Tenant Voice: Meet Ade
Hi Ade, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. How about we start by learning a little more about you…
My name is Ade, I belong to the BAME community, and I live in Cardiff. My background is Town and Regional Planning, and I am currently at the university as a Housing Studies student. As part of my role, I am learning about how our environment can be sustainable and our role as people to make this happen. I am also learning about other things such as poverty, inequality, and homelessness.
I am volunteering with charities to ensure homelessness is minimised or eradicated in Wales. This role is one of the key reasons why I decided to study Housing.
I have been a tenant of Linc for over a year. My experience from day one of meeting my housing officer has been fantastic. A little confession, his professionalism made me feel I've made the right decision and encouraged me to explore the industry more.
You’re now part of our Tenant and Resident Strategy Group (TRSG), why did you get involved with Linc?
I got involved in the Tenant and Resident Strategy Group (TRSG) because I like to express my opinion and make my voice heard. Since I joined, I have got more than I expected. Not only have I been involved in matters that affect Linc and its tenants, but also matters that concern Wales.
Empowering tenants through different ways such as the Branching Out club, surveys and other insights, and the TRSG, is important. They enable tenants to get involved in different ways. Our opinions are welcomed, and we are free to challenge and scrutinise policy and practice. These go in line with my philosophy of free expression of opinions.
Considering the TRSG's age, together we have done a very good job in making this group a formidable tenant force. We’ve even set up our own Twitter account.
Whilst we benefit from your involvement, how do you think you benefit from getting involved?
Linc has been helpful with my development as well as other tenants' in the group. We have benefited from training and workshops, paid for by Linc, which have enhanced our personal development and helped build our confidence. Extending this to other tenants outside the group would be an improvement and encourage more tenants' involvement.
What would like to see from Linc in the future, and what do you think we can achieve by working together?
I would like the association to be a pioneer in promoting equality and diversity within the industry.
In addition, in my opinion, education is key to eradicating poverty. I would encourage Linc to explore every opportunity to share information so that, where needed, everybody will be well informed - this could be in the form of informal learning, training, workshops, apprenticeships, and courses.
I would also like the association to explore the 'Know Your Tenants' (KYT) approach. I understand this may be a major challenge, because of the large tenant base. However, at every opportunity to interact with tenants, showing genuine interest in them and offering or suggesting solutions to their concerns, would go a long way in helping the tenants.
Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts with us Ade!
I appreciate this opportunity, thank you.
Karen Jeffreys is Linc's Tenant Engagement Manager, she has been working alongside Ade and had this to say:
"It’s been a real joy for us all to have Ade on board. He is a real team player and brings new skills, talents, and insight.
You can see from what Ade has shared, that our interests are very much aligned, and it is great to see someone so passionate about homelessness, equality and diversity, and sustainability. Our ambition is to listen, involve and do all we can to make sure we get the greatest possible outcomes for all tenants across a whole range of services.
Ade has joined a new and highly skilled Tenant and Resident Strategy Group (TRSG) and makes a wonderful addition to the team.”
If you're a Linc tenant and are interested in getting involved, contact the Community Engagement Team on 0800 072 0966 or by email: community@linc-cymru.co.uk
We’d love to hear from you!