Volunteer local board members

Sheffield Homes is offering over 50 people the opportunity to influence the future of housing in Sheffield. The organisation, which manages and maintains Sheffield’s 48,000 council homes is looking to recruit new volunteer members to its six local boards.

 

The local boards meet every two months to monitor performance and make decisions about local issues that affect their community.  To apply people don’t need to be Sheffield Homes customers, local boards are made up of a mix of tenant members, independent members and council representatives. But it’s important that applicants are interested in their local community and want to make a difference to people’s lives within Sheffield.

 

And the housing provider particularly wants to encourage applications from ethnic minority communities, young people and women to reflect the diversity of the community it serves.

 

“I’d recommend being a Local Board Member to others. I’ve found it a real chance to give something back to my community. You get to deal with a whole range of issues -everything from monitoring the performance of contractors, through to how ASBOs are working or where fencing needs erecting” says Michael McDonald, a current Central Local Board Member.

 

“I’ve been a Sheffield resident all my life and I think it’s vital that local people are provided with good quality homes and a safe and secure neighbourhood in which to live. Joining a Local Board is a chance to help make this happen.”

 

John Loveless, who runs Sheffield Homes Governance Team comments

 

“Local Board Members play a crucial role in the improvement of services for customers. As well as monitoring the delivery of their local Decent Homes programme, performance standards and targets in their areas, they also play a role in planning services and community engagement. Getting the right applicants will help us to provide safe, clean and attractive neighbourhoods, and well maintained homes where people choose to live.”

 

To help people find out what being a board member involves, three drop-in events are being organised. These are

 

 

 

 

All events run from 2pm to 7pm and refreshments are provided.

 

Interested people can either book an appointment or turn up at any time.  For more information or an interpreter please phone Barbara Ward or John Loveless on 0114 273 5455 or 0114 273 4417 or email john.loveless@sheffieldhomes.org.uk