Sheffield Homes customers get hands on with repairs
Sheffield Homes and repairs contractor Kier Sheffield presented a series of fun and interactive sessions at Sheffield Homes’ 10th Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Tenants Forum at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
The forum provided a special opportunity for customers to tell Sheffield Homes and Kier what they thought about the repairs and maintenance service and to talk about wider issues that affect them, their families and their communities.
The theme of this year’s forum was repairs and maintenance. Sheffield Homes presented tailored interactive workshops taking into account cultural differences, to find out the audiences’ views on the current repairs and maintenance service. There was a special focus on the barriers to accessing the services and exploring tenants’ ideas as to how future improvements can be made.
The forum was jointly planned with a group of BME customers who work with Sheffield Homes. This was the company’s 10th BME forum, on each occasion gaining valuable feedback through talking directly to customers.
Janet Parry, Director of Housing Management at Sheffield Homes said, “This years BME Forum has yet again been a huge success. Each forum attracts more and more customers with over 100 attending on this occasion. We were able to gain some really positive comments about how we can take the repairs and maintenance service forward as well as receiving valuable feedback about other services.”
Ahmed Esteghamatdar, a Sheffield Homes customer from Firth Park said, “This is the 3rd BME Forum that I have attended. My family and I always attend as we have built up a good relationship and trust with Sheffield Homes. We know they listen because I have seen their services change over the years based on feedback from people at the forum. It is a great opportunity for me to express my views and I will definitely go along to future forums.”
Customers also used the forum to ask senior staff from Sheffield Homes about a range of housing issues and made suggestions about how to improve and develop Sheffield Homes services in general.
Sheffield Homes customers interested in finding out more about future events can call the Community Engagement team on 0114 273 5566, email getinvolved@sheffieldhomes.org.uk or visit www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk.