Homes for Haringey wins two national housing awards
Monday 18 July 2011
Homes for Haringey is celebrating after winning two national awards by the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA), whose 60 member organisations oversee more than one million council owned properties across England. The winners of the 2011 NFA Awards were announced at a ceremony last Tuesday night at the Midland Hotel, Manchester.
Mary Keane, Learning and Development Advisor at Homes for Haringey, won the ALMO Team Member of the Year award for the organisation. Mary (63) has led the organisation’s award winning apprenticeship scheme for nine years. To date, 55 apprentices have been made permanent members of staff after qualifying from the scheme.This is a testament to the care Mary takes in selecting and caring for the apprentices from the start of their career onwards.
Mary was overwhelmed about receiving the award: “I honestly couldn’t have done it without the support of my colleagues,” she said.
Derekston James, Haringey Young Advisor, collected the Most Outstanding Young Person of the Year award for his wide-ranging work in engaging young people in the borough. Derekston (19) arrived in the UK from the Commonwealth of Dominica in 2006 aged 14. He has worked on numerous projects to actively engage young people since he joined a local youth club four years ago. One of his most recent projects involved the engagement of well over 300 people of varied ages and backgrounds as part of helping the young people on The Sandlings estate to connect with their local residents’ association.
Derekston said: “I feel really proud after all the work we’ve done it’s good to be awarded. Expect a lot more from us in the future!”
The NFA awards were judged by an independent panel: Alison Inman, Chair of the National Federation of ALMOs; Michael Gelling, Chair of TAROE (Tenants and Residents Organisations of England); Michelle Reid, Chief Executive of TPAS and Stuart Macdonald, Editor of Inside Housing.
Cllr John Bevan, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “These are challenging times for housing which makes it all the more important to recognise excellence in our housing service. I’m pleased that the two inspiring winners have been acknowledged for their invaluable work in our community.”
Homes for Haringey Chief Executive, Paul Bridge, said: “It is a real honour to receive these awards on behalf of Homes for Haringey. We have long recognised the value of investing in our workforce and a long-term apprenticeship programme for Haringey, and we are very proud and privileged to be working with Derekston to get young people involved in their local communities.”
Background information
The 2011 NFA ALMO Team Member of the Year award recognises inspirational ALMO team members who have gone above and beyond their daily work responsibilities to support their colleagues, residents and the community.
The 2011 NFA Awards Most Outstanding Young Person of the Year category celebrates the work of individual young people within their community, reducing crime, bringing about community cohesion and making a positive difference to their neighbours.
2011 NFA AWARDS WINNERS AND FINALISTS
Best Community Initiative
Sponsored by British Gas
Winner
Derby Homes – Arboretum Community Initiative
Finalists
Ashfield Homes – Spade Aid
Homes for Islington – Soul in the City Festival
Most Outstanding Resident
Sponsored by Kier Building Maintenance
Winner
CityWest Homes – Sue Walsh
Finalists
Berneslai Homes – Elsie Smith
Hackney Homes – Tony Osborne
Most Innovative Project
Winner
Blackpool Coastal Housing – The BCH Academy
Finalists
Newark and Sherwood Homes – ‘Retrofit’ Project
West North West Homes, Leeds – ‘On Your Bike’ Project
ALMO Team Member of the Year
Winner
Homes for Haringey – Mary Keane
Finalists
Hounslow Homes – Ian McGee
Derby Homes – Liz Wilcox
Best Use of Communication
Sponsored by Acceleris Marketing Communications
Winner
Derby Homes – ‘It’s Not Good Enough’ DVD
Finalists
Nottingham City Homes – ‘The Recipe for Making BREAD’ Project
Northwards Community Housing – We Love Complaints
Board Member of the Year
Winner
Berneslai Homes - Clair Wright
Finalists
East Durham Homes - Marion Brunskill
South Tyneside Homes - Joyce Welsh
Most Effective Partnership
Winner
Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing – ‘Breaking In, Saving Lives’ Project
Finalists
Stockport Homes – ‘Making a Difference Together in Offerton’ Project
CityWest Homes – ‘Westminster Works’ Project
Most Outstanding Young Person
Winners
Homes for Haringey – Derekston James
Hounslow Homes – Torron-Lee Dewar
Finalists
Homes for Northumberland – Stephen Stanners
South Essex Homes – Zoe Kelly
Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing – Jess Cullen
About the National Federation of ALMOs
The National Federation of ALMOs promotes the ALMO option in council house management which provides housing management and housing services to almost one million council properties across 60 ALMOs nationwide.
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