WINTER 2019 NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 PAGE 2 Arhag Housing Association, The People's Place, 80-92 high Street, Stratford 0207 424 7370 | www.arhag.co.uk Welcome Cleanscapes Welcome your new cleaning and gardening contractor - Cleanscapes. find out more inside Welcome from Cleanscapes Hear from their Contract Manager The People's Place What's on offer? PAGE 6 See in the New Year with a new career! Why not find out what RISE can offer you and sign up today. Benefits Update Find out about Universal Credit Christmas payments and more..
Transcript
WINTER 2019NEWSLETTER
PAGE 1 PAGE 2
Arhag Housing Association, The People's Place, 80-92 high Street, Stratford 0207 424 7370 | www.arhag.co.uk
WelcomeCleanscapesWelcome your new cleaningand gardening contractor -Cleanscapes.find out more inside
Welcome from Cleanscapes Hear from their ContractManager
The People's Place What's on offer?
PAGE 6
See in the New Year with a new career! Why not find out what RISE can offeryou and sign up today.
Benefits Update Find out about UniversalCredit Christmaspayments and more..
Have you visited us at The People's Place yet? Our new home - The People's Place, is a space whereyou can access services and get involved!
Expert Benefits Advice TeamDebt Advisory Service, Community Links Employment support
There is a lot on offer at The People's Place.
To book an appointment, or to find out more, call0207 424 7370. In the Summer edition of our newsletter you will haveseen the range of services on offer from our partnersat The People's Place. If you need or know anyone who needs support withemployment, support setting up a business,immigration advice, counselling and access to healthcare, give us a call on 0207 424 7370 for moreinformation.
Want to get involved?
Do you want to influence change and improvement? Be a representative of all Arhagresidents? Why not join our Residents Scrutiny Panel - for more information, contact Willon [email protected] or 0207 424 7370.
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Ian Knights is the performance manager forCleanscapes. Ian will be the link between Arhag, ourresidents, and the operatives on the ground making surethat Cleanscapes deliver exeptional service that meetsresidents expectations.
Communal Cleaning Window CleaningJet Washing & Deep Cleaning Garden Maintenance Hedge Cutting and Tree Maintenance
Cleanscapes were established in 1980 andspecialise in providing cleaning and gardeningservices to Housing Associations and privatelandlords. Cleanscapes will provide the followingservices:
Cleanscapes specialise in providing services tohousing providers, meaning they understand theircustomers needs and are able to deliver excellentservice. You will know when an operative has attended as theywill complete a sign in sheet in the notice board by theentrance door to your property. Each area of work is carried out by fully trained staffwho will wear a 'cleanscapes' uniform (green forgardeners and black for cleaners). They will alwaysarive in a company van and will have the correct toolsfor the job! Their staff are professional, experienced and friendlyso are likely to say 'hello' or 'good morning' to you.
Have a question? Just ask!
Cleanscapes have a dedicatedadmin support team at their headoffice. The Customer Care Coordinatorcan be contacted Monday to Friday9am - 5pm. Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0800 470 4829/
0330 100 4829
Online: www.cleanscapes.co.uk 2
Interested in cleaningor gardening? Cleanscapes can offer full andpart time employmentopportunities. If you are interested, contactyour Housing Officer, orcleanscapes via the contactdetails on page 3.
Don't hang around! RISE into Employment RISE is changing - do you have a busy schedule? Looking for some quick tips and onthe go support? You can now book a 1-1 session with an expert employment advisor every Wednesday,in person, over the phone, or by video call. Don't miss out, book an appointment now for free advice and support.
Free advice & CV support
Top Tips & Interviewtechniques
1-1 support in person,phone, or video call
Free job search support
10 Week Programme The NCFE accredited 10 week-RISE into EmploymentProgramme will be back fromFebruary 2020. If you are interested in joining thenext programme, register onlinetoday - www.arhag.co.uk
To book your 1-1 session, contact yourHousing Officer on 0207 424 7370.
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Do you have the most affordable energy provider? Arhag has teamed up with Energy Angels - a free comparison site that works with someof the smaller utility providers who offer the most affordable prices! Don't be afraid that you may not have heard of the comapnies before - each organisationis Ofgem protected. Visit energyangels.co.uk now!
Winter is here, and thetemperature has dropped
What can you do to keep the housewarm and save money this winter?
Use your curtains Heat from the sun is free so make the most of it! Open your curtains and let the sunshine in during the day. When it gets dark, shut your curtains to keep the warmth in theroom. Use the timer on your central heating If you set your heating to come on 30 minutes before you wake up in the morning, orbefore you get home from work, but at a slightly lower temperature you will feel thebenefits of the heat, and save money. Keep your radiators clear! Move your sofa from in front of your radiator, move any clothes or items blocking theradiator from circulating hot air around the room. You don't want to stop the heat fromwarming you up. Turn down the heatPublic Health England recommends keeping the temperature in your living room at 18degrees. This might sound odd, but research shows that turning your thermostat downby 1 degree could reduce your heating bill by 10%.
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Top Tips for keeping your home warm this winter
Universal Credit at Christmas Did you know that you may receive your Universal Creditpayments on a different day over the Festive Season? If you are due to receive your payment on the 25th or 26thDecember, you will be paid on the 24th instead. If you are due to receive your payment on the 1st January2020, you will be paid on the 31st December 2019 instead.
Receiving the guarantee credit element of Pension Credit On a low income
Winter Fuel Payment The Winter Fuel Payment is a one-off lump sum payment made to people of pensionage to help pay for heating during the winter - (born on or before 5th April 1954). If you receive Pension Credit, Income Based JSA/ESA you could get up to £200 or£300 if you or your partner are age 80 or over.
Warm Home Discount you may be able to get £140 off your electricity bill under the Warm Home Discountscheme if you are:
Check with your energy supplier to see if they offer the Warm Home Discount. To find out how you can claim for any of these grants, as well as others, please contactArhags Welfare Benefits team on 0207 424 7370.
Benefits Advice Line!
If you, your friends or family have any benefits questions, or issues with UniversalCredit they can call our Free Benefits Advice Line!
0800 3890 405
The line is completely free, confidential, and open every Tuesday from 10am-3pm.
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Manage your online account provide practical training to show youhow to do it Check you have made the right claimfor you
Are you new to Universal Credit? Unsure about accessing your account
online? We can support you to:
If you need any Universal Credit support,no matter what the question, please askus today by calling 0207 424 7370.
EU Settlement Scheme
Did you know, if you are an EU, EEA, or Swiss Citizen that you and yourfamily can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK
after 30th June 2021.
Every EU citizen living in the UK must apply to the Settlement Scheme toensure that you are legally living in the UK after Brexit.
It is free to apply and you can do it online at - www.gov.uk
If you need support applying, or have any questions, call us today on 0207
424 7370 and we may be able to refer you to specialist advice.
Struggling with debts? Community Links provide a freewelfare and debt service everyMonday at The People's Place. If you would like free, confidentialadvice and support call and book anappointment today - 0207 424 7370. You could receive support with:
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Coffee Mornings Social Events Activities such as Yoga,or a community Choir. Access to free training,talks, research projects
We want The People'sPlace to be a space foractivities and events that allour residents and localpeople can access. Would you be interested inattending:
Over the next few monthswe will be working with ourResidents Scrutiny Panel toset up a range of activitiesfor residents. If you have any ideas, orwould like to get involved,contact Will [email protected].
Homemade Skincare course Shashi Loannides, from Olmec is running a zero-waste vegan skincare workshop on Friday 13thDecember in Kings Cross. This session focuses on making natural skin careproducts that are suited to your own needs, areaffordable, and good for the skin! For more information [email protected] or book your ticketsonline at lifeafterhummus.com (tickets are £14).
Vote for your favorite Great BlackBritons For 16 years you have been able to vote for 100Great Black Britons to celebrate African andCarribean people in the UK. You can vote for your Great Black Briton onlineat 100greatblackbritons.co.uk - the winners willbe announced in October 2020 in celebration ofBlack History month.
What's on! Our partners Olmec work with a number of community based organisations andhave a whole host of activities taking place! See what is on and get stuck in.
Don't forget to vote On Tuesday 19th November Arhag,Olmec, Doctors of the World, andMigrant's Rights Network held an openday at The People's Place to encourageour residents, and local people to vote. The date to register has now passed, butbe sure to have your say in the GeneralElection on the 12th December 2019!
To find your nearest polling station,visit www.electorialcommission.org.uk
Your Voice Matters!
You may be one of our residents that has received a phone call in the past few months from CallerZ. CallerZ are employed by Arhag to reach out to 25% of our residents and ask youimportant questions about the service you receive. Your feedback is extremely important, and we use this to influence our work. If you can, please take a few minutes to answer some questions and let us know howwe are doing.
Do you want to write this newsletter?
We are increasing our newsletters to four a year!
But, we want them to be for residents, by residents. Are you creative? Do you often readthis newsletter and think 'I wish it included something else'?
We want to create a newsletter panel so residents can create, edit, and publish the
residents newsletter four times a year with meaningful stories and information.
If you are interested, call the Communications Officer, Will today - 0207 424 7370 oremail [email protected].
Arhag Housing Association Ltd The People's Place 80-92 High Street Stratford, London E15 2NE
Underground | DLR Stratford Station - Central | Jubilee | OvergroundStratford High Street | Pudding Mill Lane Buses From Stratford Station 25 City Thames-Link | 425 Clapton D8 Cross-Harbour | 276 Stoke Newington
