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Your right to be involved

You have the right to be involved in how we run Westlea, from helping us to develop policies and strategies to deciding how we should provide services to improve your neighbourhoods and quality of life. To show our commitment to making these improvements, we have fully signed up to the National Housing Federation’s “iN Business for Neighbourhoods” initiative.

What does this mean for me?

Our involvement guidelines give you the power to:

• Give your neighbourhood its own voice;
• Create a community spirit in your area;
• Tackle local issues and problems;
• Make sure we give everyone in the area the same opportunities and treat them fairly; and
• Find out how our housing services work and help us run them better.

How can I get involved, and how does this work?

You can get involved at a level that suits you. There are lots of opportunities, with something to suit even the busiest person.

What support and training is available to help me get involved?

Our Neighbourhood Involvement team and neighbourhood housing officers will give you the help you need to get involved, from getting started to sorting out any problems along the way. We have a support package to make sure that being involved does not cost you anything.

We will pay for:

• Your travel costs (at 40p per mile);
• Your care costs, for example if you need someone to look after a disabled relative so that you can come to meetings (paid at same level as Social Services);
• Childcare costs (we must agree this in advance); and
• The cost of hiring rooms (we must agree to this in advance, and you must check that people with disabilities can access the room).

You can also use our:

• Meeting rooms (these rooms have a hearing loop for people who use hearing aids);
• Photocopiers;
• Equipment such as a PA system and flipcharts; and
• Community Improvement Fund (money for special projects in the community).

We will give you:

• A start-up pack of tea, coffee, squash and biscuits; plus pens, paper, stamps and envelopes;
• Support, information and advice; including attending meetings and giving presentations if you want us to;
• Help to produce posters and flyers; and
• Information in different languages, large print, or on audio tape if you need it.

There is no charge for any of this.

If you want to be involved, you can get free training in many things from setting up a group and applying for funds to how to write a newsletter and get on the internet! The sessions are always fun and relaxed, and give you the chance to gain new skills and experience.

How can getting involved help make my neighbourhood a better place to live?

A key part of our business is improving neighbourhoods. We help tenant and resident groups apply for money from our Community Improvement Fund to make their neighbourhoods better.

Checking our performance

How will we know if these guidelines are working, and how will you keep them up to date?

This is a “living” document – this means it will keep on changing and growing over time. We will ask you to help us review it and tell us what will make it better.

This document will change and grow over time to stay up to date and take account of:

• How your involvement has changed;
• Our policies and procedures;
• How we make decisions;
• How we offer services (looking at reports that have gone to the Westlea Management Board asking to change things);
• How we set priorities and allocate resources (money, staff time etc);
• How training has made a difference;
• How we can involve more people, in more ways, in more areas of the business; and
• How Westlea can spend less or offer better services by working with partners or asking other organisations to provide services for us.

We will produce an impact statement every year that shows how your involvement has made a difference to the decisions we have made and how well we have performed. Please ask us for a copy.