SFHA Annual Conference Speaker Interview: Alex Warren
Ahead of our Annual Conference, taking place on 14 and 15 June at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow, we asked our speakers what they'll be discussing during their session and how we can tackle the cost of living crisis. Alex Warren, Strategic Development Director at The Wise Group shares his thoughts.
What are you discussing at the conference and why is this an important issue?
My focus will be on the cost of living crisis and how we can support the most vulnerable in society. This impacts housing association tenants and the associations themselves. I will focus on the successful work of the Wise Group in terms of our person-centred mentoring approach to lift people out of poverty- showcasing an innovative and exciting partnership approach with the Borders Housing Network and how this is working to mentor tenants to support them to positive outcomes, increase their skills and confidence and even secure sustainable employment. Come along to hear more about it.
What more should be done to tackle poverty and inequality, particularly given the current cost of living crisis?
There is a clear need for stronger government intervention to mitigate some aspects of the increased cost of living. However, I believe that we cannot sit and wait for this to happen. Housing Associations and bodies such as SFHA can be doing more now. We know that fantastic support services exist but all too often they are focused on reactive support - helping people who are already in crisis. We need investment in proactive and far-reaching support for the most vulnerable to reduce the hardship that is faced by so many.
How can we achieve the Scottish Government’s vision of a fairer Scotland as we continue to recover from the pandemic?
The pandemic put a bright spotlight onto poverty and inequality in society. The most vulnerable were the hardest hit. As we come out of the grip of the pandemic and build back better, we need to ensure that societies most vulnerable are not further left behind. We see a big push on Community Wealth Building, and investment towards Net Zero. These kind of approaches are essential but our watch-out must be that they are just and fair. We need to an equitable approach that delivers for everyone.
SFHA Annual Conference
14 and 15 June 2022, Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow
Alex will be speaking at the 'Supporting tenants with the cost of living crisis' workshop on Wednesday 15 June.