Abri’s latest round of Community Action Days have brought customers and staff together to make lasting change.
The Community Action Days, which took place across 16 communities throughout August and October, represented the latest opportunities for customers and members of the community to work face-to-face with Abri. As part of the new regional model, Abri’s operating area has been split into three, meaning work in the community is more targeted than ever before, this ensures help is given where it’s needed most, and makes Abri both more visible to its customers and more accountable. Support at the action days included carrying out minor repairs, supporting customers with advice to sustain their tenancy and a tidy up of their local shared and public spaces.
Abri’s Community Action Days always take place in the heart of communities. The latest took place across all of Abri's geography from Bristol and Somerset to Wiltshire, Hampshire and Berkshire.
The customer engagements were dynamic and varied, some of the work included:
- Repairs works: 44 were carried out at the action days, and follow-up repairs and inspections were booked for a later date if the problem couldn’t be fixed on the day.
- Police Force engagement: customers continued to engage with the local police force about their area, with police able to attend at the majority of action days.
- Local Authority engagement: Partners at local councils were able to attend a number of action days, with customers taking the opportunity to share ideas for improvements in their locality. In Salisbury, a direct suggestion from a customer led to the Council adding cricket for children to their planned pop-up youth events.
- Waste Disposal: Grounds teams were able to fill 20 whole flatbed trucks with unwanted items, relieving a stress for residents who may have been otherwise unable to get rid of these items, especially in areas that may suffer from fly tipping incidents or residents affected by hoarding issues.
- Tenancy support: Customers were able to meet numerous Abri teams in person, including housing and tenancy sustainment teams. Customers were encouraged to raise issues concerning them, (some of which could be resolved on the same day), as well as having access to benefits advice. Employment support has also been available at the action days.
The community action day staged in Bracknell was the first in the area since Abri and Silva Homes completed their partnership this autumn. The Great Hollands based event saw a quarter of all customer households in the area engage, with four customers pleased to discuss repairs, one of whom was able to have a faulty shower unit replaced on the same day. Other help was given towards grounds maintenance and customers were pleased to be able to discuss face-to face any issues they were experiencing.
Abri’s Community Investment team ensure that each day is as useful as possible for the customers in attendance by theming them, targeting the most timely issues. Customers have told Abri that it’s been useful to have a visible presence and talk in person about any issues they’re having, often to do with community safety and housing issues, with one Ilminster resident saying “It’s been really nice today, really nice to see you and talk to you.”
Cita Jagot, Communities and Involvement Manager at Abri said: “I’m so glad to see such high levels of customer engagement across the summer and into the autumn. Our Community Action Days are a great chance to spend time in our communities and hear first-hand from our customers about the challenges they’re facing. It really is a cross-team effort and means we can support customers on a broad range of issues; from maintenance to housing, environmental improvements to cost of living support, employment support and everything in between. This demonstrates our continued commitment to creating thriving communities and having a local presence. I know all our teams will keep up their wonderful work throughout the winter and into 2024.”
More Community Action Days are in the works to help customers and communities, with plans for events in the new year ongoing. If you would like to find out more, email ciadmin@abri.co.uk