At Family, we want to make sure that residents are involved in improving our services and helping us to make decisions about the things that matter most to you.

Customer 1st - Getting it right together

View our resident Involvement statement below or click Customer 1st Leaflet to download our Resident Involvement leaflet.

Options for Involvement
We have a number of ways you can get involved at Family which range from participating at meetings to mystery shopping from home. We also provide training opportunities for all our residents. Please check the range of opportunities as listed in the 'Getting Involved' section opposite or call our Resident Involvement Team for more details on 0121 766 1100.

How to find out more
Contact your Resident Involvement Team by telephoning us on 0121 766 1100 or email us at residentinvolvement@family-housing.co.uk.

Or write to us at:
Resident Involvement,
Family Housing Association,
Bordesley House,
44/46 Coventry Road,
Birmingham,
B10 0RX

This Resident Involvement Statement, developed from resident’s suggestions, sets out our aims and objectives over the next year. We are committing staff and money to make sure that Resident Involvement is meaningful, that we are meeting residents’ needs and putting our Customers First.

Our Commitment
We recognise that there are challenges and barriers to overcome to involve residents effectively.  At Family we aim to involve individuals in all parts of the business.  We also want to involve people from all backgrounds and across all your local areas.  Therefore we are committed to:

 Offering a variety of involvement activities, so there is something for everyone.
 Ensuring equality of opportunity to enable everybody to have a say.
 Regularly updating our contact database so we know what residents are interested in and when they are available.
 Publicising a calendar of Resident Involvement events in Good Neighbours and on our website so that residents know what is coming up.
 Offering a range of training to support residents to play a full and active part.

The Options
We understand that different people have different interests and commitments.  Therefore we have tried to create a range of opportunities for residents to have their say.  These include:

 Surveys – one off involvement to see how and where we are doing well and where we need to improve.
 Mystery Shopping – posing as a customer you test the services we provide.
 Service Groups – working with management from different service areas residents will monitor performance and suggest areas for improvement.
 Magazine Articles – write or suggest articles for our resident’s newsletters.
 Focus Groups – tell us what you think about a certain aspects of Family Housing from communication to building work.
 Local Residents Meetings – local groups to discuss issues affecting the area where you live.
 Annual Residents Event – a yearly event for all residents to come and meet staff and celebrate everything that you have achieved.
 Resident Board Member – become part of Family Housing’s board of management.

Points Mean Prizes
To thank residents for giving up their time to become involved we offer a reward scheme.  Through resident Involvement activities you can earn points which can be exchanged for shopping vouchers.  The scheme is administered through Birmingham Law Centre.

Get Involved. Save Points. Improve the services you receive.
• Resident Forum meetings = 10 points = £10.00
• Service Group Meetings = 10 points = £10.00
• Focus Groups=10 points = £10.00
• Mystery Shopping = 10 points = £10.00
• Resident Newsletter  (articles/content) =10 points = £10.00
• Training sessions  = No award  = Expenses only
• Local Residents meeting = No award = Expenses only

Communication
We realise that individuals have different preferences around how we communicate with them.   Residents have told us that letters and telephone calls are the best ways to get in touch.  Therefore we will try to use these methods when contacting you about Resident Involvement.

When publicising Resident Involvement opportunities, we will:
 Use more than one method of communication.
 Ensure that the information is clear and easy to understand.
 Where ever possible we will use your preferred method of contact.

Support
To show our commitment to Resident Involvement, we have:
 A dedicated Resident Involvement team consisting of an Involvement Officer and Involvement Assistant.
 An annual budget for involvement, including money to cover travel expenses, caring expenses and incentives.
 Customer First Magazine for residents who have been involved to share experiences and have their say.
 An annual programme of training developed in consultation with residents to enable individuals to build up confidence and skills.
 A Community Chest Fund where residents groups can access small grants to cover start up costs or run community activities.

Outcomes
All Resident Involvement activities at Family are designed to achieve measurable outcomes both for the resident and for the Association.  We would expect to see continuously improving and better value services as a result of Resident Involvement activity.

We will provide feedback on outcomes and actions taken by:
 Providing minutes of all meetings.
 Holding regular meetings which will ensure we continuously improve services.
 Publishing quarterly updates to all residents via Good Neighbours and our website.
 Producing an annual Impact Assessment to measure who has been involved and the impact their involvement has had on the business.