Shout it from the Rooftop

Shout it from the

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

Magazine

The Challenge of Gardening Page 10-11

Who’s Going To Pick My Nose Page 34-35

Taking the Artistic Road Page 12-15

Ladies Day Page 38

Emergency repairs and anti-social behaviour can be reported even when we are closed.

Call us free on 0800 0421 800 or visit our website at www.rooftopgroup.org

Parsons Gardens, Sargent Square, Leamington Road, Broadway.

WR12 7FF

Phone: 01386 420837 E-mail: sales@rooftopgroup.org website: www.rooftopgroup.org

Unsure if you can afford to move here?

We can help with a financial assessment and advice.

ENJOY AN ACTIVE RETIREMENT IN THE COTSWOLDS Parsons Gardens combines 50 one and two bedroom apartments and bungalows for rent and shared ownership with a range of communal facilities and access to 24 hour on site care and support, tailored to your needs.

With homes still available you too can enjoy an affordable retirement in the stunning historic Cotswold village of Broadway.

www.rooftopgroup.org/parsons-gardens

WE HAVE A NEW WEBSITE… COME AND HAVE A LOOK!!

If you’ve been to the Rooftop website in the last few weeks, you’ll have seen that it’s been improved. Our brand-new site helps you find out about what we do, how we work, and what you can do as a resident or a member of our community.

If you’re looking for a transfer, a shared ownership home or details on our older people schemes you can find that on Homes. If you want information on the Rooftop Health and Wellbeing team, our Money Advice team, or you need help finding work with our job coaches you can click on Lives. If you want to read previous copies of the Resident Report, our financial reports, or details of who our board members are then navigate to Business.

You’ll find details on what to expect from us as a tenant and what we expect from you, in a clear no nonsense way. We want you to have the information that just makes working together easier and smoother.

The new resident page is currently a work in progress. You can still pay your rent via AllPay, and you can book a nonemergency repair, but, for the short term you won’t be able to see your rent balance (if you need a balance please do call our team and they will give that to you over the phone) as we put in place a vastly expanded service.

So, have a look at the new Rooftop website on your laptop, your phone, your tablet, have a play with it, see if you can break it, and we can all make it better together.

Come and explore at www.rooftopgroup.org

IN THIS

ISSUE Preventing Legionella

page 4-6

Affordable Housing In Minsterworth

page 8-9

With the new tenant portal you’ll be able to book repairs directly with us, report any issues to your Neighbourhood Officer, find details of when your bathroom or kitchen are due for replacement, change your details, send us messages and email the people you need all with one simple login.

The Challenge of Gardening

page 10-11

Taking the Artistic Road

page 12-15

There’s No Place Like Home

page 16-17

Together with Tenants

page 18-19

Over the past few months the team at Rooftop have been hard at work getting the site right… but, and this is the most important thing, we need to know if we have got it right!

You’ll see some things change as people like you use the site and tell us that it’s not doing what you want it to. Let us know what you think by using the “Contact Us” button.

Give us details of any improvements or changes you’d like to see on the site, and we will look into each and every one of those suggestions. Without your feedback, we can’t make it better.

Learning the Rooftop Way

page 20-21

Annual Report

page 22-29

Resident Excellence Panel

page 32-33

Who’s Going to Pick My Nose

page 34-35

The People’s Cup

page 36-37

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

Ladies Day

page 38

St George’s Day at Cherry Orchard

page 39

Seated Excercise at Cherry Orchard

page 39

Puzzle Pages

page 42-43

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Preventing LEGIONELLA We are responsible for most repairs in your home, and will ensure that your home is safe for you to live in. There are some problems which as the resident of the property you can help prevent.

Legionella are a species of bacteria that cause a potentially fatal form of pneumonia, Legionnaires’ disease.

This guide explains, in general terms, what legionella is and outlines some of the simple precautions you can take to control those risks.

What is legionella?

Legionella is bacteria commonly found in natural water courses such as rivers and ponds. Since legionella bacteria are widespread in the environment, they may contaminate and grow in other water systems such as cooling towers and hot and cold water services. They survive low temperatures and can live and multiply in water temperatures between 20oC and 45oC, particularly if there is stagnant water and a supply of nutrients present such as rust, sludge, scale, algae and other bacteria. High temperatures of 60oC and over will kill them. Legionella bacteria can cause a form of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease, as well as other less serious illnesses.

How do people get Legionnaires’?

People catch Legionnaires’ disease by breathing in air containing the bacteria.

The bacteria is present in an aerosol that might not even be visible. These aerosols can be formed from fine droplets produced by running a tap or shower, or flushing a toilet. You can’t get Legionnaires’ disease from drinking water and it can’t be passed from one person to another.

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What are the symptoms?

Everyone is potentially vulnerable to infection but some people are at higher risk.Those at higher risk include smokers and heavy drinkers, and people over 45 years of age, suffering from chronic respiratory or kidney disease or a weakened immune system. The symptoms are similar to those of flu, i.e. high temperature, fever and chills, cough, muscle pains and headache. In severe cases, there may also be pneumonia and, occasionally, diarrhoea, as well as signs of mental confusion.

Not everyone who comes into contact with legionella bacteria becomes ill.

If you suspect that you or someone in your home has contracted Legionnaires’ disease, you should contact your doctor as soon as possible. If your GP diagnoses Legionnaires’ disease, contact us immediately so that water analysis and any necessary treatment of your water system can take place.

How to reduce the risk of legionella in your home The likelihood of legionella in your home is very low. Most households don’t store too much water and they use water regularly so it’s not standing still in pipes and tanks.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

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LEGIONELLA There are some simple steps you can take to help prevent the bacteria growing rapidly: Keep your hot water cylinder thermostat set at 60oC as water at this temperature will kill any legionella bacteria. Warning: Be aware that water at this temperature may cause scalding.

Keep all shower heads and hoses free from a build-up of limescale, mould or algae growth by de-scaling every three months - or more frequently if the shower hose shows signs of blocking. Use any domestic de-scaling solution that you can buy from hardware shops (the same as you would for your iron or kettle). After de-scaling, flush the shower thoroughly and soak the shower head and/or hose in bleach, which helps sterilise and kill any bacteria.

Clean the taps in your bath, basin and sink regularly, including any spray inserts, by brushing the scale off with a nylon brush and/or wiping them with a domestic de-scaling solution (the same as the one used for shower heads). If you go on holiday or leave your property for a week or more, when you come back, flush toilets (with the lid down) and run all taps and showers continuously for approximately two minutes to flush out any bacteria. You should run the water slowly to start with to avoid spray. You can then run it faster. When you’re running the shower, you should hold the shower head directly over the plug hole.

Run garden hoses for one minute before you use them.

Keep water butts clean and don’t use them to supply a pumped device.

Make sure that lids on water tanks are tight-fitting to prevent contamination, and check that the tank insulation is properly in place.

Report any deposits such as rust or any unusual matter flowing from your taps.

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Let us know if the hot water is not heating properly or if there are any other problems with the system.

For more information:The Health & Safety Executive is the government body responsible for water hygiene and Legionnaires’ disease.

You can view further advice and information at their website www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires

To report a repair please contact 01386 420800 and select the option for repairs.

Alternatively, you can report a repair online at www.rooftopgroup.org/repairs SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

Our Job Coaches can offer you support if you are looking to move into or closer to work or training.

You can be supported by a dedicated Job Coach and offered a personalised package of support that's based on your own strengths, needs and circumstances.

Job Coaches will help you with your CV, your cover letters, completing applications, getting ready for interviews, using computers or any other support you and your Job Coach feel you need.

Interested? Want to know more?

Contact our Job Coaches on 01386 420800 or Email bbo@rooftopgroup.org Rooftop as part of Fusion, a collaboration of local Worcestershire organisations, have created Building Better Opportunities. This project is funded by the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund to offer an employment support programme for local residents.

HRH THE PRINCESS ROYAL HELPS CELEBRATE OUR NEW

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN MINSTERWORTH Rooftop Housing Group and Minsterworth Parish Council are delighted that HRH The Princess Royal as Patron of the Rural Housing Association, accepted their invitation to the official opening ceremony of Ellis Bank Lane, an Affordable Housing project in Minsterworth, on Tuesday 9th April 2019.

Minsterworth, like many villages has seen little or no development of affordable housing, which allow younger people to stay in the area.

Consequently; the village has seen the loss of the shop, post office, pub and most recently the primary school.

To tackle the decline in village life Richard Few, the former Chairman of the Parish Council, began the project which has been seen to fruition by the current Chairman; Roger Blowey.

The journey has not been without difficulty and sadly as time passed, village amenities closed.

HRH The Princess Royal with our residents

HRH The Princess Royal Opening Ceremony 8

With extraordinary patience and persistence since 2012 from Tewkesbury Borough Council, Rooftop, the land owner and other organisations, we now have completed a project which provides homes for local people. Local people that want to stay in their community.

The scheme, designed by Quattro Architects comprises of 14 properties with a mixture of two and three bedroom houses and bungalows for affordable rent and shared ownership, allowing first time buyers to step on the property ladder.

SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

Knarsboro Homes commenced the build in September 2017. The properties were soon occupied enabling people with a local connection to Minsterworth to move into their new homes in October 2018.

There are now many young families in the new homes and they are already breathing some new life into the village and showing how crucial affordable housing is for keeping rural communities alive.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

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THE CHALLENGE OF

GARDENING A pretty garden isn’t just beautiful to look at, there are also many health benefits if you’re prepared to dig in. Rooftop has a Health and Wellbeing team and Mental Health Outreach worker who regularly arrange activities that can be of benefit to our customers, and the Lydney Gardening Project is one of them. benefits from gardening, including reducing depression, loneliness, anxiety and stress.

Working on your garden is also an excellent way to get all-round exercise for improving strength, endurance and flexibility, and can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other medical conditions.

Lydney Gateway is part of our Young People Service and provides accommodation for up to 10 young people who have already faced many challenges in life. The Lydney property has quite a large garden area, which was not going to win any plaudits for its looks.

Rooftop partnered with Marks and Spencer in Monmouth, who provided volunteers and a donation of £500 as part of National Volunteers Week. The young people from Lydney pitched in enthusiastically and at the beginning of June a major transformation began to take shape. It was important that the project was customer led and the residents from Lydney Gateway came up with lots of ideas for the space such as graffiti art (that will be phase two!), a vegetable patch and a wildflower area.

Members of our Gloucester Health and Wellbeing Team came up with the idea of doing a makeover when our Mental Health Outreach worker, Christine Searl sent them details of how gardening can improve your health in a variety of ways. Christine read about the National Gardens Scheme, which has called for doctors to prescribe patients with gardening on the NHS. A report published by The King’s Fund has recognised that there are a variety of health

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SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

We were very fortunate to also receive donations from B & Q, Lydney Skips Hire, a lot of gorgeous bedding plants from Ewan McKay, father of our Job Coach, Gemma, and two old tractor tyres donated by the brother of Rooftop’s Annette Bazeley, to be used as planters. More plants were donated by the local Coinros Park Nursery. We also benefitted from the loan of lots of equipment for the day and Neil Stansbie, the Gardener at Lydney, helped with extra hours of preparation and also dug out the veg plot.

In just a day, with so many people involved, the transformation was amazing and the rewards for the customers were plain to see. Everyone worked so hard, weeding, moving earth and turf into the skip, moving compost piles, painting the fence, planting, raking and installing two new rotary driers.

The hard work doesn’t stop here, as the new garden will need to be maintained and there are plans to keep improving the area, but the smiles on everybody’s faces at the end of the day was proof enough that gardening really does bring a lot of joy.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

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TAKING THE

ARTISTIC ROAD

Art in the Community

by Tony Henderson Whitney Evans 12

SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

TAKING THE

ARTISTIC ROAD

Rooftop prides itself on its social purpose and puts community at the heart of its work in the housing sector. The Gypsy and Traveller community has, and still is, often the focus of prejudice, with many organisations and individuals not wanting or being willing to work with them.We have been working with Gypsies and Travellers for 20 years now and we’ve just completed a fantastic art project working in association with the Travellers Times.

Rooftop’s connection with the Gypsy and Traveller community began in 1999. There was no census data available to assist with housing needs, so Rooftop commissioned an independent report called “Where’s the Choice”. The housing sector hadn’t made much effort to find out what the Gypsy and Traveller community wanted or needed and this report, published in 2000, began to fill the gaps. A follow up report called “The Forgotten Minority Gypsies and Travellers” came out a few years later and Rooftop then pushed to be involved with providing culturally suitable accommodation.

I’ve been working alongside the Gypsy and Traveller community for nearly ten years, since Rooftop took over ownership and management of the Houndsfield Lane Gypsy and Traveller site from Bromsgrove District Council in 2010.

I’ve developed a real relationship with the community and am chair of the Worcestershire Gypsy Roma and Traveller Partnership, a member of the National Association of Gypsy Traveller Officers and also sit on the National Advisory Panel, as run by Rooftop’s Chief Executive Boris Worrall.

I’m on the ground day in day out building trust with the community, making sure that Rooftop colleagues who visit our tenants, are aware of what’s expected and that they have a culturally sensitive approach.

The Travellers Times Arts Award project came about from a conversation I had with Boris Worrall, Travellers Times Project Manager Julie Colman and Youth Programme Leader, Lisa Smith.

Tony Henderson and Lisa Smith

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

We were discussing the lack of educational achievement of young people at Houndsfield Lane, kids not currently in mainstream education, and how we might change that.

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Jack Evans and Charles Newland from Travellers Times

Whitney Evans and Dan Hawthorne-Salter and Charles Newland from Travellers Times

We were seeking some advice from the Travellers’ Times team, having recently worked with Travellers Times editor-at-large Damian Le Bas on a spoken word film. After watching some other short films created by young people as part of the Travellers Times project, a filmmaking project was envisaged. Shortly after the meeting a news article was submitted to Travellers Times about an Arts Award run by a Lincolnshire based Traveller support group and our idea was born.

An Arts Council organisation called Arts Connect were brought on board to support the project and Lisa Smith of the Travellers Times went through Arts Award delivery training. Arts Connect also supported us with finances that went towards workbooks and materials.

Rooftop gave staff time in the form of outreach for the families and young people and financial support. The Big Lottery Community fund also gave money through the Travellers Times.

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SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

TAKING THE

ARTISTIC ROAD Early development work started before Christmas with the final project plans coming together in March for an Easter Holiday time creative programme. It wasn’t all an easy ride.

To be honest it was a bit of a nightmare to get the kids to engage at first. They’re not used to being in an educational environment, so their attention span was incredibly short.

It’s nothing short of amazing that we and they made the project work.

The young people spent two weeks exploring different art forms, researching and interviewing Romany Gypsy author and poet Damian Le Bas, reviewing films and graffiti art, creating some graffiti art of their own, forming a spoken word piece and finally producing their own short, spoken word arts piece, all with a focus on inspiration and aspiration.

The Travellers Times team were crucial participants and Project Manager Julie Colman said “we’re going to be challenging the participants to work really hard, but we are confident that these bright young people will produce some amazing work, and achieve a Bronze Arts award and great short film for their CVs”.

The young people certainly did produce some incredible work and I hope they’re proud of themselves. I am certainly proud to be an advocate for the rights of the community on a national stage.

Toloulah Smith, Charlotte O’Neill and Lisa Smith from Travellers Times This isn’t the first time I’ve helped with projects for young people in the Gypsy and Traveller community. I helped devise and facilitate an education programme that directly tackled low attendance for children who lived at our Houndsfield Lane site. Children from Romany, Gypsy, and Traveller communities are at most risk of missing out on education opportunities. The project identified children who had fallen below 85% attendance and gave them the chance to be awarded a laptop if they achieved over 90% attendance. Five children achieved the goal.

I hope this latest Arts Award will be just one of many successful schemes Rooftop participates in to help young Travellers and Gypsies and I’m incredibly grateful to the Travellers Times for their support. We both work tirelessly to improve outcomes for, arguably, the most marginalised ethnic minority in the UK.

Travellers Art Final artwork

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THERE’S NO PLACE

LIKE HOME Many people find their forever home, or the place they most want to live, relatively early in life, but Rooftop tenant Lee Barnett holds the record for being our customer for the longest. This May he turns 92 years young, and Ashton Under Hill has been home for all of those years. You may see him out and about on his bicycle or carrying his shopping home in his rucksack as he gets off the bus.

He was born in 1927 in a house on Elmley Road. He has a rent book that showed the house cost 12 shillings a week.

Then in 1975 he moved to the bungalows just down the road, that Rooftop inherited from the local authority. He is the youngest of nine children; all five of his older brothers went to fight in WWII and happily all returned safely.

His father was a carter, in charge of a team of horses and Lee remembers they had big gardens where they grew a lot of their own vegetables, which were a god send during the war. He remembers with little fondness the whale meat sausages that were part of the ration pack. Thankfully the odd rabbit they were able to catch satisfied their need for protein.

Ashton Under Hill was quite a different place when he was a child. The railway still stopped in the village and the surrounding land was a centre for market gardening. Lee went to the village school, then to Bredon Senior Hancocks School. He left when he was 14 and worked for the grower, Archer.

He used to know everybody in Ashton Under Hill and says they were all hard workers but also tried to squeeze in a bit

Lee on his bicycle 16

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Turpin Brothers

of fun. If he wasn’t using the local train to get out and about, there was always the “Brown Eagle”, the bus that would drive out to surrounding villages or Evesham. He said the driver would never leave anyone behind so there were times when they were squashed in like sardines, probably not allowable under modern health and safety laws!

Before long, Lee wanted his own set of wheels and was a big fan of motorbikes. He remembers buying his first at “Coulters” on Port Street in Evesham. It was a second hand BSA 250 and cost him £80, half the price of a new one.

Young Lee

If he wasn’t market gardening or out on his motorbike, Lee would be watching boxing or playing darts. He’s still a fan of boxing and avidly reads his Boxing News. The Turpin Brothers were famous in Lee’s youth and he’d travel to Cheltenham Town Hall or Gloucester Baths for the big fight.

In 1951, Randolph Turpin, a little-known rank outsider at the time, became the World Middle Weight Champion, unexpectedly beating the title holder, Sugar Ray Robinson.

Lee also remembers Dick Turpin, who became British champion.

Nowadays he prefers to stay in and read. He still grows his own vegetables and has lovely neat rows of broad beans and potatoes. He’s swapped motorised wheels for a trusty bicycle so keep an eye out for him if you’re in Ashton Under Hill.

He’s an absolute delight to have as a customer and his home is immaculate.

Ashton Under Hill EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

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Rooftop

TOGETHER WITH TENANTS

It’s important to Rooftop that we create a positive relationship with our tenants and residents. We work hard to achieve this and continually strive to strengthen and improve customer engagement, alongside aiming to provide safe, decent and affordable homes.

We think we are doing a pretty good job but realise we can always do better and welcome input from the people that really matter, and that’s you.

Not all Housing Associations have clear mechanisms for building relationships, communicating with customers and being accountable. A lack of consistency between how different associations operate has led to some tenants and residents saying their landlord feels distant and this has resulted in a lack of trust in housing associations in some places. As a sector we’re doing something about it. The National Housing Federation (NHF) has put together a plan called Together with Tenants and Rooftop Housing Group has been an early adopter of the plan and a leading voice in consultations that have happened so far.

As part of this a national Tenant Advisory Panel has been established and one of our customers, Daisy Halford, is a member of the 15 strong team. She is a former Resident Excellence Panel member and has been volunteering with Rooftop for two and a half years where she has been involved in scrutinising many aspects of housing, including repairs and aids and adaptations The job of Daisy and the Panel is to guide, critique and shape the Together with Tenants project as it develops. She was encouraged to apply with the help of the Rooftop team and Boris Worrall, Group Chief Executive at Rooftop, and Daisy was selected from a large number of candidates following an open application process in May 2019.

The NHF has been working with its members, tenants, residents, tenant representative groups, and others to understand what practical change is needed to improve relationships between landlords and customers and Daisy is now a key part of this. Initially the National Housing Federation created a four-point plan for delivering change across the sector.

“To help put the plan into action I have attended conferences and consultations to get residents feedback and I have had the opportunity to talk at these conferences about the plan and how we intend to move forward” said Daisy. “I gave a presentation at the Together with Tenants summit on 1 May at Millennium Point in Birmingham, and have been to two consultation events on the Social Housing Green Paper, where I also got to meet with the Housing Minister.”

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“I am pleased to say that Rooftop is an early adopter of Together with Tenants and I will be working with the team to help put the plan into action. The Tenant Advisory Panel has already had an impact by helping to revise the original four point NHF plan to a six point one.“ The commitments of the revised charter are:

1 2 3 4 5 6

RELATIONSHIPS - Better relationships between Housing Associations and their residents

Daisy Halford

COMMUNICATION - Residents will receive clear and accessible information

VOICE AND INFLUENCE - Views from residents will be sought and valued by their Housing Associations.

ACCOUNTABILITY - Residents will work in partnership with their Housing Associations to hold them to account.

QUALITY - Residents can expect good, quality homes from their Housing Association.

WHEN THINGS GO WRONG - Residents will receive timely advice and support when things go wrong.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

Daisy has been a key voice for tenants and a fantastic representative for Rooftop at Together with Tenants events. “I have had the chance to talk about the charter commitments as well as writing an article for Inside Housing on why I think the charter is needed.

I have been able to give an update at a Tenants Conference on our first meeting. However, due to recent changes in Government we are still waiting for the outcomes on the Social Housing Green Paper, which I have attended two consultations on.”

The Together with Tenants conferences and consultations have enabled Daisy to make contact with customers of other Housing Associations.

“Many housing association residents are excited this plan is going forward and hope that this will give them the peace of mind that they will be taken seriously.”

Rooftop is certainly taking this seriously and we will keep you updated on the progress of the project.

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LEARNING T H E R O O F T O P WAY

Over the last 18 months we have changed the ways in which we engage with our customers and as part of this we piloted our first Rooftop Customer Training Academy, a nine week programme of various topics to give customers the opportunity to learn more about Social Housing and Rooftop. The aim was to provide customers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to pursue other engagement opportunities to enable them to have a voice within Rooftop, such as joining our scrutiny panel or even applying to become a board member.

Many Rooftop staff gave presentations to explain the various parts of the business.

Boris Worrall, Group Chief Executive, gave an account of Rooftop’s story and governance; John Rockley, Head of Communications, explained how we get messages out to both customers and stakeholders and how the media side works in general; Paresh Laxhman, Head

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of Development gave an overview of the department, how we find sites, and what happens from Rooftop acquiring a site, to how the building process starts, all the way to housing handover. Lisa Sutton, Neighbourhood Manager, who also oversaw the Academy, gave presentations on the history of social housing and about customer’s rights and responsibilities; SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

members of our Health and Wellbeing team explained about the events, exercise sessions, mental health outreach and domestic abuse services we offer and our Repairs and Assets and Income teams gave presentations on what to do if your property needs a repair, how we manage the repair system, as well as what happens if rent falls into arrears. The sessions were interactive and involved lively question and answer sessions.

Paul Brockman attended the academy and if his response is anything to go by, it was a hit.

“I was delighted to be invited to attend the Rooftop Training Academy sessions” Paul said, “if they are repeated and you are given the opportunity, I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the history of social housing. The sessions covered a diverse range of subjects from the transfer of council housing stock to modern day plans to build sustainable, affordable housing in many different communities. I enjoyed the free and easy atmosphere of the presentations and I took away a new understanding of Rooftop as a landlord and the aims of Rooftop Group overall.”

The pilot training academy was launched on 30 April 2019 and it was a great success, with all seven attendees graduating from the course on 9 July at a celebratory lunch, where they were awarded with their certificates. The feedback we have had from the attendees has been very positive and we are planning on rolling the customer academy out next year so watch this space.

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different Gypsy and Traveller families engaged with on community projects

SUPPORT AND EMPLOYABILITY

ANNUAL REPORT Older People Service

for all ages and abilities.There are social groups and activities that create a real community feel and are a great way to meet new people.

FACTS AND FIGURES • Extra Care: 460 units • Independent Living schemes: 216 units Number of 2018/2019 New Customers: • Independent Living schemes: 27 • Extra Care Schemes:

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Our Older Person Schemes (OPS) offer independent living for people aged over 55, with support available 24/7 if and when they need it. We have accommodation in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

We also provide housing for people with a learning disability and/ or mental health within our Extra Care and Older Persons schemes who are getting older and need the extra support. A lot of Older Persons services don’t do this, but we are integrating our communities and it’s working very well.

In July 2018 Cherry Orchard House in Pershore re-opened with an extension to the original service providing 53 units of accommodation as an Extra Care facility. This started a new relationship with Radis Community Care.

Adult Social Care remains one of Worcestershire County Council’s top priorities and currently more than 40% of the budget is spent on this. Late last year they ran a campaign celebrating 70 years of Adult Social Care, which highlighted the different services and support offered.

In October 2018, Worcestershire County Council welcomed news in the Autumn Budget that an extra £240 million will be invested into Adult Social Care, but stressed more funding was needed to meet the current long-term demand. Nationally, there is growing pressure on social care and Worcestershire is no exception.

Councillor Adrian Hardman, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care at Worcestershire County Council said: “The extra care schemes are a key part of our plan for developing resources and continuing to support Adult Social Care.They are one of several initiatives we’re introducing to help support residents in Worcestershire live independently and enjoy a greater quality of life for as long as possible.”

Our newest Extra Care development, Parsons Gardens, opened in January 2019 providing 50 apartments and bungalows, split evenly with 25 shared ownership and 25 units for affordable rent. The provision of care is also with Radis Community Care.

Both Parsons Gardens and Cherry Orchard House contain independently run cafes, helping establish themselves as integral parts of their local communities.

We continue to work with Heritage Care in Redditch and Coleford and Extra Care Charitable Trust in Evesham and Gloucester.

We also have OPS in Evesham, Bredon and Broadway, housing 231 people.

All our sites are supported by our Health and Wellbeing team, offering regular health MOT’s and classes, developed

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CUSTOMER ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019

ANNUAL REPORT

Domestic Abuse FACTS AND FIGURES • The Domestic Abuse Team provided one to one support to 249 victims of Domestic Abuse • Rooftop ran 21 female recovery groups • Rooftop worked in partnership with West Mercia Women’s Aid to develop a Male Domestic Abuse course and delivered the first course from January 2019 • Rooftop have set up 6 safehouses across Worcestershire in the last year • Rooftop and West Mercia set up the first Male Victim Helpline in Worcestershire which went live in September 2018 Rooftop work in partnership with West Mercia Women’s Aid to deliver Domestic abuse support to female and male victims and survivors of Domestic Abuse in Worcestershire. Rooftop provides male and female one to one support, Recovery Groupwork and have 6 safehouses across the county.

The BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) project funded by Worcestershire County Council came to an end at the end of June, but one of its legacies was delivering 5 workshops to professionals that has raised awareness and understanding West Mercia Women’s Aid were successful in a bid for some funding to support the Male Domestic Abuse service and are working with Rooftop who have employed the staff member to deliver this piece of work.

The project will run for 12 months and focus on raising awareness and understanding of Domestic Abuse within Worcester City as well as increasing access and support to victims living in the city.

CUSTOMER ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019

RAFT FACTS AND FIGURES • RAFT supported 33 young people • RAFT provides support to young people between the age of 18-21 to help them access accommodation and sustain a tenancy Rooftop is part of Worcestershire’s Young People Consortium with The Basement Project and Redditch Nightstop, and we support young people in the Worcester, Malvern and Wychavon area who are homeless, facing homelessness or have other issues or concerns.

Our vision is to “Enable the Young people we work with to leave our services with a legacy of skills, knowledge, experiences, emotional and social resilience and contacts (supportive networks) that enable them to continue to grow and mature into independent young adults”.

We work to achieve positive outcomes for young people, through an accredited group work programme called Lifewise and providing ongoing tailored one to one support.

We currently support young people with a variety of different issues, such as managing tenancies, Budgeting and debts, getting into employment and education and continuing to support them to move away from dependence and onto independence.

Many of the young people we work with have had a traumatic start in life, and need extra support to help find and move into their own accommodation, sustain a tenancy, learn the skills to live independently, develop their confidence and need support designed to meet their unique needs to help them to get into training, education or employment. For some, their early experiences have left them with real fears about accepting help and keeping appointments which can often have a negative impact on claiming benefits, particularly since the introduction of Universal Credit. For others, the idea of living on their own is exciting, but the reality of managing their bills, paying council tax, and running a home can be daunting.

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ANNUAL REPORT For those without a regular routine can find life chaotic and that their capacity to maintain a stable home amid the chaos is very challenging. Our team needs to work out a way to connect with the young people that offers positive support, in a patient and consistent way to build compassionate and understanding relationships that are not afraid to challenge where required.

However supportive we are, the first priority is to help the young people into a safe and stable home in order to help them to feel secure, and to help them to understand how to maintain their tenancy. Our team are skilled at problem solving, and in assisting young people to learn to navigate what can sometimes be a bewildering and scary adult world of managing money, dealing with officialdom and understanding letters and correspondence.

Health and Wellbeing FACTS AND FIGURES • In 2018 -2019 we welcomed 283 new customers to the service

• Working with local schools to provide Intergenerational programmes, bringing older and younger people together; • Partnership working with Worcester University who provide placements from trainee occupational therapist and physiotherapists to work with customers at Cherry Orchard House and Parsons Gardens; • Providing health MOTs to older people; • Delivering over 5,000 hours of health and wellbeing activities in the first six months of this year; • Working with partner agencies and Rooftop colleagues to develop activities at Carpenter House, a ground breaking service that integrates housing and support for people with mental health problems and learning disabilities into mainstream housing; • Working with Rooftop colleagues to enable the reopening of the café at Cherry Orchard House in Pershore; • Providing sessions of walking football, which has been particularly successful in engaging older men. It has been so successful that we no run two sessions per week. Although the group is predominantly male, we take an inclusive approach and encourage all our customers to get involved.

The Health & Wellbeing Service aims to address social isolation by bringing people together around activities that improve health and wellbeing. We work with customers, partner agencies and volunteers to help facilitate activities, both in Rooftop specialist accommodation but also in the community. Many of our programmes are managed by their members.

Through the sterling work of our Volunteer Coordinator, we involve all sections of the community in our projects, from younger to older people, including staff and our customers. Our Outreach Worker provides a six-week support service for people who may be dealing with emotional or mental health issues.

Some of the highlights for the six-strong health and wellbeing team for this year include: • Grant funding from £500 from Active Gloucester in partnership with Sports England to set up a project at the Chinese Resource Centre;

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CUSTOMER ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019

ANNUAL REPORT Young People Service

Building Better Opportunities (BBO)

FACTS AND FIGURES •

•

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The Young Peoples service have held over 80 activities in each service promoting independent life skills 42 Young people have been referred into the services for supported accommodation 3 customers have moved on from supported housing to University

FACTS AND FIGURES •

• • • •

178 people were given “Jobs & Training Support” in 2018-2019.

28 came onto BBO3 during that time.

21 went onto BBO2 15 onto BBO1DM 9 onto BBO1

• 73 onto BBO in total Rooftop’s Young People Service offer support for young people aged between 16 and 25 years, providing specialist housing, support and advice, as well as opportunities for development and learning, with the aim of enabling young people to lead an independent life.

We provide temporary housing for young people across Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. This can provide a vital respite for a young person who is homeless, in need of guidance and security, or even escaping an abusive situation.

Over the year; • Lydney Gateway customers (LGW) received funding and volunteering support from Marks and Spencer’s and in collaboration with Rooftop’s Health and Wellbeing Team have begun constructing a new garden area that they can nurture and enjoy. Guinness Trust, who own the building at LGW, will also be participating with the gardening.

• The Frampton Road service will be holding their open day on the 06.07.19 with many external partnerships attending. There will be activities delivered with Rooftop Health and Wellbeing.

• Money Advice hold a monthly drop session in each service for our customers and will respond immediately to customers who are in financial crisis.

The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK. It puts people in the lead to improve their lives and communities, often through small local projects.

Building Better Opportunities (BBO) is a National Lottery and European Social Fund project designed to tackle poverty and promote social inclusion throughout Worcestershire.

Rooftop’s BBO Job Coaches have been helping participants and residents into or closer to work, education or training a variety of ways which are tailored to their individual needs.

Job seekers are helped to create the basic tools needed for job searching; CV, cover letter, online accounts and interview preparation as well as more specific support such as at interviews or jobs fairs, or help getting into voluntary work to build skills and confidence. Whatever is needed to remove barriers.

The help we provide takes a much more holistic approach than just looking at participants’ job applications. Much work has been done to make it as easy and quick as possible to get participants the support they need. Referrals have been made to external organisations, including West Mercia Women’s Aid, Help for Heroes, The Royal British Legion and Swanswell. Internal referrals have also been made to support people with their mental health, and to help improve diet and benefits.

In the past year organisations have been sourced and relationships built, helping participants to access computer courses. A positive relationship with Evesham Adventure Playground has helped participants widen the perimeter for their job searching and access roles which would otherwise have been unavailable to them.

CUSTOMER ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019

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CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

ANNUAL REPORT NEIGHBOURHOODS AND INCOME

ANNUAL REPORT FAC T S A N D F I G U R E S : NEIGHBOURHOODS 49 community events carried out in 2018/19 35 Neighbourhood Inspections Average re-let time for empty properties 11.3 days Number of lettings 428

INCOME 1624 customers supported (target 400) Customer income 2.2 million (target 1m) Additional income from grants ÂŁ220k

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Over the last year we have changed the way that we are engaging with our customers.

The Neighbourhood Officers have smaller patches with a target to carry out four community events per annum in their areas.

This has enabled more community-based engagement, which in turn has improved Customer satisfaction levels. We have increased the number on our resident scrutiny panel from four members to six to enable them more capacity when carrying out reviews. We have launched a pilot Customer Training Academy, which is a nine week programme of topics to help customers understand more about Rooftop and social housing in general. We hope that this will give customers the knowledge and confidence to have a voice within Rooftop whether that be thorough our volunteering programme, joining our scrutiny panel or even applying to be on our Board. You may have noticed increased activity on our social media platforms as we try to reach out to a wider audience. Our Chief Executive, Boris Worrall has held Facebook live Q&A sessions after every Board meeting and our Income Manager, Tiffini Harvey has held some on Universal Credit. If you are interested in being involved or would like more information, please contact your Neighbourhood Officer.

CUSTOMER ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

ANNUAL REPORT

We are an early adopter of the National Housing Federation’s Together with Tenant’s charter. This reinforces the fact that we are committed to having the customer voice heard. We have been involved with events attended by staff and customers of Rooftop to feedback on the plan and influence some key decisions about what should be included.

Our Resident Excellence Panel is stronger than ever and continues to thoroughly review services that Rooftop provide, and makes recommendations for what we can do to improve. Staff will then either implement these recommendations or will explain why it is not possible. Last year the Resident Excellence Panel focused on continuity in customer enquiries, Cost Sharing Vehicle (CSV), empty homes (void) standard and mutual exchange. They are currently working on a review of tenancy sustainability and how we keep customers in their homes.

Last year our Neighbourhood Officers, Health and Wellbeing and Support and Employability teams arranged and attended a number of successful events.

To name a few: Litter picks across several estates; Customers have been involved in these to improve the overall look of their community and give them a sense of pride. These have been done in conjunction with Wychavon District Council, promoting partnership working.

During Loan Shark week in October 2018, 550 postcards were delivered by mailshot and 300 postcards were delivered by hand, which were made available in four European languages. There were also three press articles in Evesham Journal, one radio interview on BBC Hereford & Worcester, five partner agencies involved, two first school visits reaching 647 children and their families, two training sessions delivered and four days of public engagement at three supermarkets in areas of higher risk.

The Santa and live reindeer event in Hampton in December was a great success with over 120 attendees. A volunteer dressed up as an elf and provided the musical entertainment. An involved customer supported the event by allowing use of her house for storing items and for the distribution of mince pies. We received positive feedback that it was great to see Rooftop putting on such a fantastic event.

This event will be repeated in 2019.

There was a Community Safety event at the Community Hall in Fairfield on 13 January. The Neighbourhood Officer attended with the local town councillor and three officers from the West Mercia Policing Safer Neighbourhood Team. This was a great success and was attended by 50 customers. It was a question and answer session about anti-social behaviour, crime and how to keep your property safe.

CUSTOMER ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019

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WYCHAVON Care Carer r

ly i m ily Fa m a F Guy Guy

a e s i n g o c a e r e s u i o n y g o n c a e C r C a n yo u

? k r a h ? s k n r a a h ll o s oan WYCHAVON WYCHAVON

To report a loan shark call the 24/7 confidential hotline on 0300 555 2222 • Text a report to 078600 22116 • Visit the website www.stoploansharks.co.uk • E-mail reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk • Private message us on www.facebook.com/stoploansharksproject

WE CAN HELP

If you are finding hard to pay your rent or keep up with bills, you may qualify for additional benefits and support, depending on your circumstances.

However, working out what benefits or tax credits that you are entitled to can be tricky, especially with recent welfare changes. Our advisors can check current entitlement, do ‘what if’ scenarios, and offer support with challenging benefit decisions and appealing against them.

WANT TO KNOW MORE? You can speak in confidence to one of our money advisors on 01386 420800 or email: money.advice@rooftopgroup.org. All advice is given in the strictest of confidence.

WWW.ROOFTOPGROUP.ORG/MONEY-ADVICE

WORK OF ROOFTOP’S RESIDENT

EXCELLENCE PANEL The Resident Excellence Panel is a group of residents set up to scrutinise Rooftop services to its residents, to make recommendations for improvement and to act as a source of assurance.

The Panel works from a list of services that are considered in need of a review. This list is prepared in consultation with residents to ensure we are looking at areas that matter to you. We aim to review between two and four service areas each year. When a topic is under review, it is looked at in the following ways: • Considering existing policies and procedures • Interview with the relevant senior officer • Interview with relevant officers delivering the service to residents • Interview relevant partners Rooftop works with such as Wychavon if the review involved lettings • Shadowing staff • Engaging customers via surveys including social media When the review has been carried out, recommendations are made for changes to the service area.The last two services reviewed were aids and adaptations, and mutual exchanges. An example of changes made includes the mutual exchange service when a number of residents voiced concerns that people often backed out of an exchange at the last minute, resulting in great disappointment, and sometimes incurring

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expense that could not be recovered. So the panel recommended a deposit system whereby from April this year, you have to pay a deposit of £50 before an exchange will be considered.

The thinking is that people will now think twice before proposing an exchange, resulting in less exchanges being cancelled at the last minute.The deposit is refunded when the exchange goes ahead. However, if someone drops out, their £50 is not returned, but it goes to the community fund which funds community initiatives decided on by residents.

What Services Do You Want Reviewed?

The Panel now needs to agree the service areas it wants to look at in the next few years, and we want as many residents as possible to make suggestions. Some of the services currently suggested include the following: • Service charges • Energy efficiency and green issues more generally • Getting repairs right first time • Access to digital services

SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

Now is the time to say what is important to you and in need of review so please contact Lisa Sutton, Neighbourhood Manager, with details of the service you would select and why.

Membership of the Panel

The Panel currently has five members, a mixture of customers. There is a need to find one or two new people to join the group.

Benefits of joining the Panel include: • The ability to improve Rooftop services to its residents • The opportunity to find out more about Rooftop and housing • Personal development • Access to tablet and broadband If you are interested in being a member of the Resident Excellence Panel and would like to know more, please contact Lisa Sutton, Neighbourhood Manager.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

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You may remember the story of Jackie, a Rooftop tenant from Wychavon who has sadly been diagnosed with terminal cancer and is a single parent to Owen, her profoundly disabled son?

A picture book, “Who’s Going to Pick My Nose?”, has been written by me with Jackie’s inspiration, and beautifully illustrated by Vanessa Bizzell. A Just Giving Page, supported by friends of Jackie’s and many kind strangers, has raised enough money for the book to be published. So now all that’s needed is a distributor so that the book can be bought and any proceeds can be used to help fund Owen’s future care needs.

Jackie’s dream was to have a story book that would explain to Owen that his mum wouldn’t always be with him, but there would be other people in his life to love and support him. Jackie’s dream has come true with the help of Rooftop.

We’ve been in touch with WH Smith,Waterstones and wholesale distributors so we’re awaiting the results of that. The money raised in the Just Giving account has been enough to print 1200 copies of the book. If it can be successfully sold through a retailer, more might be printed.

The story in the book is written in rhyme and has a child asking who is going to help him with a particular task when his mum is not there. Each request is based on something Owen needs help with, for example, meals, bath time, story time, dressing up and picking

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SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

his nose, which really has to be done and inspired the book’s title. Though it was written with Owen in mind, it could assist any child that suffers the loss of a parent.

Jackie is delighted and overwhelmed with the result of the project. She’s shown the book to Owen but is delaying reading it to him until her condition deteriorates. She’s incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and very grateful to everyone who has helped make her dream a reality.

Thankfully, Jackie is doing OK at the moment and we really hope that she has as long as possible to enjoy more time with Owen, her friends and her family.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

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The People’s Cup Rooftop has a brilliant Health and Wellbeing team who organise a huge range of events and activities, whatever age or level of fitness you have.

Earlier this year we took part in the People’s Cup, a football tournament with a difference, as the participants are all over 50 and the match takes place with everyone walking.

The preparation started long before the day itself, with locker room talk, who was able to attend, what we would wear and how well we would do. The team spirit of this group of men is amazing. We all met up a few days before to try on our kits, set up a chat group so we could organize lifts, talk tactics and sort meet times out.

The tournament took place in late February and was held at Goals at Birmingham Star City. We set off from Bromsgrove and Evesham then met to talk final tactics, which boiled down to just one…to score goals and leave the other team standing.

13:45 saw the 4 teams briefed on rules and respect, then after a final chat we kicked off. Each match is 20 minutes long; we only had one sub, but this worked out well as all the guys got a fair amount of time on the pitch. The teams we came up against were more professional than the Rooftop Rascals as they play 3 times a week, enter tournaments and play games weekly. A few of the players had played for Villa Development and football had been a big part of their lives.

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SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

The People’s Cup The first two games saw us lose and unable to score, these were against Peles Pearls and Walking football Birmingham. In the final game against Wolverhampton Wonderers Foundation we scored 6, but we still lost.

This didn’t deter our guys and the Ref said if there had been a Trophy for the team that encompassed, team spirit and walking football as a whole he would give it to us.

Our team never dropped their heads, they just got on with the game and task in hand and represented themselves and Rooftop very well. I had a proud manager moment when the Ref made a point of coming over to tell me how impressed he was. The manager from Wolverhampton Wonderers foundation also came over, he wanted my number as a contact for future tournaments which delighted our guys when I told them.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

Walking Football has brought them together as a team, has created lasting friendships and has allowed them to stay connected to a game that they can continue to play in their later years. A great day was had by all, we leave the losses behind and with enthusiasm we will focus on our next challenge whatever that may be #uptherascals

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Gallery Ladies Day On 20 June we held a celebration of Ladies Day at Ascot at our recently opened scheme, Parsons Gardens in Broadway.

Donned in their best bib and tucker, the event was attended by 32 customers from Parsons Gardens, Cherry Orchard House in Pershore, Ferry View in Evesham and The Court in Broadway.

Even the Queen attended - although she wasn’t very talkative!

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SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

St George’s Day at Cherry Orchard To celebrate our National Day on April 23rd, St George’s Day, we held a “Knees up, Teas up” in the Mug and Muffin café at Cherry Orchard House. George, our lovely customer from Bredon Lodge, entertained in his inimitable style providing music from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Seated exercise at Cherry Orchard House Seated exercise at Cherry Orchard House takes place on a Tuesday morning.We have an average of 38 people attending each month and it has been requested that we do an additional class one afternoon to accommodate those that cannot make it on a Tuesday morning.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

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Gallery Day Trip to Weston-Super-Mare Rooftop went on tour again to WestonSuper-Mare with a wide mixture of customers, volunteers, Radis and team Rooftop.

A lovely day was had by all and the staff felt so proud to be a part of it. The partnership working that brought this together to make it a success was heartwarming‌ And so was the Fish and Chips!!

Frampton Corner YPS Open Day We have been doing a lot of work with our Younger residents this year and to show the partners who we have been working with to help improve the lives of our Young Peoples Service we hosted an open day at our Frampton Corner scheme in Gloucester. The residents were the stars of the day helping represent the scheme and providing tours to the Commissioners and partners of the scheme.

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SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

Parsons Gardens This year we opened the doors at our new Extra Care scheme at Parsons Gardens in Broadway, set in the beautiful Cotswold village of Broadway this development has already found itself a thriving community.

To help celebrate its launch this summer we held a garden party to welcome in the new residents. One resident, Joyce Selby celebrated her 100th birthday in August and we surprised her with a little party at the weekly coffee morning. Even the postman got a cheer when he delivered a very special telegram from the Queen!

Sponsoring Bishop’s Cleeve Football Club This year we are proudly sponsoring Bishop’s Cleeve Football Club, it is a fantastic local club and when they are not competing in the Hellenic League Premier Division the ground is used as a community centre and is home to a local nursery.

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

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Puzzle Pages

Take a break, sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy our puzzle pages!

Some puzzles are just for fun, but our prize word search gives you the chance to win a £20 High Street voucher

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Can you find all the clues in this word search celebrating 50 years since man first landed on the moon.

ALDRIN GRAVITY APOLLO LAUNCH ARMSTRONG LUNAR ASTRONAUT MISSION ASTRONOMER MOON ATMOSPHERE ORBIT BUGGY PARACHUTE COLLINS Aldrin GravityROCKET CRATER SPACESUIT Apollo LaunchTELESCOPE EAGLE Armstrong Lunar FLIGHT

Moon Landing Wordsearch

The answers can be found up, down, diagonal or even backwards!

One of the words is missing! Tell us Can you find all the clues what the word is and you may win a in this word search £20 High Street Voucher!

celebrating 50years since man first landed on the moon.

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Astronaut Astronomer Atmosphere

Mission Moon Orbit SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP

Spot the difference Find the seven differences between the two pictures.

SUDOKU

Find the sevenFind differences the seven between differences the two between pictures. the two pictures.

9 2 4 5 3 8 6 1 7

3 6 1 4 2 7 5 9 8

ANSWERS

EDITION 93 SEPTEMBER 2019

5 7 8 9 1 6 2 4 3

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Competition entries Use our back page to send in your entries for our competition. Just fill in the details below and send it to our address on the right of this page.

You can also email your competition entries to comms.webb@rooftopgroup.org

Word search Answer Competition terms: Please note that winners will be picked at random from the correct entries by the Communications Panel, and their decision is final.

Closing date for entries is Monday 16th December 2019.

CHRISTMAS CLOSING

www.rooftopgroup.org enquiries@rooftopgroup.org 0800 0421 800 Rooftop Housing Group 70 High Street Evesham WR11 4YD

@Rooftop_Housing

Rooftop Housing Group

Office opening hours: 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday (except on Wednesday when we open at 9.30am to 12.30pm).

Our Offices will be closed from 12.30pm on Tuesday 24th December 2019 and will reopen at 9.00am on Thursday 2nd January 2020 You can still contact us for Emergency repairs and anti-social behaviour while we are closed on 0800 0421 800.

With best wishes to you all for a very Happy New Year!

Keep up to date with all Rooftop news and information on our website at:

www.rooftopgroup.org

If you would like the information in this magazine translated into another language, audio, or larger print please contact your Neighbourhood Officer.

If you would like to make a complaint, please complete the on line form on www.rooftopgroup.org or phone your Neighbourhood Officer and ask for a complaints form.