My view of the sector: Nile Istephan

By Nile Istephan, Chief Executive, Eildon Housing.

Now is the time, more than ever before in my professional career, for the housing association sector to step forward. 

Recent events have given rise to lots of soul searching and reaching for certainties, in a confusing and concerning world. Speculation is rife about what has changed and what the new normal will be. I am trying my best not to jump on this bandwagon, because I fear there is a lot of guesswork going on. I live in a rural part of Scotland, and I am not confident that those writing off the future of our great towns and cities are in anyway correct. What’s more, I think this type of future gazing detracts from some issues that are fundamentally important to the sector that we work in and care about so much. 

I feel incredibly proud to lead a successful housing association that makes such a fundamental difference to lives of the people and communities we serve – day in, day out. I also feel privileged to work alongside some very talented people within our sector across Scotland. However, I can’t help but feel that we aren’t doing enough. Whether you buy into this or not, I would suggest our sector needs to rekindle the radical spirit that characterised the early days of our movement – and now is the time. 

Embedded in our communities, we are uniquely placed as sound, long-term businesses that are asset-backed, socially responsible and values-based. Our work touches on all aspects of the social and economic life of the country – and, what’s more, we like to get things done. 

One thing that has been noticeable since the pandemic has been recognition of the importance of ‘home’. We value it as a place of safety, a place of refuge and a place of certainty – but only if we are lucky enough to live in a home that meets our needs. Housing is a public health issue. But only now are we reminding ourselves of this. 

So, we need to step forward and act, and we need to do this with purpose and vision. 

I am sure we all respect and value the National Health Service, however, recent events have reminded us that our collective wellbeing cannot be guaranteed by the NHS alone. It does, however, depend on high quality housing and the types of support and social care services that many of us provide. We’ve been knocking on the door of the whole health and social care debate for long enough – we should demand a seat at the table and an adequate share of the resources. 

We know that the pandemic has distracted us, temporarily, from the other great issue of the day – the climate emergency. Again, there is a huge role for us to step forward. I am not thinking simply about the tricky issues for us all in delivering the targets and commitments that we have been given. I am thinking just as much about how we lever this challenge as a sector. We are uniquely placed to perform this role so public policy should support us in order that we can lay the foundations that other areas of the economy can benefit from. 

There are many other policy areas that are dear to our hearts – homelessness, regeneration, poverty alleviation, place making – the list goes on, and we can collectively make a massive difference to them all. The Housing to 2040 framework, whether you think it is the right prescription or not, provides a basis for us to set out our stall and align our efforts. We do some incredible things, but now is the time for us to redouble these efforts and step forward and deliver a society true to the values we hold dear. 

Would you like to have your say?

‘My view of the sector’ will be a regular feature in Housing Scotland Weekly, looking at the current social housing landscape, the challenges and opportunities, and what housing associations and co-operatives need in order to thrive. If you would like your chief executive, director or chair to be featured, please email features@sfha.co.uk