It’s the time of year that kids can’t wait for – and that many parents dread! But the summer holidays needn’t be too taxing or dull, as there are lots of ways to keep children busy.

For example, if you live in the Aston area, Birmingham Settlement has a free Family Fitness Summer Camp suitable for parents and children aged 5–11. Sessions are 1pm–2pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 27 July to 22 August and there is no need to register. Call 0121 250 0777/0781 for details.

Go online for a feast of ideas. The Days Out With The Kids website has thousands of attractions listed, including ones that are free or have discounts.

Click here Days Out With The Kids

Check out your local paper too for ideas of what to do and see.

Click here Birmingham Mail

Click here Express & Star

Don’t forget your council website will also have details of what’s on nearby.

Remember that playing outside is great for children’s imaginations and health. Encourage them to play freely while also showing respect for other people. As adults, it is also important to allow children to play outdoors by being tolerant of reasonable noise and activity.

SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER!

UNDER ONE ROOFThe newsletter for customers of Nehemiah

July 2017

REPORTING TO YOULights, camera, action! Nehemiah staff and customers have been busy putting together our latest annual report.

You liked the video format we used last time so we have produced it again as a short film to explain our achievements and performance over the past year.

Look out for it on our website in September – and let us know what you think.

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BRIGHT NEW LOOK A lick of paint can make all the difference. But when it’s combined with new flooring, plasterwork, lighting and furniture – well, the effect is a complete transformation! This has happened at McCalla House, our retirement living scheme in Wolverhampton, where the communal areas have been completely redecorated and refurbished.

The £450,000 investment project has revitalised the hallways, corridors and communal lounge, as well as the laundry, hairdressers and computer room.

The fresh new look has been welcomed by residents. “It’s had a positive effect on us all,” says Mary Brannac. “It is so bright and welcoming. It now looks like a five star hotel!”

Our scheme manager Deloris Hart agrees. “Residents feel very proud of their new surroundings. It’s lovely to see them showing their visitors around and making more use of the areas to socialise. Word is getting around too, with an increase in enquiries about living here.”

A tea party was hosted by Seddons, our contractor for the project, to thank everyone for their co-operation during the works. An official opening will take place in the autumn.

MOVING AHEADWe’ve said a bittersweet farewell to our admin assistant Danielle Gumbley who has finished working with us as part of Talent Match to take the next step into a permanent job. Talent Match is a Lottery funded programme which supports young people to gain skills and confidence to move ahead – and Danielle has been impressive in doing just that. She is now working for a local manufacturing firm and has great career prospects.

“I learnt so much working at Nehemiah,” says Danielle. “It gave me the ability and courage to go for my new job and to embrace change – I’m so happy!”

You can read more about Danielle’s story in the last issue (May 2017) of this newsletter.

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RATE YOUR REPAIRA new telephone survey is asking for your feedback on how our new repairs contractor Novus is performing. We are using an independent market research company called Acuity to carry out an on-going satisfaction survey of a wide sample of recent repair jobs.

It means that within a month of a repair being done, you may get a phone call from Acuity asking you how easy it was to report the repair and how satisfied you are with quality of the work.

The survey will also ask about the way the repair was carried out, such as whether the operative arrived on time and whether they were respectful of you and your home. If you were dissatisfied overall, you will be asked about the reasons why.

“If you receive a survey call about your repair, please do take part,” says Michael Idowu, our property services manager. “It only takes a few minutes and provides key feedback to help us monitor the service and deal with any issues.”

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ON THE CASE A dedicated team of customers has spent the past few months investigating how we deal with anti-social behaviour (ASB) to support our communities.The scrutiny panel has presented its findings and recommendations to senior managers. In the autumn they will meet again to hear how their ideas for improvements are being put into practice.

In their investigation, they spoke to residents and staff and used a variety of methods to gather evidence including telephone surveys and visiting housing sites.

Overall, they found Nehemiah’s handling of ASB issues to be helpful and effective but have made some recommendations for improvements.

Key recommendations include making sure staff handle cases consistently, for example by using standard paperwork and only closing a case when all problems are resolved. Another suggestion is that customers are provided with clear information about what anti-social behaviour is – and is not.

TV BREAK FOR ALBERTNinety-year-old Albert Harris was firmly in the driving seat when he was filmed and interviewed recently for ITV’s Driving School programme about older drivers. Albert, who lives at McCalla House, has loved driving since he passed his test in the early 1970s. In retirement he has continued to enjoy the independence of getting around in his Nissan Micra.

His televised journey at the wheel is, however, one of his last ones. Albert says his driving days are now at a standstill due to the rising cost of insurance and running a car.

The programme is due to be shown on ITV later this summer.

UNIVERSAL CREDIT IN DUDLEY

To be ready for Universal Credit, you must:

• Be sure you can get online – as you have to make a claim and manage your account online

• Have an account with a bank, building society or credit union – as this is how payments are made to you

• Try to put money away to cover you – as when you first make a claim you will have to wait one calendar month before receiving a payment

• Budget carefully – if your rent was previously paid to us, you will now need to arrange to pay it yourself. The easiest way to do this is by Direct Debit.

Contact your local Job Centre Plus for advice, including support available to some claimants. You can also talk to your housing officer.

For more information about Universal Credit visit the Gov.uk website.

Click here Universal Credit

Our scrutiny reviews are organised jointly with similar housing associations to compare approaches and share ideas

On this review, Nehemiah customers Gladstone, Mary and Chantelle were joined by Sandra and Margaret from Harborne Parish Lands Charity, and Anne who is a customer of CHADD.

“The panel have done a really thorough ASB review, which has revealed some great insights and practical ways in which we can further improve,” says Rita Samuels, our customer engagement officer. “Look out for news on the resulting actions.”

Universal Credit has gone live in Dudley, as part of its roll out to ‘full service’ areas. If you are living there and make a new claim you will need to apply for Universal Credit rather than for the tax credits and benefits it replaces (including Housing Benefit).

You will also need to apply for Universal Credit if certain changes in your circumstances affect your existing claim.

Universal Credit is the single, monthly benefit to working age people who are out of work or on a low income.

The next areas to go live later this year include parts of Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Please let us know if you have any comments about this newsletter or any news to share in the next issue, which is out at the end of September 2017.

Rita Samuels – Customer Engagement Officer 0121 358 0966 1-3 Beacon Court, Birmingham Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, B43 6NN

Nehemiah UCHAClick here to send us an email

ALERT TO FIRE SAFETY Awareness of fire safety is rightly high on people’s minds at the moment.Your home’s smoke alarm will alert you to any fire so it is important to regularly test it. It is easy to do and usually involves just pressing and holding the button. Let us know if your smoke alarm does not work.

If you live in an apartment, you must keep communal areas, such as hallways, clear of rubbish and personal belongings at all times. Anything that restricts clear access poses a serious fire risk and we will remove it.

We have rigorous fire safety arrangements in place at our sheltered housing schemes, including weekly testing of the fire alarms. The instruction is to ‘stay put’ if you are in your flat when a fire breaks out, as this is still the safest way for the fire service to reach you and escort you out. Please talk to your scheme manager if you have any questions.

Many Nehemiah customers are already discovering how easy and convenient it is to manage their rent account online.

Registering is quick and easy. You will need to have an email address and your tenancy reference number, which is on your rent payment card under your name. Just go to the My Account page on our website and on the login form select ‘Register’. Complete the registration form and click ‘Register’. That’s it!

COULD YOU AFFORD IT?No one expects to have a fire, flood, burglary or other household emergency, such as having to replace the locks if your keys are lost or stolen, but these things can happen.Nehemiah does not cover the cost of your belongings, so we strongly advise that you take out your own home contents insurance so if the worst ever happens, you are covered.

We recommend an affordable scheme for tenants called Aon Homesafe.

Please ask if you would like us to send you an information and application pack.

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VIEW YOUR RENT ACCOUNT

Your password will be sent to your email address and may take up to 30 minutes to arrive.

Use your password to easily log in at any time to see all your rent payments and charges. Information is very accurate as it is updated daily.

We no longer send quarterly rent statements to you by post, saving costs and paper waste. If you are unable to go online to see your statement, please get in touch with your housing officer on 0121 358 0966.

Click here My Account web page