We are committed to involving residents in the design and development of our services. We have a dedicated Community Involvement Officer who can be contacted on 0800 1695 419.
How you can get involved
James Butcher Housing Association Board
The Board, which is responsible for overseeing the work and direction of the organisation, has two Resident Board Members.
Residents' Panel
This panel consists of nine residents, two of which are Resident Board Members. This group is consulted on key policies and services and has been involved in service reviews on anti-social behaviour, allocations and lettings and repairs.
Customer Panel
We are always on the look out for people to get involved in our work. You could choose to help by answering surveys, taking part in local events, offering us advice in areas where you have specialist knowledge, or you could read through our survey and focus group results and tell us if you agree with the views expressed by other residents.
As a member of the customer panel, we will:
- Give you high street vouchers for joining local discussions
- Help with transport and childcare costs (when you are attending meetings)
We won’t take up much of your time and won’t expect you to attend meetings if you’d prefer not to. If you want to be a member of the Customer Panel, or want to find out more, please call our Community Involvement Officer on 0800 1695 419.
Resident Readers
Resident readers will be members of the customer panel. They will be sent documentation produced by the Group such as policies, leaflets, etc to provide their feedback to ensure the documents are clear and easily understood.
Service interest groups
We intend to develop a series of groups for individuals with particular skills, interests and expertise. This will be developed with residents from our customer panel, local groups and through encouraging other residents to get involved.
Focus groups
We use focus groups to get feedback on services. Events usually last between one to two hours and are attended by up to a dozen people. Sometimes we target a particular group of residents who have specific views or knowledge on a particular topic. Focus groups are used during service reviews.
Residents' Associations
These are local groups which come together for a specific purpose. They may or may not have a constitution, bank account or an elected committee. Formal resident associations receive an annual grant from JBHA.
Community development
We undertake community development activities in target areas, often with support and training from the Southern Housing Group's Foundation. We are currently key partners in a community cohesion project in Northbourne, Farncombe in Surrey. The Northbourne Action Group has been organising social and community activities, estate clean-ups and providing support to young people to apply for funding from the Youth Opportunity Fund so that they can set up a football training project. Recently they have raised money to build a new play park as well as won two Surrey Police Awards; The Local Hero Community Group Award and the Local Hero Chief Constables Commendation for outstanding Contribution.
We are also working with our new Residents to set up a new Residents Association, a Youth Panel and a Multi Agency Steering Group in the new West Village now on the old Battle Hospital Site in Reading.