Refugee and migrant housing provider ACH has been awarded more than £70,000 in government funding to pilot a new engagement model aimed at tackling the barriers preventing refugees from speaking up about social housing.

As part of the latest Social Housing Innovation Fund round of funding, a total of £76,442 has been awarded to ACH to deliver its Trusted Voices: A Council of Elders Model for Refugee Talent Engagement programme from March 2026.

Delivered over 12 months throughout the Southwest and West Midlands, the project is underpinned by the creation of a community-led Council of Elders model. Unlike traditional resident panels, the model will see locally respected refugees and migrants of all ages from within communities coming together and mediating between tenants and housing staff.

ACH CEO Fuad Mahamed said: “Refugee tenants face significant barriers to providing meaningful feedback on social housing services. They include language differences, unfamiliarity with UK housing systems, experiences of trauma and fear of formal reporting processes.

“Traditional surveys, panels and official meetings are often associated with authority or surveillance, which suppresses people’s willingness to share candid and honest feedback, resulting in low quality or absent responses, and their voices not being truly heard or represented. Our Council of Elders model will provide the important, long-overdue step change that’s needed.”

Following the rise in hate crime and far right activities in recent months, ACH ran safeguarding programmes in Birmingham, Bristol, Coventry, and Wolverhampton as part of the government’s Community Recovery Fund initiative. Consultation work carried out with more than 40 people during this time highlighted an increasing fear of formal agencies, including councils and housing associations, among ACH’s tenants, and recommended informal communication methods and intermediaries as possible solutions.

Fuad said: “For the first time, there will be a culturally grounded, trust-based model of tenant engagement that fundamentally rethinks how refugee tenants are supported to influence housing services.

“Rather than adapting existing consultation mechanisms, we will challenge conventional practice by shaping engagement around the social and cultural realities of refugee communities.”

In addition to amplifying refugee tenant influence and implementing more refugee-focused engagement methods, the programme is designed to develop scalable tools that can be adopted across the housing sector. This includes a Council of Elders toolkit and implementation guide to help other housing providers engage underserved communities more effectively.

The initiative is expected to engage 250 to 300 tenants across the Southwest and West Midlands, including many who have not previously participated in tenant engagement activities.

Igor, a current ACH tenant, said: “I believe this is a great initiative to bring tenants’ voices together and support meaningful change that better reflects their needs. At the moment, issues are usually raised individually. However, through this initiative, tenants would have a dedicated council they can speak to, who can then represent their views in a unified manner for more impact.”

Although delivering the project independently, ACH says it will work with key partners from across the sector, including fellow grant awardees, to share insight and best practice, and contribute to long-term improvements in how housing providers engage with diverse communities.

Success will be measured through increased participation, as well as improved feedback quality, stronger tenant trust and confidence and tangible service improvements shaped by residents’ input.