Alton Tenancy Training

pdf version of this story
July 2006

Top Tips for Tenants in Alton

18th July 2006

Drum Housing Association (Drum) brought an innovative new training programme to help residents thrive in their homes to Alton. The course included tips on repairs and maintenance, money management, handling neighbour disputes and safety in the home. Residents were invited to attend the five week course, which was made up of five two-hour modules.

Celebrating the end of the course:
(l-r) Jacci Price, Drum, Colin, Alex trainer from Stonham, Andrew, Ed Till, Housing Advisor, East Hants District Council, Carol, trainer from Stonham, and Paul

Colin, one of those who attended wrote saying how much he appreciated the training, how he had learnt a lot and generally enjoyed it.

The idea behind the voluntary training is to help people develop life skills that will better enable them to maintain long-term tenancies. The scheme is funded by Drum and East Hampshire District Council and delivered by Stonham.

By covering many of the issues, which are involved in a tenancy, the organisations involved hope to reduce homelessness and improve peoples ability to maintain their tenancy.  One of the main reasons that people lose their tenancies is because of poor money management, and Drum has been looking at a number of ways to support people before they get into financial difficulties.

The training was held locally at the Alton Community Centre and future courses are planned throughout the District, depending where need is identified.

"Everyone seemed to enjoy the course", explains Jacci Price, Drum Housing Manager, "It was a relaxed environment and people were encouraged to share views and ideas".

Jacci, a key person behind the development of this course, points out how apprehensive some can be when first starting a tenancy alone, "We forget how challenging it can be to move into your own home. This course gives reassurance and guidance, and we are very pleased with the response".

Colin, who has been allocated accommodation in Ropley, finishes by saying "my thanks to the team for a job well done".