What You N eed To K now About A ttracting V olunteers & B est P ractice

1. What You Need To Know About Attracting Volunteers & Best Practice

2. “Anyone who believes that tenant engagement is about involvement in governance and/or ramping up traditional volunteering is either a mad man or a housing provider”

3. The Dark Ages Housing Provider In Control

4. “The Dark Ages” Housing Provider in Control (one way conversation) Example: Environment (Gellideg Forest) Tenant (Service User) Discontent

6. Housing Provider In Control Example: Housing and Regeneration Choice: Demolition or Renewal Not listening to the Citizens voice

7. Outcome: 10 years later

8. ‘Great News’ The housing provider informed us ‘We have money to improve the physical infrastructure’ (investing in Bricks and Mortar) The tenants asked‘How much are you going to spend to improve the social infrastructure?’ (investing in people) ‘Nothing’

9. Is This Wise?

10. Millions of pounds later…

11. This is not a sustainable model of development. It takes a special kind of genius to build housing, rent it to tenants, and within a few generations end up demolishing it or managing decline.

12. TOP TIP The European Social Observatory report, ‘Trust in Neighbourhoods’, concluded that people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods need to be involved in building social capital through social landlords taking the lead

13. Letting In A Little Light: Raising the quality of life in a negative environment by attracting new volunteers

14. Social Problems On The Estate

15. Limited levels of public engagement apart from a small group of social activists who worked to improve life on the estate

16. This is not sustainable – the work needs to be shared with the wider community

17. The new conversation between housing providers and citizens for rebuilding communities needs to be built on: a. Membership b. Mutuality c. Active Citizenship d. Retention and Sustainability This Best Practice Is Not Rocket Science Top Tip: Attracting and Retaining Volunteers

18. Membership • People are invited by housingproviders to join in and take part in a new conversation on the basis that everyone has a contribution to make which is valuable to their community, irrespective of disability, gender, race or religion.

19. Mutuality: Thanking People for their Work • For each hour a citizen gives to building civil society, they receive one time credit. Time credits are used to access social, educational and cultural events. 1 HOUR OF ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP = 1 TIME CREDIT

20. Active Citizenship

21. Enlightenment A new conversation between housing providers and people in communities that taps into the creative social energy that is inherent in all communities.

22. This model of engagement is not new we are simply reinventing the best of our past with a humanitarian currency.“For us empowerment meant the use of collective action to transform social reality through membership and mutuality, and so lift all of us together”

23. Letting In A Little Light:Attracting Young People As Volunteers

24. Case Study Bettws Youth Time Bank

25. Bettws Local Authority Public Housing Estate: Problem areas to address • Top of the league of anti-social behaviour ( highest out of 39 wards ) in the Borough • Poor relationships between young people and police • High levels of youth disengagement

26. Bringing together all the service providers in a locality with an interest in young people. Breaking down the silos by collaborative working. • Valleys to Coast ( Housing Provider) • Communities First • Bridgend Police Force • School • Healthy Living Centre

27. Top Tips: Simple Tasks 1) The Saturday morning test. 2) A Wet Wednesday Evening in Bettws • The purpose of time banking is to encourage young people to use their social energy for constructive rather than destructive purposesby 1) Building Membership 2) Mutuality/Time Banking: Thanking young people for their work 3) Active Citizenship

28. 1.Build Membership

29. 2. Time Banking (Mutuality) One hour of active citizenship = 1 time credit TIME IN • Participating in environmental projects • Attending PACT meetings • Organisingevents and activities in the community TIME OUT • Time Trips • Family Day • Accessing Leisure and Cultural Centres

30. 3. Hours of active young citizenship

31. Change of Culture

32. Outcomes • 17% reduction in anti-social levels over 6 months • Improved relationships between young people and Police • Increased levels of active young citizenship • Positive image promoted of young people

33. Experience “Timebanking has helped me take an interest in the community. Before I just used to go to the youth club.” Young Person, Bettws Boys and Girls Club “Results arising from the scheme in Bettws, such as increased community reassurance, lower crime, community empowerment, community trust, improved social networks and increased community intelligence are extremely successful .” Sergeant A. Bennett, Community Safety Officer - Bridgend “We are now including Time Banking into our training programme for new police recruits” Dr.EnaHoctor, Police Sciences Department - University of Glamorgan

34. It is a change of conversation based on membership, mutuality and active citizenship that we need to encourage young people to become active agents of social change