Hello and welcome to the September issue of your newsletter

This month, we’re focusing on how we can support our customers during the cost-of-living crisis.

Introduction from Matthew Bailes, Paradigm's CEO

I know that many people are worried about money at the moment, with energy bills and the cost of living increasing. Some people will be having to make difficult decisions about heating their home and other expenses this winter.

As a charitable organisation, we also have some difficult decisions to make. You may have seen that the Government has launched a consultation on capping rent increases for people in social housing next year.

We don’t yet know exactly what this means for you because the consultation includes options ranging from a 3% increase to a 7% increase, against a backdrop of inflation at around 10%.

Housing associations exist to provide homes for people who can’t afford to rent or buy on the open market. Our mission is to provide excellent services to customers and to build new homes for people who need them most.

All the money we make goes into making this vision a reality. As a not-for-profit organisation, all the money we receive in rent is ploughed back into the business. Although we always aim to keep rent increases as low as possible, we need to balance this with providing services to existing customers and homes for people who may be homeless or bringing up their families in temporary accommodation.

We will update you as we know more about the Government proposals – but, in the meantime, if you are worried about money this winter, please get in touch. Talk to us as soon as you can. We will do what we can to help.

This special edition of your newsletter sets out some of the ways we are supporting our customers. We have taken on extra staff to help people who are struggling financially and we can help you to claim the grants and benefits that you are entitled to.

I hope that some of the information below and on our website is useful.

Best wishes,

Matthew

What we're doing to help

We’ve been working with customers to understand how we can support you through the cost-of-living crisis. As a result of your feedback, we have updated our policies, extended our support hub and created a new support offer (see below). If you’re struggling financially or are worried about money, please talk to us as soon as you can.

We have strengthened our support team and have trained staff at the end of the phone ready to help you. We can make sure you are claiming all the benefits you are entitled to and direct you to other support available
We will be retrofitting some of our homes to make them more energy-efficient
We have funded Citizens Advice specialist debt advisors to help our customers
We have reviewed our contracts with contractors to ensure we are getting the best value for money
We are ensuring that energy costs for your communal areas and for those with shared boilers are fixed so that there will be no change to these costs before September 2023.

Our support offer

After consultation with customers, we have updated our support offer, which focuses on your finances and your wellbeing. We have a five-stage approach:

Prevention Making sure you have everything you need in advance to stop problems arising.
Self-serve/digital inclusion Signposting people to resources like our support hub while also offering help to those who can’t access the internet.

Support at first point of contact Giving you the information you need when you first contact us.
Specialist support in-house We have specialist support teams at Paradigm who can help.
Specialist support from our partners We fund a number of organisations to support customers when things get tricky. These include Citizens Advice staff to provide specialist debt advice and Herts Mind to support those struggling with their mental health.

Find out more on our website

Help with your energy bills

We’re all facing an increase in our energy bills this autumn. Use the Help for Households page on the Government website to find out about the Energy Bill Discount, the Energy Price Guarantee and other grants and payments which may be available to you.

You'll find some useful energy saving tips in our support hub.

Food banks

We can help you access the food bank in your local area. As food banks are community-run organisations, you’ll usually need to get a referral before you can use them. Call 0300 303 1010 to be directed to someone who can help, or you can ask an organisation that’s already supporting you – for example, a charity, school or children’s centre. There's more information on food banks in our support hub.

Your wellbeing

We know that money worries can impact your mental health. Please ask for help if you’re struggling. We have partnered with Herts Mind to deliver support to residents in Hertfordshire and the Chesham and Amersham areas – you can find more information in the support hub and details of other organisations who can help. If you have any concerns about your mental health, please speak to your GP or local healthcare provider.

Help into work

We have links with local training providers and job clubs who can help you get back to work. We can signpost you to what support is available in your local area and what is the best route for you to take.

Check out the useful back-to-work links in our support hub

In other news

Community Action Day

On Thursday 6 October, as part of our commitment to sustainability and environmental issues, we will be holding a Community Action Day at Park Place in Amersham. The Customer and Neighbourhood Officer and Customer Support and Engagement teams will provide cost-of-living advice and gather customers' ideas on what Paradigm could be doing for the environment and sustainability. The Estates team, our contractors and a team of Paradigm volunteers will be carrying out estate inspections, minor repairs and a community clean up.

We will be visiting more locations to do events like this. If you'd like us to come to your neighbourhood to work together to bring about improvements that will benefit your community, please email customer.involvement@paradigmhousing.co.uk and let us know what you would like to do and why.

This month's Virtual Voices prize draw winner

Congratulation to Ms Rodrigues from Willesden

Ms Rodrigues told us: “I got involved because I felt it is good as a tenant to be involved and give feedback so Paradigm know how we feel, and have an idea what we think should change or be improved.”

On the way to Ms Rodrigues is a £20 Tesco voucher, which is our way to say thank you to customers who get involved and help us to improve the services we provide.

As always, our thanks go to all of our involved customers. We appreciate you all and thank you for your support.

If you would like to be entered into the monthly prize draw, all you have to do is sign up to take part. We email opportunities directly to your inbox, such as taking part in surveys, focus groups and workshops, or we may ask you to give feedback on a policy or suggested improvements. You can do as many activities as you want to, and your feedback will be used to help us continue to improve. Some activities are incentivised and we provide training and reimbursement of out of pocket expenses. It's a great opportunity to build your skills and use your volunteering on your CV. Most of all, you will be able to influence our development and be part of ensuring we provide the best services we can to our customers.

For more information on getting involved, please visit our website or email customer.involvement@paradigmhousing.co.uk to sign up to receive regular involvement news and activities.

Want to work for us?

We're hiring!

If you are interested in working for Paradigm, check out the job vacancies on our website. It could be the start of a whole new career!

We are currently looking for skilled technicians, finance staff, customer advisors and more.