Living: Residents' Newsletter - Winter 2014

Opening Doors – Enhancing Lives

www.clwydalyn.co.uk

Residents’ Newsletter – Winter 2014

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year

In this issue: Pg 3 Top dog owners embrace digital IDs Pg 6 Residents Conference 2014 Pg 8 Residents plant poppies to mark WW1 Pg 3 Keeping up with your rent payments

Pg 5 Get set for Winter

Telephone: 0800 183 5757 or 01745 536800 Email: enquiries@clwydalyn.co.uk Clwyd Alyn Housing Association is a Charitable Industrial and Provident Society

WELCOME

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Residents Approved

CONTENTS

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OUR EDITORIAL Residents Approved PANEL

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ÃÃ Welfare Benefit Advice 3 ÃÃ Top Dog Owners

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ÃÃResidents Getting Online 4

Residents Approved RESIDENTS CONFERENCE 2015 Do you have any ideas for a Residents Conference in 2015? Are there any big issues which you think we should address?

ÃÃ Annual Residents Conference

6

ÃÃ Healthy Living

7

ÃÃ Community Events

8-9

ÃÃ TPAS Awards

10

ÃÃ What is Your Credit Report?

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Please contact Gareth Hughes-Roberts using Residents Approved Approved the contact details below by 16th January Resident à à Christmas Colouring 2015 with your thoughts.

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CONTACT DETAILS We always want to hear about your local news - if you have any articles you would like to include in the next newsletter, please send them to Gareth on the contact details below by Monday 20 April 2015.

01745 536843

gareth.hughes-roberts@clwydalyn.co.uk

Like us: facebook.com/PennafHGroup Follow us: @PennafHGroup

www.clwydalyn.co.uk

Gareth Hughes-Roberts.

Residents’ Newsletter, 72 Ffordd William Morgan, St Asaph Business Park, St Asaph, Denbighshire, LL17 0JD.

2 Clwyd Alyn Housing Association Residents’ Newsletter - Winter 2014

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ÃÃ Get Set For Winter

Welfare Benefit & Money Advice Paying your rent keeps a roof over your head – get in touch if you are struggling

Rent matters and we are here to help.

If you’re having difficulty keeping up with your rent, you need to talk to us.

Speak to your Housing Officer or you can contact us on Freephone:

0800 183 5757

Keeping up with your rent payments can be hard, especially at Christmas time. We know that some of you are particularly struggling this year following the changes in benefits. But remember it is vital you pay your rent, if you don’t pay your rent you could end up losing your home.

for cheaper calls from a mobile call:

01745 536800

Top dog owners embrace digital IDs Responsible dog owners throughout North Wales are embracing the chance to get their pets micro-chipped for free thanks to Clwyd Alyn, Wales and West Housing and The Dogs Trust.

During the second micro-chipping event in Wrexham, an impressive 78 dogs had their unique micro-chips inserted.

New legislation means that all dogs in Wales will have to have a valid micro-chip ID with their up to date details from 1 March 2015.

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DIGITIAL AGE

Residents getting online

merry christmas

merry christmas

Residents at Llys Erw completed a ‘4 Beginners Information Communication Technology (ICT)’ course run by Denbighshire Voluntary Services in the summer. The course was a great success and now some of the Residents have their own laptop and one lady has her own Android Tablet.

Learning more about getting online has meant that Residents are now able to keep in touch more with family and friends.

Thanks to Communities 2.0 and Conwy Voluntary Services, our Residents in Penmaenmawr have also completed an ICT course, this time a 4 week Beginners ‘First Click’ ICT Course. Residents have been improving their skills in ICT and learning how to keep in contact with family and friends on Facebook and using Facebook safely. The course has been so successful, another First Click course has been organised for another group of Residents in the area.

If you’re looking to learn about getting online or to develop your online skills visit: http://www.communities2point0.org.uk/ computer-courses-in-wales

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Anyone can be a victim of online crime.

Don’t let it be you.

Be safe online: www.getsafeonline.org

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merry christmas

Get set for

Winter Summer seems a distant memory now winter is here. That means it’s time to make sure you’re prepared for the worst of the weather!

Trouble with your home

Staying healthy

If you have burst pipes, severe leaks, no hot water or no heating in severe weather, you can contact us 8.00am – 6.00pm: Monday to Friday on 0800 970 7272 calls outside these times are handled by our partner Galw Gofal on 0845 6050553.

There are things you can do to cut your risk of getting ill and protect you against the cold.

If you are over 65, pregnant or have a long term medical condition you are eligible for a free flu and pneumonia jab. You can speak to your GP about both jabs.

Eco tipsst ahead

d defro Plan your meals an energy when of time - You’ll save ing in the oven or you avoid defrost st overnight in the microwave. Defro ld air released to fridge to utilize co oler. keep the fridge co

Beat flu before it beats you.

Visit: www.beatflu.org

Keeping Warm - Here are some tips to keep warm 1

Eat well. Food is a vital source of energy which helps you keep warm

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Check dripping taps and overflows to prevent freezing of waste pipes and flooding

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Wear several layers of clothes

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Have regular hot drinks

Check on older neighbours or relatives to make sure they’re safe and well

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Draw your curtains at dusk and keep doors closed to block out draughts

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Try to keep your home warm.

Keep your main living room at around 18-21o C (65-70o F)

Clwyd Alyn Housing Association Residents’ Newsletter - Winter 2014 5

Residents CONFERENCE

Our Annual Residents Conference: the Best Ever!

Our Annual Resident Conference recently took place at the Beaufort Park Hotel near Mold on the 16 October 2014. The conference, which has been going since 1997, is a great opportunity for Residents from across the six counties where we operate to get together and meet and talk to staff from Clwyd Alyn.

The theme of the day was: Anti-Social Behaviour and how Residents could ‘find their voice’. The message from the conference was, ‘with knowledge and support and by working together we can take effective action to stop bad behaviour and prevent situations from getting out of control’.

The day started with a hard hitting opening from Baroness Newlove, the UK Government’s Victims Commissioner for

England and Wales. She has used her own experience of having to deal with the death of her husband Gary in 2007, as he confronted a group of youths, damaging the family car, to focus on the needs of vulnerable victims of antisocial behaviour; ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect. Notwithstanding the tragic circumstances, the speech set a positive tone and atmosphere which continued into the workshops and this greatly contributed to the success of the day.

The workshops themselves were also well received and included: Crime Prevention Residents were given advice on precautions that could be taken to stay secure, together with information on how to make homes and communities safer places to live.

“I can play my music up to 11 pm at night!” - based on noisy neighbours, asking the question do you know the law and what can be done to help? This interactive workshop dispelled myths about what is and is not noise nuisance.

Back from the Brink The Other side of the story asking the questions, have you ever made a mistake? Do you think offenders should be given a second chance?

A Powerful Voice - Together Housing Group, a large English Housing Association informed Residents how anti-social behaviour can be turned on its head.

Supporting the Victim - Victim Support, the independent charity for victims and witnesses of crime in England and Wales explained the great work they carry out for individuals and communities and how they can help support victims of crime.

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HEALTHY LIVING

Healthy Living –

Watch the sugar!

merry christmas

merry christmas

merry christmas

You would be amazed at how much sugar is in food and drinks. Sugar can do more harm than people realise!

Excess sugar can mean excess energy which in turn can lead to stored fat in the body and diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Sugar facts:

Sugars:

• 1 The average person in Britain consumes about 700g of sugar a week – that’s 140 teaspoons*

• High: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g

2 Did you know 500ml of cola contains the • equivalent of 17 cubes of sugar 3 A handful of sugar coated jelly sweets • contains 4 teaspoons of sugar

• Low: 5g of total sugars or less per 100g • Visit www.nhs.change4life/pages/ sugar-swaps-ideas.aspx for more ideas on sugar swaps

Here are some tips on how to cut down on sugar: 1 Switch from sugary snacks like biscuits and cakes to fruit, fresh, canned, dried or smoothies.

• Fruit is full of vitamins, minerals and fibre 2 •

Instead of ice cream, try lower fat yogurt and sugar free jelly

3 •

Swap sugary cereals to wholegrain cereal or porridge

4 •

Swap sugary drinks to water, lower fat milk, diet, sugar free or no added sugar drinks

5 •

Look at food labels when shopping, switch to foods that say ‘no added sugar’ or ‘sugar free’

• 6

Look out for the red, amber and green on food labels. Choose more greens and ambers and fewer reds. Red means high, amber means medium and green means low

*(Source: National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2008/2009-2011/2012).

Clwyd Alyn Housing Association Residents’ Newsletter - Winter 2014

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COMMUNITY EVENTS Our Residents have been really busy over the last few months, with lots of exciting projects and community events, from taking part in community clean-ups, such as local litter picks, to planting poppy seeds to commemorate World War 1 and learning how produce is sourced! A big thank you to everyone who got involved.

Volunteers rollin up their sleeves and became ‘power-painters’ spruce up fenc panels in Mold.

ork’, sco’s F o t Te arm isiting out F ‘ From ents v ore ab m d Resi iscover d how to d ition an urced. o nutr ce is s u prod

s from Resident Road, making n Llewely tribute to n their ow te WW1, with ora commem ity bench un a comm ing poppy nt and pla seeds.

Gardening Competition Here’s a selection of entries from our 2014 Summer Gardening Competition

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e salvag s r e d i a lr r Festiva load of gea c a lorry Leeds Musi he from t l.

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s p i t o c E much water –

, se too r for cooking u t ’ n o D ate r oiling w ount of wate b n e h m w nd food a ly the a use on to cover the heating ry a – s s n e io c s d ne an ient an or exp allow f r is more effic e. te tim less wa ut down on c will

Gorwel N ewydd designin ga their own nd making cushions a part of a commun s ity art project r unning a c ross Denbigh shire.

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First Aid Training at Llys Erw, provided by the Red Cross.

r Maw t n a at N ney for n u rf mo raise , raising E. d n u F t SENS Cour

ales with Keep W s e n u d d n m sa Cleaning up ade a beach bivvy fro m o h T idy w ms! recycled it e

Clwyd Alyn Housing Association Residents’ Newsletter - Winter 2014 9

TPAS

TPAS Awards Every year, TPAS (Tenant Participation Advisory Service) Cymru hold ‘The Participation Awards’ – giving the opportunity to recognise and celebrate all the work everyone does. This year Clwyd Alyn and its Residents featured heavily in the awards ceremony:

Clwyd Alyn wins National Landlord Award Clwyd Alyn was awarded the overall ‘Roy Parry Landlord Excellence Award’. Neil Moffatt, Director of Housing Services for Clwyd Alyn, commented “We are absolutely delighted to have been presented with this important award which is a real tribute not only to the staff of the Association but also to our Residents who are directly involved in helping to shape the services we provide”.

Anne’s a real inspiration to others Anne Rothwell from Pentre Mawr Sheltered Housing Scheme was presented with the ‘Ruth Radley Outstanding Achievement in Participation Award’. Ms Rothwell was nominated for the award in recognition of the part she played in the ‘Paired Reading Scheme’ where Pentre Mawr Residents joined with others from the local community to work with pupils from Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan sharing their love of reading with students who in turn helped them with e-reading devices. She was also nominated for the various fundraising events she has organised, including many for Macmillan Cancer Research and also for the work she does improving the local environment as a volunteer in Pentre Mawr Park and as a regular litter-pick helper.

Reading scheme is runner up at national award The ‘Paired Reading Scheme’ with Residents at Pentre Mawr sheltered housing scheme in Abergele and pupils at Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan was also runner up, coming third in the ‘Tenant Participation Project’ category.

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CREDIT REPORT

What is your Credit report?

Your credit report - also known as your credit file - consists of information about your past financial behaviour.

Every time you apply for a loan, credit card or mortgage, your credit report will be used to help lenders decide whether your application should be approved or rejected. If accepted, the information in your credit report will also determine the interest rate you pay.

Credit reports: what information is included?

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Any late payments on existing or past credit card or loan accounts

1•

Your name and address

6 •

2•

Whether you are on the electoral roll at your current address

Any missed payments on existing or past accounts

3•

How much you currently owe lenders

4• Details of any joint financial products you hold (e.g. a current account)

7•

Any County Court Judgments (CCJs) made against you

8 •

Whether your home has been repossessed or you have moved away owing money

Do you want access to a free credit report for life? www.noddle.co.uk offers you access to your credit report free for life – not just for 30 days.

Noddle will help you find the best credit card and loan products for you based on your credit rating, as well as helping you to make more of your money with access to money saving offers and vouchers.

9•

Whether you have been declared bankrupt or entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

Specifically, your credit report will contain details of when you have borrowed money and whether you have repaid it on time.

For more information on credit reports please visit http://www.which.co.uk/ money/credit-cards-andloans/guides/your-creditreport-explained/what-isa-credit-report-/

Alternatively you can access a copy of your credit report from either www.experian.co.uk or www.equifax.co.uk.

However, please note that with both after the 30 day free trial there is a monthly fee to be paid.

*Information in this article has been sourced from www.which.co.uk and www.noddle.co.uk.

Clwyd Alyn Housing Association Residents’ Newsletter - Winter 2014 11

Christmas Colouring Competition Parents! Once your child has coloured the picture in, send it to us by the 5 January 2015, in the pre-paid envelope provided. Please be sure to fill in your name and address and contact details. Only one entry per child, however if you have more than one child in the family, please either use the Welsh version or photo copy the original. Photocopies of the original images coloured in will be accepted. The prizes will include two £10 vouchers donated by Tesco. There is one prize for children aged up to six years old and one for children aged between seven and eleven. The competition will be judged by Clare Parry, Mold’s Community Champion and Louise Blackwell, Clwyd Alyn’s Community Development Officer.

Parent’s Name …………………………………………………..............

Address …………………………………………………..........

Child’s Name …………………………………………………................

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Child’s Age …………………………………………………....................

Contact Number …………………………………………....