Scotland Housing Awards 2024
Read all the shortlisted entries into this award category, lifetime achievement, at the Scotland Housing Awards (SHA) 2024 and find out who won the award on the night.
This award is for an individual who has consistently gone the extra mile during their career in housing and made a lasting impact on the sector.
This award was sponsored by Fife Council.
Winner
Jim Fraser from Elderpark Housing
Statement of support
Jim Fraser was Elderpark Housing’s estate management inspector until his retirement in July 2024 capping a remarkable 43 years of unbroken service with the one housing association. He joined as a 22 year old in 1981 and spent almost his entire career serving the community that he also lived within.
He joined the association’s then direct workforce as a painter working on decorating closes, which was initially only intended to be for twelve weeks but he remained with the association from that day onwards demonstrating a commitment to a single housing association which has defined his devotion to community-based housing. For the last 18 years he was the association’s estates inspector creating relationships within the local community which have been pivotal in his success.
It is feasible that he was the longest-serving estates staff member to have served the one housing association anywhere in Scotland bringing a vocational approach to this most important of roles.
Anyone working in estate management in a housing provider by virtue of the job itself gets out and about more often than most. It is no surprise therefore that Jim spent many years 'walking the streets' keeping a watching brief over how to ensure the housing stock and the wider estate was kept on top form.
The longevity of his role and his easy demeanour meant he was a well-known face around the Elderpark community – always available and happy to stop and discuss concerns or issues with tenants and other residents as and when they arose.
Jim personified and exemplified the commitment to community-based housing that inspired others – not just colleagues but tenants and the wider neighbourhood served by Elderpark Housing.
His 'can do' approach and sheer hard work over more than four decades endeared him to countless residents.
In the true spirit of the housing association movement, the guiding light for Jim has been to help communities thrive and ultimately build neighbourhoods where people actually want to live and feel a part of.
When you work for an organisation for 43 years and be as successful as he has then there are lots of different aspects which you could provide to reflect his time with the association but perhaps the three things recently which showed it most was:
- The large volume of personal letters and comments from local residents wishing him well and thanking him for things he did for them over the years
- The depth of feeling he had from colleagues when he left
- The passion for the community he displayed which is as strong on the day he retired as was when he joined five decades ago.
What Jim played down was his pivotal role in supporting and shaping the organisational culture, as CEO, I noticed and admired the many little things he did daily including buying gifts for new colleagues, taking the time to recognise and provide support when someone was in difficulty, actively participating in staff events and training and having a positive attitude to go above and beyond at all times reflecting the values of the association.
Jim explained:
“Community-based housing associations perform a vital role in neighbourhoods across Scotland and Elderpark is a shining example of that commitment. Housing associations do so much more than simply collecting the rent – they reach into communities to help people with a firm emphasis on community regeneration. Helping people to sustain their tenancies in difficult times such as the pandemic and latterly the cost of living crisis where financial worries are an ever-present challenge are two of the most important things we have done as an association in recent times.”
Outcomes and achievements
Jim was an outstanding ambassador for Elderpark in dealing with partner organisations.
His role also involved being a presence in the community and having that connection and relationship to support residents through challenging times.
During the pandemic, Jim was part of a team of staff who delivered meals to hundreds of isolated residents many of whom were shielding and cut off from family.
In his spare time throughout the years he dropped off groceries to elderly residents before work, attended events and activities at night and weekends and put his heart and soul into the community
Working within the community for decades it’s not about the large successes on big projects which any senior leader can often display but more about how you have treated your job; the residents within the community and your colleagues and Jim has exemplified someone that deserves to have that achievement recognised – he might not have demonstrated a whole host of tangible outcomes but made an intangible difference to hundreds of colleagues and residents lives over the five decades which any submission can do justice too.
A short film just prior to Jim’s retiral displays his passion more eloquently than any submission could: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kda_Axqw9ks
