Social landlords, what role can we play?
Send me your stories, I said.
I returned from eight months maternity leave last week (!) to my job as Director of PlaceShapers, the network of more than 100 community focused social landlords. Our members exist to build social and affordable homes. But they have always been proud to be much more than a landlord, working with and serving their residents and wider communities.
Nowhere has this been more evident than in the last week.
MSV Housing in Manchester told me seven of their staff have been seconded to help with a Greater Manchester-wide push to get all rough sleepers off the streets and into emergency accommodation.
Aspire Housing in Staffordshire have partnered with local authority and charity partners to run a support network and associated funding to provide help to anyone who needs it.
Walsall Housing staff have been working with NHS staff to build a new 24-bed hospital in Walsall.
A number of members said they were looking at ways they could let any vacant properties to NHS staff who needed them.
Everywhere I look, social landlords’ repairs staff – who currently can’t carry out anything other than essential property repairs – are being re-purposed as food delivery drivers, dropping food parcels and hot meals to older and isolated residents.
Helplines and online support are being bolstered to help those worried about their finances. Residents are being reassured that they won’t lose their homes if they can’t pay their rent due to loss of income during COVID.
And all of our members have started to call every one of their older residents or those who they are most worried about. Every week. For lots of organisations that’s thousands of calls.
But these have been vital, and not just so we can understand levels of need. They have also been a lifeline to many residents for whom just some human contact, someone to chat to and even smile with, has made such a difference at such a frightening time.
The stories will keep flooding in, I’m sure of that. And they will continue to inspire me in my job and remind me how fantastic the human response continues to be to this awful pandemic.
But as social landlords start to move out of the crisis mode of the last few weeks, there are some very important questions they are starting to ask themselves.
Principally, these are: we are learning from this crisis? What we want to hold on to when we go back to ‘normal’ (whatever that is)?
For our members, who have always sought to work in partnership with local authorities, health authorities and local charities, there will be so many opportunities to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new ones.
As hubs start to develop across the country our members will be central players. Cross Key Homes in Peterborough are coordinating the county-wide support response; many others are doing likewise.
I think we can also start to ask ourselves challenging questions about how we work in partnership.
Of course, social landlords are frantically re-modelling their business plans and trying to guess what the future holds. It’s going to be hugely challenging on many fronts, as we suffer income losses from many sources.
But we also know that social landlords are far more financially resilient than most organisations in the voluntary sector.
The Chancellor’s financial rescue package yesterday was welcomed by charities, but they know it’s a drop in the ocean. The sector estimates it will lose £4.3bn in three months, against £750m announced yesterday in support.
So one of the big questions I know PlaceShaper members are starting to ask is: How long can we – should we – keep funding and other support in place in our communities? Should we keep phoning all of our older residents after COVID-19, and what would that mean for our business if we did? Or, if we can’t, what could we do instead, working with others?
So this is really the moment when I think organisations will be asking themselves not just ‘what’ to do, but how. How can we nurture and build on the partnerships we’re building with local charities, community groups and individuals? What role can we best play – and what role can others play?
These are questions some of our members were already asking themselves. I think it’s time for us all to. The next few years are going to be immensely difficult as we recover from the health and economic shock of COVID-19.
But these new partnerships, new ways of working, can continue to inspire us that something better can come out of such a challenging time. It’s up to all of us to see that happens.
Rachael Orr is the Director of PlaceShapers, the network for more than 100 community-based social landlords. Previously, Rachael was Head of Oxfam's UK programme, and she has also held various senior policy and campaigning roles at Shelter. She is a trustee at the Refugee Council and Non-Executive Director at Suffolk Housing Society.
