now - Glasgow Housing Association

P2 KEEP SAFE
AT HOME
P7 BIRTHDAY
DELIGHT
P8 FUN QUIZ
Sheltered
HOUSING
NEWS
Inside
ISSUE 20 | SEPTEMBER 2012
GOLD RUSH: GHA Chair
Gordon Sloan joins the
sporting stars
Golden greats
S
PORTY tenants followed
in the footsteps of Team
GB stars Mo Farah and
Jessica Ennis – after winning
gold medals at our Olympics.
Hundreds of tenants took part
in the qualifiers for the Summer of
Sport extravaganza.
And the finalists battled it out
in front of a packed room at the
SECC last month for the top prizes.
Competitors took part in
‘Olympic’ events such as giant
jenga, boules, indoor curling,
Frisbee and putting.
Hugh Boyle, 69, from Sandford
We’re listening to Your Voice
The Your Voice forums are
bigger and better than ever
before – and are making a real
difference in our complexes.
Our tenant meetings are
not only a fun day out, but
Gardens Sheltered Housing
Complex in Baillieston, grabbed
the limelight with two silver
medals and a gold.
Hugh said: “It was great fun and
everyone really enjoyed taking
Continues on page 4-5
are a great way for you to let
us know how we can improve
services.
Find out more on page 6 about
the key service changes we’re
making thanks to you.
INSIDE MSP opens fantastic new sunroom WIN A £25 SHOPPING VOUCHER
2News
Welcome
WELCOME to the September
issue of Sheltered
Housing News.
It has been a busy few
months again with the Your
Voice Forum and the Jubilee
celebrations in June. This
was closely followed by the
Summer of Sports in July and
August. This issue will update
you on all of these events and
any staff changes.
We had a special edition
newsletter on the Jubilee
celebrations which you should
have received. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
The Your Voice forum and the Summer of Sport were a
great success, with some smashing photos showing you all
having a good time.
Please give any articles of interest to your Housing Support
Officer and we will look at adding them to the next issue.
There is also an update on compliments, comments and
complaints.
We hope you enjoy this issue. If you have any comments,
you can write to the team’s address or pass them over to your
Housing Support Officer.
Liz Gardiner, Registered Manager
Contact: Housing Support Team,
Sheltered Housing News,
GHA, FREEPOST NAT 22631,
Glasgow G1 3BR.
T: 0800 479 7979.
Sheltered Housing News is available
to download online at www.gha.org.uk
and is also distributed in other
languages, and on cassette or CD.
Other formats are available on request.
GHA’s Sheltered Housing
News magazine is
produced from raw
materials harvested
from well-managed
forestry at a Forest
Stewardship Council
mill, and is fully certified
to Environmental
Standard ISO 14001.
EVENT
How to stay
safe at home
DO you want a bit of advice about
keeping safe in your home?
A free event is being held at
Hampden Park offering expert
advice from the police and fire
services as well as other agencies.
You can find out how to beat
the conmen, keep your money
safe and reduce the risk of fire in
your home. There are also stalls,
coffee and cakes and a free
prize draw.
The ‘If in doubt, keep them out’
event takes place at the national
football stadium on Thursday
22 November from 1-4pm.
If you want to attend, speak
to your Housing Support Officer
who’ll arrange a free ticket.
FUN IN THE SUN
BBQ beats
the weather
ANCASTER Drive tenants
enjoyed a real sizzler in
the sun – after holding their
long-awaited barbecue.
The Anniesland complex
had tried to hold their
annual BBQ since June, but
each time it was rained off.
They finally got the
sunshine they wanted at
the end of August.
It was jointly funded by
the tenants and also GHA.
More than 50 tenants
and their family and friends
turned up for the burgers
and sausages as well as a
glass of Pimms and fruit
cocktails.
News
3
Over the rainbow
SUNNYSIDE UP: GHA Chair Gordon Sloan
joins Johann Lamont, GHA staff, South Area
Committee members and builders CCG
New sunroom proves
a big hit with tenants
and city MSP
A NEW sunroom which
brightens up tenants’ lives has
been opened by Glasgow MSP
Johann Lamont.
The new ‘Rainbow Room’ at
the Brockburn complex in Pollok
is already proving a winner with
everyone. Tenants now have an
additional place to hold their art
and crafts classes, knitting bees
and pool contests – as well as a
great place for a natter and cup
of tea with friends.
There’s also a new decking
area for the 57 tenants to relax
in the sunshine.
GHA’s South Area Committee
funded the project. Work started
in November 2011 and took nine
Jailhouse
rocks for
tenants
MARFIELD tenants found
themselves behind bars for an
afternoon – after a fun visit to
Inveraray Jail.
The Carntyne complex tenants
were locked up as part of the
tour of the famous Argyll tourist
attraction in July.
They also got to stand in the
dock at a mock trial and try out
months to complete.
Johann Lamont was
joined at the opening by
GHA Chair Gordon Sloan and
representatives from GHA’s
South Area Committee.
The Glasgow Pollok MSP said:
“It is a pleasure to be part of this
event, marking an important
new facility in what is an
excellent place for tenants. “We all know the importance
of keeping active and
involved. This sunroom allows
tenants to come together
socially, preventing the isolation
that many older people fear.”
BRIGHT: The ou
tside of
the new sunroom
NO ESCAPE:
(back row,
left to
right) Joan
Baillie, Janis
Robertson
and Betty
McDowell
join Kathleen
Fraser and
Mamia Steen
in the cells
the small cell before making their
escape back to the complex.
Housing Support Officer Joe
Clark said: “It was a great day out
for all of the tenants. Fortunately,
they all found their way back out
of the jail easily to return to the
complex!”
4News
Olympic glory
for tenants
Continues from page 1
part. I was really surprised to win
three medals – especially as I’ve
never previously played any of the
games before.
“It’s been a brilliant event as
CLOSE CONTEST:
Florence
Goudie, left,
from Dougrie
Terrace, tries
putting, while
tenants from
Freeland Court
and Bengal play
jenga
everyone got into the spirit of the
games in their complexes.”
GHA’s partners in the
programme, Glasgow Life,
provided coaching and
equipment for the athletes – with
competition between sheltered
housing complexes taking place
throughout July.
As well as the physical activity,
POEM
Anne sees An
Open Door
BENGAL Street tenant Anne Neill
penned this wonderful poem.
And her talented daughter
Joanne showed off her own
talents with the
terrific artwork to
go with it.
Are you a
budding poet or
artist? Let us know
and your work
could feature in
a future issue of
Sheltered Housing
News.
One day I found a door
I had never seen before
Curiosity drove me through
As I entered this doorway
There was a large table
Where men and women sat
Who were similar to me
Similar not that the
eye could see
A young woman was
speaking
Explaining what was
going on
As she spoke a feeling
Hope grew inside of
me
As I had been given
the key
To unlock my prison
A new chance to do things I
found so hard and frightening
in my mind
Deaf from childhood
then registered blind
Looking forward gave me an
open door to change my life
To cross any threshold,
I open wide
A world of Poetry and Art I
discover inside
I have painted a picture
I can feel
words just flow out of me
With beautiful thanks to
a brave real world.
An Open Door by Anne Neill
News
5
MEDAL WINNERS:
OLYMPIC SPIRIT: Robert
Wilson, above left, wins the
indoor curling, while, below,
Mima Queen takes gold in
the Frisbee
there was a chance for tenants
to give their brains a workout
with a quiz, table games and
■■ Frisbee – Gold: Mima Queen
(Sword Street), Silver: Hugh
Boyle (Sandford Gardens)
■■ Putting – Gold: Florence
Goudie (Dougrie Terrace),
Silver: Ann Wallace
(Brockburn Road)
■■ Indoor curling – Gold:
Robert Wilson (Warriston
Street), Silver: Hugh Boyle
(Sandford Gardens)
■■ Boules – Gold: Hugh Boyle
(Sandford Gardens), Silver:
Dina Preston (Warriston
Street)
■■ Jenga – Gold: Gadsburn
Cronies (Bertha McCann,
Betty Leese, Annie Baldie
and Margaret Weir), Silver:
Freeland Court and Bengal
(Margaret Reilly, Ida
Gibson, Sheila Brown, Irene
Wotherspoon, Thomas Wood
and Frank McMillan).
an art competition. Margaret
Moore, GHA’s Assistant Director
of Community Partnership, said:
“The games were popular in the
complexes and tenants really
enjoyed themselves.
“At the same time, it really
brought people together
and increased their physical
activity.”
MEDAL WINNER:
Hugh Boyle
It’s raining food for cats and dogs
CATS and dogs at an animal
shelter won’t be going hungry
any time soon thanks to Clifford
Garden tenants.
The Ibrox complex came to
the rescue after hearing an
appeal for food by The Scottish
Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals.
Tenants and their families
clubbed together for two weeks
to collect more than 100 tins
of dog and cat food for the
Cardonald shelter.
Housing Support Officer
Christina Cardwell and tenant
David Williamson handed over
the food to the delighted staff.
Staff at the
cat and dog
home were
delighted and
amazed with
the huge
donation
PURRFECT: (left to right) Betty Dick,
Betty McKenna, David Williamson,
Andy Lennox and Eddie Quigley
with the huge donation
Christina said: “Staff at the cat
and dog home were delighted
and amazed with the huge
Housing Support
Officer Christina
Cardwell
donation. They are going
to send a letter of thanks to
the complex.”
6News
Funds raised
at tombola
SMITHYCROFT tenants
helped raise club funds
thanks to a tombola raffle.
Tenants and their families
attended the event which
proved a great success.
Organisers Ann Milligan,
and Davy and Maggie
Neilson helped raise £122.75
for future events.
Help available
for cost of trips
FANCY a day out with your
complex friends? Want to go
and visit a local tourist attraction
or museum? If so, we can help.
We’ve grants available to
help community groups with
the costs of trips.
You will have received a visit
from one of our staff explaining
the types of funding available.
YOUR VOICE
Forums help
us get better
BEING HEARD: Margaret Weir, Nancy
Johnstone and Rose Cameron from our
Gadsburn complex at the Your Voice forum
T
HE May and June meetings
of the Your Voice forums
were packed with tenants.
We picked up lots of good
comments about what we’re
doing right – and also where we
can improve our services.
Here are the main themes raised:
Complex activities – The
Summer of Sport was so popular
that we’ll buy some of the games
so you can play them at any time
Access to lounges at
weekends – We’re now installing
fob entry systems to tenant
lounges at our complexes. We’re
COMPLIMENTS, COMMENTS AND COMPLAINTS
OVER the past three months we
have received 31 compliments
telling us just how valued the
housing support staff and
services are to you.
From the compliments
received we know how much
you value the service.
Twenty eight of these
compliments were about our
own housing support staff – in
particular their work on the
smash hit Summer of Sport
Olympics.
Between the months of May
to July 2012, a total of 52
complaints were also recorded,
none of which were complaints
about the Housing Support
Service.
There were 15 complaints
about neighbours – all of which
have been resolved. Also, 10
were complaints in relation to
the building, of which five are
being resolved.
Twelve were complaints
about the environment with six
cases still ongoing. There were
nine complaints regarding
staff or other agency staff –
all of which have now been
resolved. There were also five
complaints regarding security
– all of which have now been
resolved.
We appreciate all your
comments, compliments and
complaints and would ask that
you continue to tell us all your
issues no matter how small.
i
You can do this
by contacting:
Glasgow Housing
Association on
0800 479 7979,
Care Inspectorate (formerly
known as Care Commission)
on 0141 843 4230, or
Glasgow City Council
0141 287 8714.
News
7
also speaking to the landlords of
the complexes we staff on their
behalf about introducing this
service
Contact numbers – We will look
to provide details of who provides
what services and their contact
details for all tenants. We’ll
include it in welcome packs for
new tenants
Tenants with special
communication needs – More
help will be given to tenants
with special communication
needs to help them attend
meetings and forums, such as
a translator or carers
More committees and
meetings – More meetings will be
organised for complexes which
are no longer owned by GHA but
which we still staff. We’ll update
tenants at future forums
More Your Voice forums –
We’re looking into this and, if
the demand is there, we’ll put
more on
Visits to other complexes
– We’re encouraging staff and
tenants to visit other complexes
to try out their activities. This
proved popular during the
Summer of Sport
Lunch clubs – We’re working
away on this and will update
you soon.
We’re on the buses
TENANTS from our Sannox
Gardens complex enjoyed
a trip down memory lane
after visiting the Riverside
Museum.
They had a wander
around the new transport
museum and got up close
with old cars, trains, trams
and boats. Tenants also
enjoyed a walk down the
ancient shopping street
and popped in for a coffee
at the café. The highlight
was jumping onboard one
of the city’s ancient buses
and sharing stories from
their time as youngsters.
The tenants
really enjoyed
their visit and it
brought back a
lot of memories.
Housing Support Officer
Robert Reilly
Happy Birthday
SMITHYCROFT tenants
had 180 reasons
to cheer – after two
residents celebrated
their 90th birthdays.
Jessie Orr and Jean
Morrow marked their
big days with family
and friends at the
Riddrie complex.
Jean held a party on 3 June in the
tenant lounge and
put on a buffet.
Singer Paul McKenna
joined them and had
the tenants on the
floor dancing for most
of the day.
Jessie was visited by
friends and family on
24 July – and received bouquets
of beautiful flowers.
90TH DELIGHT: Jean Morrow
(above) and Jessie Orr (left)
celebrate their big days
8News
WORDSEARCH
FUN QUIZ
Win big in WIN!WIN!WIN!
our puzzle VOU
Do you know
the answers?
T
HE winner of our wordsearch
in the last Sheltered Housing News was Mr H Boyle,
from our Dougrie Terrace complex, who received a
£25 voucher for Marks & Spencer. To be entered in the
latest competition, draw a line through each word listed
below and send the completed wordsearch to the address
underneath.
Your entry must reach us by 12 November please.
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YOUR DETAILS:
Name:
Address:
This wordsearch is all
about farming. For a
chance to win a £25 Marks
& Spencer voucher, send
the finished wordsearch,
with your name and
address, to:
Competition, Sheltered
Housing News, GHA,
FREEPOST NAT22631,
Glasgow G1 3BR.
Or pass the wordsearch
to your Housing Support
Officer, who’ll make sure
it finds its way to the prize
draw. Good luck!
1. What is the more common
name for ascorbic acid?
2. How many sides does a
heptagon have?
3. What colour are the sport
and leisure questions in Trivial
Pursuit?
4. Which family feuds with
the Capulets in Romeo
and Juliet?
5. Which organisation has the
motto Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity?
6. Firhill Stadium is the home of
which Glasgow football club?
7. In which decade did both
Concorde and the jumbo jet fly
for the first time?
8. The Glasgow Professional
Police Force was established
in 1879. Was this before or
after the Metropolitan London
Professional Police Force?
9. Who did Queen Victoria marry
on 10 February 1840?
10. Who wrote the novel
Sense and Sensibility?
Answers: 1. Vitamin C 2. Seven
3. Orange 4. The Montagues
5. The FBI 6. Partick Thistle
7. 1960s 8. Before 9. Prince
Albert 10. Jane Austen
CHER
Last issue’s wordsearch answers:
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