At Kingdom Housing Association, we’re doing lots of great work to support our tenants and to keep services going during lockdown. From welfare phone calls to deliveries of flowers and groceries, everyone is working together to look after some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Soon after lockdown was announced we launched an employee volunteering scheme called ‘Kingdom Contributes’. With some staff furloughed and others finding themselves with extra capacity, we received many requests from staff asking how they could get involved with volunteering. The benefits to our local communities are clear and also tie in with our Community Initiatives Fund Policy which allows us to support local volunteering activities.

Staff have embraced the opportunities Kingdom Contributes provides and have reached out to tenants by dropping off shopping, collecting prescriptions and by making welfare telephone calls. The feedback has been remarkable. One of our team received a personal 30 minute music recital from a tenant during a welfare call!

£500 was made available to allow staff participating in ‘Kingdom Contributes’ to buy small gifts up to the value of £10 for tenants to cheer them up during lockdown and we delivered treats ranging from flowers to car magazines!

Here’s some of the other feedback we’ve received from tenants:

“Thank you for the kindness shown by Kingdom.”

“Overwhelmed by Kingdom’s thoughtfulness – love my flowers!”

“Will you pass on her thanks to whoever went out of their way to get her shopping that she was delighted with and also thanks for the beautiful flowers.”

“Thank you, I’m over the moon!” said a tenant with a tear in his eye after we delivered a Top Up voucher for a mobile phone.

Support during lockdown is also being offered by Kingdom Works, Kingdom Housing Association’s employability project. With many people worrying about the economic impact of coronavirus, our team is busy offering help and support with application forms, interview skills, job matching, training and more.

Using emerging technology such as augmented reality has allowed us to be virtually present in tenant’s homes to help them complete simple repairs without any risk of infection to our tenants or our staff.

One thing that’s become really clear during the pandemic is that  sometimes a small gesture can make a big difference.

One of our tenants contacted us about her cooker hob. The markings showing which dial operated which part of the hob had worn off and the tenant was worried and concerned.

Although it wasn’t an emergency, our Maintenance Service identified a way to give our tenant one less thing to worry about. As they weren’t able to visit in person due to the current restrictions, they posted out replacement stickers to allow the tenant to use the hob safely and without any unnecessary stress.

(Update provided by Kingdom HA)