Derek’s interest in setting up a tenant chat group: “We could work together as a community.”

RWP housing officer Cheryl visited Derek for a chat, and she asked if there was anything that he would like to chat through or if he had any concerns that he would like to raise. Derek told her about his interest in joining a local tenant chat group. He thought it would be a good opportunity for local tenants to come together and talk about matters that are important to them.

“It would be nice to get involved in a chat group if they set one up. I would like to get more involved in it,” says Derek. Cheryl and Derek talked about including some crafting in the sessions to help tenants relax and have something to focus on. “You are good at your pictures. I have got quite a few of your pictures and they are on my office wall,” said Cheryl.

Cheryl explained that the role of RWP Customer Voice Officer has recently been filled by Clare. “We do have somebody new who supports tenant chat groups at RWP, so we can put you in touch with them. I think we would have to do a survey and see who would be interested.”

Cheryl and Derek talked about how tenants could volunteer their time to work on local gardens. Derek said he would like to help with maintenance in his garden and local gardens to improve the spaces for tenants. “We could do one garden each day at each property and work on the different gardens together. We could work together as a community,” says Derek.