1. home and garden

DECEMBER 2014
FAR LEFT: HHT
Chief Executive
Alwyn Lewis
(right) and the
Alzheimer’s
Society’s Peter
Todd address the
guests at the
launch
NEAR LEFT: Café
regulars led the
guests in taking
part in the singalong
Guests visit Dementia Café
for official launch event
On Wednesday 12th November around 20 guests came to
movements that soon had ever yone laughing as they
Abyssinia Court to hear about the new dementia services
found them more difficult than they thought!
being run by Hornsey Housing Trust and the Alzheimer’s
The guests then joined in with sifting thought various
Society.
‘memory boxes’ which contained items from previous
The guests included Trust Board members, stakedecades. These items stirred many memories and
holders and others from Haringey Council, London
conversation – in particular one café regular was
Fire Brigade, and other housing associations.
prompted to say that he’d driven the last ever
Alwyn Lewis, Chief Executive of Hornsey
tram in New Cross in 1952!
Housing Trust, explained why the services
The guests, café regulars, and Housing
were introduced, due to his seeing the need
Trust staff all greatly enjoyed the afterfor support for those living with dementia.
noon, and the Trust and the Alzheimer’s
The contents of one
Peter Todd from the Alzheimer’s Society
Society expressed their desire to build on the
of the memory boxes
explained how the services were set up, using
services over time.
their experience from other projects.
The event was reported in the Haringey Advertiser,
The guests then joined in with some of the
which also published the photo shown here of the singalong
activities taking place in the Dementia Café that day.
session. If you have access to the internet, you can see the
They took par t in a singalong which involved hand
story at this internet address: http://tinyurl.com/nkvauvl
New faces at the
Housing Trust
New HHT Board members build on experience
Hornsey Housing Trust has appointed three new Board
members, all of whom have excellent knowledge and
experience.
Rosie Boughton has had a long career in social housing,
working for Paddington Churches, HA, the London Borough
of Newham and the National Federation of Housing Associations. She has also been a lecturer and course team
leader on Housing Studies at College of North East London.
“I live locally and am interested in housing for older
people. As more of us are living longer, where we live and
how we live become more important, and the Trust is well
placed to develop new ideas about this. I look forward to
meeting more tenants of the Trust and finding out how
we can improve the services we offer.”
Jan Wightman has a long history of working in social
care, providing frontline services to older people, adults
with physical disabilities and mental health. With Hornsey
Housing Trust’s support she set up Active Age Crouch
End, which since September 2013 has been running a
weekly programme of activities for the tenants of Margaret
Hill House.
“I am delighted to be appointed to the Board and look
forward to working in partnership with staff and tenants
to help Hornsey Housing Trust to continue to improve
and develop its services”.
Irene Pratsides worked with Jan Wightman to set up
Active Age Crouch End. She is an experienced academic with a 36-year career of teaching and leading in secondary schools. She was Head of Science, Head of Year,
Deputy Head Teacher and Acting Head Teacher at various
schools in the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and Havering.
“I am delighted to be part of a forward thinking team
whose aim is to work collaboratively to improve the services it offers to its existing and prospective tenants and
the wider community. I would like to be actively involved
in the journey in making Hornsey Housing Trust ‘more
than just housing’.
Trust also welcomes new staff
We would like to welcome some new colleagues
to the team. Sharon Francis, Aniuta Golub and
Barbara Flemmings have recently joined us as
Support Services Offices, and they bring with
them extensive experience of successful work
in delivering support to vulnerable and older residents. They will ensure that residents of sheltered schemes and street properties receive
support, assistance and encourage them to participate in a range of exciting activities. We wish
them every success.
And farewell to…
Mayasi N’Semi, Dola Adetokunbo and Betty
Mosinghi who have all recently left the Trust to
pursue new endeavours. We are sure you would
like to join everyone at the Trust in thanking them
all for their valued contribution and wish them all
the very best for the future.
NEW HHT STAFF CLOCKWISE
FROM ABOVE:
Aniuta Golub,
Barbara Flemmings,
Sharon Francis
AN UNEARTHED
ARTISTIC
TALENT!
Interview with Mr Peter Reynolds,
a resident of Abyssinia Court
Peter Reynolds enjoyed drawing from the age of 6, but
as he approached adulthood, this natural talent was put
aside, as he felt it wouldn’t take him far in the world and his
father told him that he’d ‘never get a real job doing that’.
But then a few years ago Peter was hospitalised due to
ill health and became homeless when his landlord served
him an eviction notice.
This left Peter very low, both mentally and physically, but his road to recovery started with a request to
Haringey Council for sheltered accommodation. Hornsey
Housing Trust’s Barbara Moore assessed his needs and
he took up residence at Abyssinia Court. Peter is eternally
grateful for another chance at life in a place he can call
home, saying: “Barbara was absolutely brilliant once she
got on the case!”
Peter, now settled, took up drawing again. This helped
him to regain his focus and has been a big help in his life.
The Haringey Action Group on Alcohol (HAGA) helps him
to sell his drawings and Peter has generously agreed to
give HAGA part of the proceeds to support people on the
road to recovery.
When going out, Peter often takes his drawing materials
with him and if his arthritis becomes too much, he stops
off at a cafe for some drawing whilst gathering strength
to continue his journey.
I was privileged to see some of Peter’s amazing drawings of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix (his idol) and Clint Eastwood as the Outlaw Josey Wales. Peter draws from photos
which he expands to A4 size and prints from his computer.
Peter used to draw directly as he saw it but now, due to
failing eye-sight, he draws scales known as ‘grid panels’,
in order to get everything in the right place. Peter draws
as often as he is able and art is an important part of his
recovery.
Peter has never drawn animals - only humans - so I
couldn’t resist giving him the challenge of drawing my pet
Chihuahua, Harvey, to which he replied: “this will be another kick-start for me; I think I’ll enjoy the challenge!”
Interview by Timmi Twumasi, Housing Assistant trainee
Peter Reyno
lds’ drawings
Jimi Hendrix
of
, Clint Eastw
ood
and Bob Mar
ley
Residents needed
for feedback on
Trust services
I’d like to invite any interested residents to become more involved
in influencing what we do and helping us improve our ser vice.
The Trust is working with the Tenant Participation Advisory Service
(TPAS), an independent national organisation specialising in tenant
involvement, to assist us in developing our Tenants’ Scrutiny Panel.
The panel meets six times a year, in a friendly environment, to discuss general issues on our services and general performance. We
also discuss activities and events for residents. Meetings will be two
weeks after Housing Trust Board
meetings so you will be able to
hear about what was discussed
at the meetings.
If you are interested in
becoming a member of the
Tenants Scrutiny Panel, please
contact me to discuss it on:
020 8340 6374.
Many thanks,
Alwyn Lewis
Chief Executive,
Hornsey Housing Trust
Office Based
Alwyn Lewis - Chief Executive
Jonathan Steinberg - Finance Director
l Phil Johnson - Housing Services Manager
l Carla Ferrarello - Property Services Manager
l Olabisi Durojaiye - Financial Controller
l Vishwanee Ramtale - Management
Accountant
l Serge P. Monboye - Income and
Information Support Officer
l Barbara Moore/Dennis Meredith Housing Assistant
l Prerrna Hulman/Timmii Twamusi Trainee Housing Assistant
l
l
Housing Support Officers
Barbara Flemmings - Abyssinia Court
Aniuta Golub - Margaret Hill House/
Olive Tree House
l Sharon Francis - Palm Tree Court/
Sheba Court
l
l
CONTACTS
Hornsey Housing Trust
Alwyn Lewis
CHRISTMAS OFFICE HOURS
Monday 22 December
Tuesday 23 December
Wednesday 24 December
Christmas Eve
Thursday 25 December
Christmas day
Friday 26 December
Boxing Day
Monday 29 December
Tuesday 30 December
Wednesday 31 December
New Year’s Eve
Thursday 1 January
New Year’s Day
Friday 2 January
STAFF AT HORNSEY
HOUSING TRUST
9.00am - 5.00pm
9.00am - 5.00pm
9.00am - 5.00pm
Closed all day
Telephone: 020 8340 6374
Fax: 020 8341 1134
E-mail: [email protected]
www.hornseyht.co.uk
Useful numbers
Emergency repairs number
0208 340 6374 – 17:01 pm until 08:59am,
Mon – Fri, 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday
Haringey Housing and Council; Tax benefits
0208 489 2800
Closed all day
Gas leaks
National Grid 0800 111 999 (24hours)
9.00am - 5.00pm
9.00am - 5.00pm
9.00am - 5.00pm
Noise nuisance
0208 489 1000 (9:00am – 17:00pm)
0208 348 3148 (17.01pm until 08.59am)
Closed all day
Crime stoppers
0800 555 111
9.00am - 5.00pm
Rubbish and recycling
0208 885 7700
Emergency Contacts
Should you have any maintenance emergencies over the
Christmas period, please call the following numbers:
Emergency repairs (out of office hours) – 020 8347 6374
Gas leaks (Transco) - 0800 111 999
Thames Water - 0800 714 614