Cash to Help Connect: Glen Oaks Housing Association receives £160,000
Glen Oaks Housing Association to offer its communities a helping hand with cash windfall
GO CONNECT aims to get tenants more involved in what’s going on in their communities and give them extra support by fighting isolation and loneliness.
Now the Association which has homes in Arden and across Greater Pollok says the money will help it to do even more good work at the very heart of its communities.
GO CONNECT - which takes its names from the initials of the Glen Oaks name - secured the massive cash injection from the Scottish Government’s “Aspiring Communities Fund.”
This Fund, supported through European Structural Funds, aims to address local priorities and needs to fight poverty and encourage inclusion in communities in the most deprived areas.
Alasdair McKee, Chief Executive of Glen Oaks said: “The relationship between a housing association like ourselves and the people we serve is vitally important. Like many other housing providers we do so much more than simply collect the rent.
“We work at the heart of the areas we serve – alleviating poverty where we can, revitalising our communities and promoting a sense of belonging to create neighbourhoods which people can take pride in.
“We are extremely grateful to the Scottish Government for this money which is a real helping hand in the work we do.”
In 2015 Glen Oaks launched what it called its “Starting Out” project to offer assistance on a wide range of issues such as helping people get online, provide energy efficiency help, welfare rights advice and the opportunity to access debt and money guidance.
The new GO CONNECT initiative will build on all of that work and tackle additional issues such as:
- improving wellbeing by setting up activities such as clubs and classes
- visiting new and vulnerable tenants and offering practical support in their homes
- identifying issues such as health-related needs among tenants and referring them to external organisations such as the NHS
Glen Oaks already runs a number of clubs and encourages its tenants to join activities such as “Knit and Natter”, a craft and sewing club, a parents’ club and photography class.
Alasdair McKee added: “GO CONNECT effectively brings all these things together under one banner and refreshes the work we do in our communities.”
The funding has allowed Glen Oaks to employ two new members of staff – Brenda Whitelaw and Erin Woods who will drive forward the GO Connect project.