Social Policy

Our Social Policy concentrates on three different aspects:

 

1. Our Tenants

2. The Wider Community

3. Sourcing

 

Our Tenants

 

We believe that everybody deserves to feel safe where they live and that along with the security  people can grow and develop. With this in mind we promise to:

 

• Be careful who we put together in a shared house

  • Our target market is 20-32 year olds, this means that only people of a similar age and going through similar experiences will be living together. This means that they can become a community quicker and all tenants will feel safe, not only in their bedrooms but also in the communal areas.

  • We only put professionals into our shared houses, this means that they are going through similar life experiences and can help to develop a sense of community.

• To develop communities within our shared houses to reduce a sense of isolation

  • We provide social areas where tenants can meet and share space other than their bedrooms

  • We get all the tenants together every quarter for a tenant meeting so that we can meet them, they can meet us and they can meet each other. This also encourages mutual respect.

  • Each property has somewhere for notices or messages so that tenants can communicate together.

 

Wider Community

 

We believe that we must take into consideration our neighbours and the wider community. With this is mind we promise to:

 

• Talk to all neighbours and ensure they have a point of contact (i.e. Red Door Homes) for issues.

  • This reduces tension as the tenants and neighbours can talk through us.

  • This also helps to encourage mutual respect for each other

• Encourage recycling wherever possible.

  • This is through providing kitchen bins and recycling bins where local councils can pick up.

• Encourage the use of local business by providing tenants with information about local,  independent businesses (especially cafes, pubs etc)

 

Sourcing

 

We believe in having as little impact as possible on the environment, which obviously leads to a sustained living for all of us. With this in mind we promise to:

 

• Use national and local charities to source our unusual communal furniture.

  • For some of the most unusual furniture we make it ourselves from reclaimed wood, either scaffolding or cable drum ends. To source this wood we use a national charity for Jerricho - they have a Woodshack in Birmingham which collects used wood from construction sites etc locally and prepares them and sells them. They employ vulnerable people and give them skills to enable them to move forward with their lives. We are very proud that every shared house as a little bit of Jerricho in it!

  • When we are finished with furniture (i.e. after dressing properties for photoshoots etc) or if clearing new properties prior to refurbishment, then we will always donate them to local charities. One of the ones we use is Reclaim in Cheltenham - these are a bit like Jerricho in providing opportunities for vulnerable people to gain skills.

• Wherever possible we will use local tradespeople and local shops rather than multi-national firms for the refurbishment of our properties.

• As much as possible we use environmentally friendly products - not only for cleaning but also during the refurbishment.