed, so that he feels confident his data and privacy are protected when applying for jobs. 

Bridgette was delighted to learn that this gentleman had secured a job interview and is now far more confident and knowledgeable about how his data is used when entered online.  

By the Tenant Involvement Team

Swinton Community Focus Group is a well-established group whose aims are to make Swinton a safer, connected, cleaner and healthier place to live. The group organises social events, litter picks and holds regular meetings. They also engage with the residents to tackle issues and find out what residents want in the area where they live.

This month, the group hosted a fantastic Winter Warmer event at the Civic Hall in partnership with the Honeypot Café. This was a free event where 55 residents from Swinton and Kilnhurst enjoyed pie and peas followed by trifle and refreshments. The event was a huge success and included two games of bingo, a quiz about the Swinton area and a raffle. There was also entertainment provided by Sarah Bush and Chantelle. Everyone had a fantastic afternoon and are already looking forward to the next one! The group applied for funding to make this a free event and open to all residents in the area.

The group also holds at least two litter picks a month covering all areas of Switon. This month’s litter picks were as productive as always and on the last one in January they collected 16 bags of rubbish, along with a mattress, number plate, clothes and a children’s slide. They will be having their first skip of the year on Tuesday 4 February at St John’s, we will attend this and support the group.

The group are also looking at and planning events for the upcoming summer months.

By the tenant Involvement Team

A group of young people from Rockingham Primary came and performed music from the Young Voices concert alongside 2 solos. One of the girls performed a track from the Big Hero 6 soundtrack while the other was Katy Perrys hit Roar. The young voices concert will take place at the arena with over 5000 other young people performing to a crowd filled with friends and family.

The residents of Dawsons Croft provided Wagon wheels, drinks, and a bookmark, alongside selection boxes that were donated by the Tenant Involvement team from Rotherfed.

Here’s what the young people had to say.

“Fantastic”

“Really Good”

“Delicious”

“Great”

“Spectacular”

11 of the residents came down to enjoy the entertainment along with one of the local elected members. A proper start to the Christmas celebrations for some of the residents of Greasborough.

“Enjoyed it. Takes a lot for them to get up and sing like that.”

“Absolutely fantastic”

“Loved it”

“Lovely afternoon”

By the tenant Involvement Team

Following on from the success of the summer event we delivered in August and after speaking to residents at a recent RMBC skip day, we thought it would be nice to hold the first ever Christmas Grotto on the estate for the residents to enjoy.

RMBC Councillors very kindly agreed to help fund this event and using some of our budget, we put the rest towards the grotto and purchased selection boxes, so every child visiting Santa would receive one free. 

Prior to the event we produced and delivered over 300 leaflets around the estate. We also met with the new TARA on the estate who said they would like to be involved and have a stall at the event to raise funds for their new group, the group now have a constitution, they are just awaiting their bank account being opened. The event took place on Tuesday 10 December from 4pm until 6pm and whilst it was extremely cold, the weather thankfully stayed dry.  DB Entertainment brought the inflatable grotto, and the TARA organised for Santa to attend the event.  Know Your Neighbour came along and promoted their services, and they took the opportunity to speak to the local residents about the area.  The TARA held a tombola and a refreshments stall.

It was a great event with a good turnout.  We had approximately 150 people attend the event, 95% of residents attending were council tenants.  The TARA were really happy with the interest in their stalls and managed to raise over £300 which will go towards future activities for the residents.  The TARA have lots of ideas for the estate moving forward, which is fantastic.  We will support them with these and also help them to look at and apply for funding.

Feedback from the residents about the event was really positive. 

“Thank you so much for organising and funding this, it has been a lovey treat for the children to enjoy”.

“This is just what the estate needs, more activities for residents to get involved in”.

By the tenant Involvement Team

On December 19th, the Peregrine Way TARA group held their annual Christmas dinner, bringing together 29 members to celebrate the end of a successful year.

Over the last few years this event has grown in popularity really bringing the community together to decorate the Neighbourhood centre ready for the event, and even spilling out into the garden area as the group now have a potted Christmas tree to decorate outside

The festive gathering featured a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, followed by mince pies and Christmas pudding with custard. Staff from the Dinnington Resource Centre graciously provided and served the delicious meal.

To enhance the holiday spirit, the group enjoyed a round of bingo, a prize draw, and a lively game of “Play Your Cards Right.”

This annual Christmas dinner serves as a joyful conclusion to the year for the members of the Peregrin Way Tara group.

By Rachel Cole and Rob Gooding, The Tenant Involvement Team

This is a lovely active group who see the Centre as an extension of their homes and say they would be lost without it; this is apparent in the Centre too as it has a lot of homemade furnishings around making it feel homely. As a lot of the residents live alone the Centre gives them the opportunity to get together and have a chat, without having to go far. On a weekly basis they hold coffee mornings, craft sessions, film afternoons, games and bingo. They also meet at the Centre for lunch on Sundays, they have this delivered in.  As well as activities in the Centre they have trips out as a group when they can. 

A recent addition to the Centre is a poppy display which the craft group have done at their sessions. The main part of the display is lots of knitted poppies which they have made and then framed, they are really proud of this, and it does looks lovely.

This year the group held a Christmas Fair at the Centre, and this took place on Friday 29 November.  Rachel produced a leaflet for them and delivered this around the bungalows, it was also included in the RMBC ebulletin.  During the past year, the craft group have been making lots of items including candles, candle holders, keyrings, Christmas tree decorations etc which they then sold at the fair to raise money for their group. As well as these they did a tombola, which was very popular. RMBC Councillors have also agreed to purchase the group some craft equipment.

The group will be enjoying a trip to Rotherham Civic for the pantomime in January. 

By Debra Gill, Tenant Involvement Innovation Officer

Bridgette held her very first digital drop-in session on Tuesday 29th October, and had an immediate response from library users. During October she assisted a gentleman who confided that he was going to be made redundant and needed help to navigate the online process of applying for jobs. He has returned to sessions weekly, and Bridgette has gone through how to upload his C.V from his mobile phone and assisted him using the library desktop computers to look at job websites.

Bridgette also answered a request to help the Buddies community group set up a new mobile phone and to create a WhatsApp group so they could all connect online. At the first session 5 of the group attended, and Bridgette helped them set up the group and spoke to them about keeping the group safe and only adding trusted contacts. The following week 7 members attended, and Bridgette helped them all connect, and built a great rapport with all group members.

Buddies have invited Bridgette to attend their weekly Monday meetings, and she joined them for coffee and a catch up whenever she can.

By Rachel Cole and Rob Gooding, Tenant Involvement Team

Two community skips were held on the White Bear Estate on Tuesday 22 October, 9am until 3pm or until full.  RMBC Officers invited Rotherfed staff along to support this.  

The initiative, aimed at helping residents dispose of unwanted items and declutter their homes, it saw enthusiastic participation from the local community filling two skips with a vast assortment of rubbish, all before 12pm. The Mears caretakers also assisted by collecting waste from residents’ gardens and picking up bulky items which they couldn’t get to the skip themselves. 

Community skip days are always a much-needed service, enabling households to get rid of bulky waste that is typically hard to manage, and it supports residents that have no way to take rubbish to the tip. The overall aim of this is an attempt to help reduce fly tipping in the area and make the estate cleaner and safer for residents.   

As well as the skips, staff litter picked around the area.  It was a great clean-up day for the estate. 

Whilst on the estate, as well as helping with the clean-up, Rotherfed staff were able to chat to local residents, who they had previously contacted at the summer event, about forming a group/tara for the estate. This estate would really benefit from a resident’s group as this would enable them to apply for funding and put more activities, day trips etc on for the residents. We have now arranged a meeting with 3 residents for next month to hopefully move this group forward and support them to become constituted with a bank account, which will open up so many opportunities for them.  

The possibility of having a free Christmas grotto on the estate next month is also being looked into.  

By Dan Barron and Sam Dixon, Heart of the Community Team

One of the group’s core activities involves hosting weekly community events. The group offers three weekly exercise sessions, all the sessions are inclusive and open to all including families. These gatherings serve as platforms for open dialogue, information sharing, and relationship building. By providing a space for residents to connect the Talk and Train Group has played a positive role in strengthening community bonds and fostering a sense of belonging.

The group has actively participated in significant industry events, such as the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) conference. This engagement has allowed the Talk and Train Group to network with other organisations.

The group have been recognised for the importance of physical and mental health community group. The sessions provide opportunities for individuals of all ages and fitness levels to participate in enjoyable and beneficial physical activities. By promoting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging regular exercise, the Talk and Train Group is contributing to the overall well-being of the community.

Building on their successes, the Talk and Train Group is actively pursuing funding opportunities to expand their programs and services. By securing additional resources, the group aims to increase their reach, enhance their offerings, and make a greater impact on the community. The group’s commitment to continuous improvement and its vision for a thriving community are evident in its ongoing efforts to secure funding and expand its initiatives.

Talk and Train have been working with the Sanctuary Gardens community hub over the last 6 months and have now merged into one group. The volunteers at Sanctuary gardens will still run their activity as normal, whilst talk and train will be the over-arching umbrella that will support the financial side of all of the activity.

The Talk and Train Group has established itself as an asset to the community, providing essential services, fostering engagement, and promoting health and well-being. Through their community events, advocacy efforts, and exercise programs, the group has made a positive difference in the lives of residents. As they continue to grow and expand their initiatives, the Talk and Train Group is poised to play an even more significant role in shaping the future of the community.

By Debra Gill, Tenant Involvement Innovation Officer

Ann had previously had support from volunteers in her digital journey but felt that she needed more confidence to be able to put into practice what she had previously learned. Ann was paired with David, who has worked wonders for Ann’s confidence and skills.

Together they have worked on the areas where Ann felt she needed more confidence, and they have gone above and beyond what they first envisaged. Initially Ann wanted to feel more relaxed with emails and with her ultimate goal of joining online meetings, she is now doing this with confidence and even opting to fill in online forms herself, a task she would have never undertaken previously.

With Ann’s confidence level so improved, David has been working through the learn my way course with Ann and she is now feeling more confident with the things that she never expected to be learning. Ann says, ‘David has the patience of a saint’, and that nothing has been too much trouble for him.