Innovation Award for Communication

Published by Debs Ramsden for Nottingham Community Housing Association Ltd in Housing

A Housing with Care and Support team has won an award for the way they communicate with their service users.  

Nottingham Community Housing Association's project at Blenheim Avenue in Mapperley cares for and supports people with profound learning disabilities.  Positive communication can be hard to achieve but the team has impressed judges at the Notts County Council Innovation Awards by their use of intensive interaction with service users. 

Using this alternative way of communication has become a very natural skill to the team who were shortlisted down to six, and then after inspection by the panel, won one of four awards.  They win £1,000 worth of training for the team. 

And their reputation is spreading - at the Intensive Interaction Regional Network meeting some of the members have asked what it is that works so well at Blenheim as they would like to "bottle it" and pass on to other teams. 

Manager of the Project, Lesley Rawlinson said " I'm always proud of the team and the work they do but to receive an award for it is the icing on the cake.  The way in which we interact with our service users can have a positive impact on their lives.  It may be the difference between living in a world of complete isolation to being valued as an individual and part of the community."