LMH completes a double for the week with Housing Heroes Award win

Published by Jean Clarke for Liverpool Mutual Homes in Housing and also in Communities, Environment, Health, Local Government

TV personality and explorer Ben Fogle presented a Liverpool housing association with its second national award of the week on Friday.

Liverpool Mutual Homes (LMH) completed a double of award wins after being triumphant at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Housing Heroes Awards in London.

On Wednesday, LMH won the Partnering Scheme of the Year award with contractor the Kinetics Group at the Housing Excellence Awards.

LMH’s Safer Estates Team's work that sees offenders working full-time in the community to repay their debt beat competition from more than 300 entries to win for the coveted Housing Heroes ‘Frontline Housing Team of the Year’ award.

The Housing Heroes Awards recognised the all round success of LMH’s Intensive Community Payback scheme which has resulted in 50 per cent reduction in the number of reports of anti-social behaviour in North Liverpool compared to the three months before.

The project has been sucessfully delivered by LMH in partnership with a variety of organisations including Liverpool’s innovative Community Justice Centre, the Probation Service, Merseyside Police, the Westminster Estate Tenants and Residents Association (WETRA) and the Council’s North Neighbourhood Management Service.

Tenants say they feel safer in their homes and now have a renewed sense of community spirit.

The scheme allows Judge David Fletcher to sentence offenders appearing at the Community Justice Centre with a new Intensive Community Payback Order whereby they have to work five days a week until they complete their unpaid hours, with work starting within two days of sentencing.

Offenders are shown the affects of their crimes and, motivated by role models, they are able to gain experience of full-time work, complete their hours and rehabilitate quicker whilst also seeing the results of their labour. They are also given practical help to turn their experience into paid employment.

Police involvement in the scheme has eased fears about attacks on the site and reassured residents. The high visibility of the scheme has given residents the confidence to suggest further work and is helping offenders to successfully rehabilitate into the community motivated by direct praise from residents and partners, taking real pride in their achievements and developing a work ethic.

The Intensive Community Payback order has been successfully used as a last chance for offenders who have breached previous community orders to avoid custody. The work is also seen by the community as a tough alternative to a short spell in prison.

LMH has also established links with Jobcentre Plus and a local social enterprise to help offenders leaving the scheme secure training and employment opportunities.

Chief Executive of LMH, Steve Coffey, said: “Very rarely does one scheme provide so many fantastic all-round benefits to neighbourhoods like the Intenstive Community Payback Scheme and it is pleasing this has been recognised.

“The project has resulted in tenants feeling more secure in their homes, communities becoming safer and offenders being rehabilitated, which means they are unlikely to transgress in the future and the neighbourhood can continue to improve.

“It is important to thank all our staff, tenants and many partners involved in delivering the scheme and this award is down to their hard work.”

Earlier this year the Intensive Community Payback scheme won the Best Local Initiative title at the Liverpool Citysafe Awards and the regional Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) Connecting People Award.

The full list of LMH’s partners who contributed to the scheme includes HM Court Service, Progress2work, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Citysafe Partnership, the Furniture Resource Centre, The Friends of Walton Hall Park and Fountains Close Tenant and Residents Association.

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Photograph: Harry Mooney (LMH’s Westminster Estate Tenants and Residents Association), Tony Chin (Merseyside Probation Trust). Mike Flynn, (Graffiti removal firm Graff Attack), Elaine Doolan (WETRA), with two payback workers (right).