Members only

Many tenants report feeling stigmatised due to living in social housing and the negative connotations that society attaches to living on council or housing association estates.  Explore how to address stigma through resident engagement whilst we share practical research and toolkits.

The HQN Residents’ Network is pleased to announce its latest best practice group on, tackling stigma through resident involvement and engagement. This online session aims to address the challenges of tackling stigma in social housing, emphasising the importance of resident narratives and engagement to foster positive change.

This will be facilitated by Dr Eve Blezard, Networks Project Manager at HQN, using her expertise in resident engagement and involvement. Dr Blezard’s work focuses on using resident stories and co-production as means to tackle stigma, enriched by her involvement with the Intersectional Stigma of Place-Based Ageing (ISPA) network and its community-led approach.

Agenda:

• Overview of stigma in UK social housing policy and culture
• Introduction to co-production and the significance of resident narratives by Dr Eve Blezard
• Insights into the ISPA network’s approach to tackling stigma
• Presentation of the Tackling Stigma Toolkit by Jan Mills, Resident Involvement and Scrutiny Manager at Clarion
• Roundtable discussion: Experiences and tactics for reducing stigma.

The guest speaker will be Jan Mills from Clarion, who will introduce a practical Tackling Stigma Toolkit. This resource aims to help social housing providers develop stigma-free practices, with a focus on residents’ needs. Attendees are invited to share their experiences and strategies related to this topic.

Best practice groups are free to members and offer an excellent opportunity to stay informed about sector developments and network with fellow housing professionals.

Why you should come to the best practice group:

• Discover what other organisations are doing to tackle stigma
• Engage in open and honest discussions on the topic
• Share best practices and ideas with peers in similar roles
• Use the session as a sense-check for your own practices and ideas.

Dr Eve Blezard, Networks Project Manager, HQN

Eve is a dedicated community practitioner with a decade of experience in the social housing sector, marked by a TPAS award in 2015. Her work, underpinned by a thesis from Salford University, combines community development and customer insight, focusing on using data and storytelling for actionable research.

Specialising in tenant satisfaction measures, Eve has significantly contributed to improving service delivery through her development of customer feedback frameworks, highlighted by her presentation at an international qualitative research conference. In her previous role, she had led resident insight strategy and frameworks, leading initiatives  in feedback, research and data for over seven years.

Cancellations must be made in writing, and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited. Delegates may be substituted at any time.