NewsMARYHILL SUMMER 2018 VALUE FOR MONEY – WHY EVERY PENNY COUNTS Maryhill Housing is a firm believer in delivering value for money in everything we do. Being a well-run and financially-sound housing association is a requirement of the Scottish Housing Regulator which seeks to safeguard your interests as a tenant on A SMALL PRICE TO behalf of the Scottish Government. Remember that the rent you pay doesn’t just go on ensuring your homes are fit for PAY TO SUPPORT purpose. We use the income we obtain from rents on other things such as the activities YOUR COMMUNITY we undertake to help our communities. We try to keep our annual rent rises to a Get involved, become a member of Maryhill Housing and pay just £1 minimum while delivering the services that you expect from us. What can you buy with a pound environmental concerns. cont.p2 these days? • Providing bursaries so local people can get Very little is the answer unless you believe, like a helping hand to learn new skills us, that it’s a worthwhile investment in your • Running a Community Fund whereby you community. can apply for money to make life better Maryhill Housing has launched a new drive to where you live. increase our membership. • Providing free of charge welfare benefits You don’t have to be a “member” to be a help and money and budgeting advice tenant of Maryhill Housing but many people By becoming a member you can vote on are and we are grateful for your support over our rules. These set out how the Association many years. operates so it means you have a real say in All it costs is £1 for lifetime membership which the future of your Association. means you can attend our AGM held each All it requires is filling out a form with your year in September and even stand for election details and that’s it. You can find out more by to the Board which shapes the work we do. calling the Association or sending an email to We have always seen our role in the Jenna Borland at [email protected] community as much more than simply We think £1 is a small price to pay for helping collecting the rent. Like other housing your local housing association do great things. associations we are working hard at grass We will continue to be the anchor in our INSIDE: roots level doing things like: communities - always here, always helping • Regenerating our community by building and always doing our best for Ruchill and OUR TRIBUTE new housing and addressing your Maryhill. TO ELEANOR VALUE FOR MONEY – WHY EVERY PENNY COUNTS OUR TRIBUTE Our regeneration work is important and cheaper this year than it was last year. to help you save money on bills and we have always seen our role in the Housing associations do so much more make your homes warmer, common area TO ELEANOR community as much more than collecting than simply collect the rent. There is improvements and stonework repairs. the rent. an ongoing programme of repairs and We will also be looking at all electrically- At Maryhill our rents are approximately improvements as well as building new heated properties to establish if there WE feel privileged to have the opportunity to pay tribute to 8% lower than at Neighbouring Housing homes when the opportunity arises. are better options which are more cost one our much-loved Board members who has died after a Associations. We have set ourselves the That’s why housing associations are often effective. There will be wall insulation for short illness. target of saving £750k over seven years to referred to as the “anchor” which holds tenements and “four in a block” properties Eleanor Brown had a distinguished the hugely-successful stock transfer of keep rents affordable for future tenants. communities together. and back court improvements in selected service with the Association over many homes in Ruchill in 1994. But what does value for money mean to locations. We can put a figure on how much we years and has been described as a you? Everyone has a different idea of what You can be assured that when Eleanor was Chairperson of Ruchill fight poverty and injustice wherever are investing in your homes in 2018- “remarkable servant of the housing it represents. it comes to value for money Community Council for many years she found it. We will remember Eleanor association movement who fought 2019. That figure is £3.2 million. it is a top priority for us all and helped set up Ruchill Furniture fondly as an inspiring individual whose It might be finding your weekly shop is less tirelessly for her community.” than you thought or that your holiday is It will be spent on a range of things at Maryhill Housing. which still helps individuals and life was dedicated to helping others.” including energy efficiency improvements We mourn the loss of Eleanor whose families who need assistance We will be working with residents of long years of community campaigning furnishing their home. Ruchill to create a permanent tribute in made her simply irreplaceable. Paying tribute to Eleanor, Maryhill the area in honour of Eleanor and the Eleanor personified the selfless Housing Chief Executive Bryony Willett, selfless service that she provided to the dedication of so many people who said: “We mourn the loss of Eleanor, community. devote years of their time to the sharing the sorrow of her family, but GET HELPING Maryhill Housing also mourns the housing association movement and remain extremely thankful for her passing of former Management was on Maryhill’s Board and prior to exceptional life and work. Committee member Jim Stuart – a FINDING A JOB COMING SOON: that our Management Committee for “Eleanor was a selfless and devoted former Chair of Parkhill Residents’ decades. servant of the community and this Association and Chair of the Barnes She was extremely proud of her Ruchill housing association. Her overwhelming Road Action Group. He was a well CUSTOMER community and helped blaze a trail in desire was to make life better for known and respected figure in the SATISFACTION community-controlled housing with people she didn’t even know and to Ruchill community. SURVEY A PERSONAL REFLECTION BY WILLY As part of our commitment to involving our customers, BRIODY, FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE we have began the selection process to find a supplier to carry out a full Customer Satisfaction Survey. The OF MARYHILL HOUSING ASSOCIATION survey results will inform future plans as we want to continue to ensure we listen to our customers’ views, it “When I first met Eleanor Brown, Ruchill where she lived The Eleanor Brown that I knew spent her life fighting for the will also allow us to review areas of our performance in and worked was in a depressing state, with many of the people in her community of Ruchill, the people she knew line with requirements of the Scottish Social Housing houses empty and a community blighted by drugs, violence best. She was a strong, at times wonderfully-stubborn Jobcentre Plus in Charter. and unemployment. A community on its knees, but the first individual who always put the needs of her community partnership with thing that struck you about Eleanor was that she always saw above everything else, even at times ahead of her own Once selected, the research company will carry out needs. For many years she was on the Committee of the Maryhill Housing the surveys and they will liaise directly with you - our the positives, and never gave up on the people around her. Association will be Association, and if Eleanor was at a Committee meeting customers. Conducting the survey independently is Eleanor and others like her began working with the Housing delivering digital you knew it was going to be lively, and you had better come considered good practice as the results are externally Association to remodel an entire local authority estate. They jobsearch support prepared. She was a determined debater keen to get her validated to ensure integrity of the data. worked tirelessly to make that happen, poring over the details every Tues between points across and ensure people got a fair hearing. She 2pm-3pm or 3:30pm-4:30pm at 45 Garrioch Rd G20 8RG The first attempt to survey you will be by post. PLEASE of every aspect of their new build housing, from kitchen knew Ruchill like the back of her hand, and knew better than (Maryhill Housing’s offices). watch out for the survey arriving in August. Your opinions layouts to road layouts. They discussed and agreed it all. anyone what needed to be done, even if you didn’t always matter to us and we want to receive as many completed As well as clearing away slum housing, we were learning an agree with her. Eleanor Brown was a tireless worker, a genuine Come along and get help and advice on creating a CV surveys as possible. If you do not manage to return the important lesson which is this; give local communities and character, and an inspiring defender of her community. & covering letter, to make the most of your skills and survey on our first attempt we will most likely try to reach people like Eleanor the opportunity and the tools to intervene She will be sadly missed by those who loved her. She experience. Speak to your Work Coach to reserve a space, or you by other means. in their own lives and they will make a difference. deserves to be remembered and I trust she will be.” call Kevin on 0141 241 7096 or Joan on 0141 241 7101 2 Maryhill Housing Association Summer 2018 Newsletter 3 Thank you to our members who attended the Special Protecting your personal information General Meeting Thank you to our members for turning out in such The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new • if your information is shared with other organisations, numbers for our Special General Meeting held in May at regulation that covers how organisations collect, store, use and companies will be responsible for updating them with any Maryhill Burgh Halls.