Sharing a story, giving an opinion

In January I received an email from my housing association, Sovereign, recruiting young residents for their pioneering Youth Panel.

Sarah explains why Sovereign decided to rethink the approach to promoting home contents insurance and began working with Thistle.

According to Homeless Link, at any one time, over 600,000 people in England rely on supported housing to provide a safe place to call home with appropriate care and support to meet their needs.

We feel a sense of responsibility to support those affected by domestic abuse. In 2020/21 we saw an increase in reports of domestic abuse of 107%.

Andrew explains how Pocket Power helps people to change provider for utilities – offering advice and support via a free phone number.

Helen Hann, sponsor of the network, shares some of the gender inequality issues she’s encountered over the years in a blog for Inside Housing.

Resident engagement and scrutiny officer, Jon explains why we’re thinking about how we encourage more diversity in the interactions we have with our customers.

Sovereign is one of the largest housing associations in the country. With a number of rural homes, we’re committed to making sure we build the right homes in the right places.

Natasha Greenwood, Head of Home Ownership discusses how landlords needed to ensure safety and rebuild trust in the wake of Grenfell.

Simon Kaffel, Data and Analysis Director at Sovereign, discusses how to take raw data and turn it into great stories organisations can use in meaningful ways.

Erica Watts explains why looking for a job is no laughing matter, and why Sovereign are taking part in the Kickstart scheme for people aged 18-25.

Audrey Lloyd discusses how the team removed 'manual intervention' from data extraction processes to support 'Business as Usual' through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Charles Pitt explains why Sovereign has been working with charity AKT to address LGBTQ+ homelessness.

Covid-19 has had an undeniably devastating effect on our economy, but as an employment specialist I couldn’t just throw my hands up in the air.

It’s LGBT+ History Month, and Sovereign’s LGBTQ+ Network Sponsor, Carol Delaney, tells us about her journey.

During National Apprenticeship Week, Emily Maidment looks back at how she came to join Sovereign – to encourage others to consider taking a similar route.

Director of Corporate Affairs, Charles Pitt discusses how the Conservative party have shifted their attitude to social housing, but there's still work to do.

Our Head of Income, Laurinda Hornblow, explains how the team adapted to the Covid-19 crisis to offer support for residents while working remotely.

15,000 people were taken off the streets as part of the ‘everyone in’ campaign. Steph Wood discusses how we can continue to provide support.

Resident Ryan Parker writes about the importance of having a place to call his own throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

This week the Homes at the Heart campaign is looking at how investment in social housing can help build a greener country.

Since the start of Covid-19, we've helped 10,000 people by giving advice and helping them claim benefits, as well as seeing 2,500 residents move onto Universal Credit (UC).

Sheila Hayward explains how she joined the Scrutiny Coordination Group and why she'd like to see other residents volunteer too.

Due to Covid-19 we had to rethink how we could engage with our residents, and ensure their contribution continued making a difference to our services.

Jerome Williams was recently appointed to the position of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Manager, here he talks about his ambitions for Sovereign.

Simone Shephard, Trainee Plumber, talks about what National Pride month means to her and how it's evolved over the years.

Communities Manager, Heidi Leyshon, explains how we're already taking action as part of the Communities that Work call to action.

In Volunteers Week 2020 we’re celebrating the residents at the heart of our communities supporting their neighbours.

Keeping our residents safe during Covid-19, while continuing to deliver much needed services, has been our aim since the beginning of this crisis.

From the heart of Leicestershire to the Isle of Wight, Sovereign Housing Association’s relationship with the NHS means thousands of key workers have a home to go back to.

Heather Bowman shares why we need to do more to use our influence and reach to support the most vulnerable in society.

At Sovereign we're customer first. And going into the Covid-19 crisis our teams had that front and centre of our approach.

Sovereign Housing Association is dedicated to helping residents and customers in this difficult time and have a variety of ways in which we can help.

At Sovereign we came up with an interactive, data-driven solution to keep residents and colleagues connected in these challenging times.

Homes for Cathy hears from three member organisations that have played a role in getting Housing First schemes off the ground.

Sovereign is taking a land-led approach to future development, increasing our control on quality, design and sustainability.

At Sovereign we’re not just looking at the issues we’re facing today, rather we’re taking a long-term view, taking into account changes that need to be made over the next thirty years.

We have 70 schemes dedicated to housing people aged 55 and over. Our older persons’ schemes give residents the opportunity to live independently.

Resident Tina Devereux, discusses Penleigh and Oldfield Park Community Action Network and how she got involved.

Last year, Sovereign committed to the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Make a Stand pledge against domestic abuse.

Development is not just about the home, we need to make sure the right infrastructure is in place, whether that’s roads, or shops and schools. We’ve committed to treble our investment in communities.

A pilot is set to start in Harrogate, Yorkshire testing a new approach to switching people to the government’s flagship welfare reform.

As the National Housing Federation unveils a plan to improve the relationship between associations and tenants, resident Joyce Ward comments.

Housing officer Rachel Llwellyn, discusses the ways in which Sovereign Housing Association keeps neighbourhoods safe.

Kate Rees discusses restorative practice, a technique designed to prevent conflict, build relationships and repair harm by enabling people to communicate effectively and positively.

In November 2017, the charity Mind launched Brick by Brick, a report into the links between housing and mental health, from a six-year study of over 40,000 households.

Last year, housing associations invested £70m in employment support programmes. At Sovereign, we’re about more than giving people four walls and a roof over their heads.