There are plenty of community events and activities taking place in the Midlands and South East.  

A Riverside housing officer in Leicester, Esuf Sarafat, shares his summer highlights here:

“As a housing officer working with the new Community Engagement Team led by Rupa Chandarana, I help realise lots of projects and events across the year that give hundreds of our customers the opportunity to interact with us – whether by attending the annual tenant conference or family fun days across the south and central regions.”

“Community engagement is key to transforming lives and revitalising neighbourhoods.”

“This summer the team organised for tenants to attend seven different events in the South and Central region, including, The Riverside Festival in Leicester, a beach trip for Lambeth Estate, a celebration of the Derby Allotment project, a tenant scrutiny panel looking at gardening services and family fun days in Stoke and New Parks.”

“Another event Riverside arranged this summer was in partnership with Soft Touch Arts, an award winning Leicester charity focusing on arts, media and music as tools to engage with young people.”

“Held shortly after the start of the summer holidays, residents attended with their families. A music van was available for youngsters who wished to dabble in some rhythm making and children were able to take home drawings, t-shirts and vinyl art they had made on the day.”

“The Community Chest Fund is available to staff and tenants to pitch community projects.”

“One such project was the Derby Allotments in Spondon and we’re thrilled with the success they’ve seen. We celebrated their achievements with a garden party and were impressed by the amount of fresh produce they’ve grown.”

“The thing I most enjoy about working on community engagement projects and events is seeing how we make a difference in our tenants’ lives.”

“A recent Riverside project, ‘Healthy Food Healthy Communities’ in Derby, was shortlisted for a 24Housing award in the ‘Community Achievement’ category. But it’s more important that we’ve helped families in the area learn how to cook cheap tasty food on a budget. The long lasting health effects for that community are priceless.”

“No time to relax once the summer was over, the annual tenant conference was a huge success in September. We asked customers from across the division to help us asses the repairs service we offer. And there’s plenty to do managing established community projects and helping new ones develop.”