Providing safer communities

As housing professionals, we are committed not only to providing high quality affordable homes, but to building neighbourhoods and promoting safer communities. We want our customers to live in safe spaces and to thrive in their local areas. The most effective way for us to achieve this, is to work in partnership with all the stakeholders living and working there. It’s very timely that at the upcoming CIH All Ireland Housing Summit, one of our sessions will focus on ‘Providing Safer Communities’.

One of the most visible, and often contentious, challenges for us in delivering safer communities is the occurrence of anti-social or even criminal behaviour. The responsibility for this behaviour is often laid at the door of the landlord. This has been leading to an increased focus on our performance, on how we manage our tenancies, and how we go about trying to resolve any incidents that may threaten the safety of our communities.

By providing quality housing in any area, we are making a major investment in that community. We‘re there for the long haul - we’re committed to supporting those communities with high quality housing management services and support for our tenants to sustain their tenancies. Helping tenants to stay in their home is in the best interest of everyone – the tenant and their family, us as the landlord, and the community they live in. Our mission is to provide for those in need, and to help meet the needs of the most vulnerable. Not all customers will come with all the skills and support they need to maintain a home and make a positive contribution to the community they live in.

Having been involved in the management of many tenancies and the management of some difficult incidents and issues, my experience has led me to believe that in the main, we are not dealing with bad people. What we are dealing with is people who are struggling with bad circumstances and who may have made some bad decisions. In trying to cope with the circumstances they find themselves in, some people engage in bad behaviour. Now I’m not suggesting that the behaviour, or the incidents that may be caused by it, should be ignored or allowed to continue. I acknowledge that we have a duty to support the people in our homes and communities who are impacted by anti-social or criminal behaviour. But I also believe that we have a duty to support those who may be involved in that behaviour. If the behaviour is a symptom of the bad circumstances people find themselves in, and if they are unable to find or source the support they need, then behaving badly may be the only reaction they feel they have.

As housing professionals we don’t have all the answers and we cannot solve all of the issues alone. We can’t allow anti-social behaviour to negatively impact on our communities and on the levels of satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, among our customers. We need to try and support our customers who are engaging in the anti-social behaviour by helping them to source and engage with partners who may be able to assist with the complex issues they may be dealing with. These could include family breakdown, lack of parenting skills, poor educational attainment, lack of employment, poverty, incidents of abuse or neglect, poor health, addictions or maybe just complete isolation and loneliness. To promote and provide safer communities we need to engage and work alongside all of our voluntary and statutory partners to try and ensure that all of the relevant professionals are engaged in our process of resolving incidents and issues.

We also need to support our customers who are suffering from the impacts of anti-social behaviour by ensuring that we embrace good practice in our case management and by involving all of our relevant partners, including justice and policing, where necessary. We need to make every effort to ensure effective communication and keep these customers informed throughout the process. One of the biggest causes of dissatisfaction in the management of anti-social incidents or behaviours is the feeling that we are not taking them seriously and we are not keeping those impacted informed of what action we can and are taking.

Maybe increasing incidents of anti-social or criminal behaviour in our communities is telling us that it’s time for us all to more focused on the health and wellbeing of our communities and of the people who live in them. Maybe it’s time to look at how services are delivered and make sure they are delivered in a way that best suits the person in need, not just the organisation that delivers the service. Maybe it’s time to have real partnership among all the agencies, with joint objectives, shared locations and smarter ways of working both for and within the communities we serve. Maybe that would be the first step in ‘Providing Safer Communities’.

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