Tackling social housing stigma event 19 May

We were delighted to attend the launch event at parliament for the Stop Social Housing Stigma (SSHS) campaign, hosted by MP Ben Coleman on 19 May.

Along with 10 other ‘pioneer travellers’ (social housing providers) who are committed to a journey to tackle social housing stigma, we gathered with representatives across the sector, including Rachel Williamson, Director of Policy at the Chartered Institute of Housing and officers from the Ministry of Housing, to hear from SSHS campaign director Nic Bliss and colleagues Associate Professor Mercy Denedo, Professor Amaze Ejiogu and Vice-chair of the campaign, Yaw Boatong, as they launched the national campaign.

They each explained why recognising and tackling stigma will determine transformation in the social housing sector. They told us why we need to focus on listening to tenants, to help drive forwards a shift in housing policy that embeds the tenant voice, and address false narratives about people who live in social housing.

They also highlighted how important it is to understand communities, and that unpicking false perceptions will help bring about change. For example, assuming that social housing tenants are always home and available for repairs to be carried out, or available at short notice, when in reality this isn’t possible when people are at work.

Reference was also made to the culture of housing providers, and the change needed to address the stereotypical views held by many employees of their tenants. Themes around empowerment and advocacy were also covered – focussing on giving tenants a voice.

Wendy, a tenant representative from another pioneer traveller,  Medway Council, reflected on the worries that tenants have on speaking up, making formal complaints about their housing for fear it will be a mark against them. She also voiced concerns about the disintegration of communities, that the stigma of social housing impacted families. “I worry for my great-grandchildren and the future of social housing. What options are available for them, how will things have changed in the future?”

Placing tenants front and centre

One of our involved tenants, Fiona, is the treasurer for the SSHS national committee and has long been an advocate for placing tenants at the heart of an organisation to help drive policies and decisions that are meaningful, person-centred and transparent.

“To eradicate stigma, Progress Housing Group needs to promote good practice in every department, and encourage tenants, employees, and contractors to respect each other and to listen to tenants,” says Fiona. “Progress has been involved in the SSHS campaign from the beginning - the fact that the Group asked to be part of the Journey Planner has made its role really important.”

Taking action

The SSHS policy paper was published in September 2024, outlining a blue-print for government to work on social housing stigma with mixed success as Fiona explains:

“We were heavily mentioned in the Green paper, but in the White paper stigma was glossed over. However, what is encouraging is for the first time ever, politicians have discussed social housing stigma in parliament. I have two hopes for outcomes from this launch today. The first is that the government will become more involved, take it more seriously and look to make stigma part of policy – that’s a big ask! Secondly, that more organisations will come on board and the journey planner will be used more widely.”

Our Exec Director (RWP and Development) Les Warren attended the launch event alongside Fiona, and was keen to hear what more the Group could do to help tackle social housing stigma. “As one of the original pioneer travellers who helped establish the journey planner framework, we are proud of the work we have done so far with our tenant engagement. But we know we can do more to embrace challenging conversations about our processes with colleagues and the contractors we work with,” says Les.

“We recognise that we have a higher number of complaints per 1000 homes than many social housing providers, but see this as a positive. We have an opportunity to learn from feedback and early indications from our recently introduced complaints survey are that tenants have told us that they would report complaints to us again. It’s an honour to be part of the Stop Social Housing Stigma campaign, to work with our partners and ensure that the tenant voice really is at the heart of all that we do.”

Further reading: Stop Social Housing Stigma

We heard from tenants in this moving film: https://youtu.be/4phTlUmuqo8