Housing and Disability Equality - A New Approach

This article first appeared in the January 2010 issue of 'Housing' the magazine for CIH members

The first disabled trainees on a ground-breaking CIH programme have completed their first three months of a two-year professional placement with a housing organisation.  The remarkable thing is that many of them believed it would not be possible for them to sustain a job at all, let alone a challenging job in housing.

Seven people participating in the first round of the 'Positive Action for Disability' programme benefit from professional training and dedicated mentoring and support as well as the opportunity to study for a CIH professional qualification.The trainees are working in a variety of roles and are all ambitious to progress their careers in the housing sector.

The trainees have the dedicated support of Graham Findlay, a disabled professional who joined CIH in January 2009 in order to get the programme off the ground. His role includes seeking new housing partners, recruiting trainees and supporting and mentoring trainees once they are in post.  Graham has years of experience in the disability rights sector, including campaigning and policy-influencing on accessibility and housing issues.

He understands the barriers encountered by disabled people in the workplace, as well as the real challenges for employers to change their organisational culture, working environment and recruitment practices to include and welcome disabled people into the workforce.

Graham said: "Disabled people are over-represented in social housing, as a proportion of the population, but under-represented as employees of housing organisations. There are over 10 million disabled people in Britain and nearly seven million of these are of working age. Many of these people live in, and rely upon, social housing. Their experiences also enable them to make a unique contribution to managing and supporting the housing sector.

"The challenge for CIH was to encourage organisations involved in planning and managing social housing to create more opportunities for disabled people to pursue careers in housing."

The new Equality Bill which is scheduled for introduction in 2010 places a clear duty on the public sector to promote equality and is likely to put public sector organisations under even more scrutiny on equality and diversity issues.

Graham continued: "However, the Bill does present opportunities especially the use of positive action. In the right circumstances public sector organisations will be able to expand the way they use positive action to better reflect their customer base or the communities they serve. It will be a useful way to redress imbalances in the make-up of an organisation’s workforce. And there are also opportunities to insist on stringent equality policies, for example with out-sourcing and contractors."

Positive Action for Disability is already being embraced by housing organisations across the UK to help their organisations become more disability-friendly. These include New Charter Housing Trust Group, Habinteg Housing Association, Gloucester City Homes, The Community Housing Group, Redland Housing Association, Somer Community Housing Trust and Sanctuary Housing Group.　

　
Debbie Smith (left) is a trainee with New Charter and she explained the difference the programme has made to her: "I had been off work since December 2003 due to sudden chronic illness and disability. I had found social housing in the local community an area of interest and after doing some research into New Charter I found they were a company who looked to constantly move forward whilst striving to provide services for the local community far beyond my expectations of a residential social landlord.

"The programme has allowed me to not only get back to work which I had begun to think would not happen, certainly in the near future, but has also given me an opportunity to work within an area which is both fulfilling and rewarding."

Debbie’s placement is with the debt advice team at New Charter which she finds particularly rewarding. She said: "Working with the debt advice team gives you a feeling of self worth and achievement at the end of every working day. You feel you have made a difference, also having the opportunity to play an active part in helping people who find themselves in a difficult situation."

As well as working alongside full-time permanent members of staff, Debbie is studying for a qualification with the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Gary Sharp, Head of Human Resources at New Charter (pictured above), championed the introduction of Positive Action for Disability at the organisation. He said: "We’ve held the ‘two ticks’ for being positive about disability for almost a decade, but this programme was an opportunity to move us on another level. The support CIH provides has been invaluable for the company as well as the individual. And we’ve gained a highly-motivated trainee who is a great ambassador for us."

Debbie concluded: "I would recommend the programme to others knowing the advantages it has given me in such a short time. I feel the programme has the ability to bridge a gap without which some people feel somewhat excluded in both social and employment areas. The programme allows you to return to work and know the support is there both from your employer and CIH and as the support is ongoing the programme not only helps with the return to work but also looks to sustain employment for the long term."

For more information contact graham.findlay@cih.org

Find out more about CIH's Positive Action for Disability