In some of the communities we serve, we are seeing growing pressures that are affecting how safe and inclusive neighbourhoods feel. These pressures are sometimes expressed through racially charged views or assumptions, conversations that question who belongs in a community, or narratives about access to housing that are rooted in misinformation rather than fact.
As a large, place‑based housing provider, supporting safe and respectful neighbourhoods is a core part of our role. This is reflected in our new corporate strategy, which recognises the responsibility housing providers share in tackling social division and strengthening community trust.
What we’re seeing
Some of these pressures are surfacing as racially charged views or harmful assumptions. This includes narratives suggesting it is “easier for some groups to get a house”, offensive remarks about accent or background, or questions about who lives in homes and whether they “should”. While these views are sometimes framed as frustration or curiosity, they can perpetuate misinformation and discrimination. In some cases, they meet the threshold for hate incidents or hate crime.
This behaviour is unacceptable and has no place in our communities. Our day‑to‑day presence in neighbourhoods means we hear and see how these issues are experienced locally. That insight has reinforced the importance of strengthening our approach – not only in how we respond to individual incidents, but in how we work consistently across systems to reduce harm and support safer, more resilient neighbourhoods over time.
How we are strengthening our approach
Over the past year, we have brought together insight from across Abri to better understand what is happening in our communities, and to connect and strengthen work that is already underway. By bringing together internal data, local intelligence and customer feedback, we are identifying neighbourhoods where tensions may be emerging – including areas where issues may be under‑reported – allowing us to focus support earlier and more effectively.
This work is not always about creating new initiatives. In many cases, it has been about making better links between existing activity, aligning insight, and being more deliberate about how we focus our efforts. It is clear that this is not the responsibility of one team or function. It spans how we support our colleagues, how we engage with customers, how we collaborate locally, and how we use data and experience to inform action.
From this work, we have shaped a clearer, shared approach built around three core themes, helping us bring greater consistency and focus to how we support our communities.
- Promoting common ground
The first theme focuses on reinforcing what communities share – challenging harmful narratives, celebrating diversity, and strengthening a sense of shared identity and belonging. This includes clear, consistent messaging about our role and responsibilities, addressing myths early, sharing positive stories of communities working well together, and supporting activity that brings people together.
- Supporting safe communities
The second theme centres on safety and clear, consistent boundaries. We want people to feel safe in their homes and neighbourhoods, and confident that discriminatory or abusive behaviour will be taken seriously. This has included reviewing and strengthening our hate crime policy, informed by both customer and organisational insight.
Alongside this, we are improving reporting pathways, supporting confident responses to challenging behaviour, and deepening collaboration with local authorities, partners and community organisations. This includes making reporting routes clearer and more visible, and improving awareness and signposting to organisations like Crimestoppers, Stop Hate UK and Tell MAMA – helping people feel more able to speak up and more supported when they do.
- Using insight to focus our response
The third theme focuses on improving understanding so that our response is more consistent, targeted and effective. We are bringing together internal insight and external data, alongside lived experience from communities and colleagues, to better understand patterns across neighbourhoods – including where harm may be occurring or where issues may be under‑reported. This enables us to focus engagement, support and partnership working where it is most needed, rather than responding to concerns in isolation.
A few examples of how this approach is taking shape in practice:
Building capability and consistency
Colleagues working on the frontline are often navigating sensitive and complex situations, and how these moments are handled can shape trust in neighbourhoods over time. To support this, we’ve refreshed conflict management and personal safety training and brought delivery in‑house so it can be tailored more closely to role‑based risk. This sits alongside wider allyship and inclusion learning, including LGBTQIA+ learning resources and lived‑experience storytelling through our Human Library, helping support confident, professional and consistent responses.
Place‑based partnerships and local engagement
Our approach is rooted in place and informed by insight. Using internal and external data, we’ve identified neighbourhoods where tensions may be emerging and focused engagement accordingly. This has included delivering a community event in Portswood in partnership with the police and Southampton City Council, creating a space for residents, partners and local services to come together, share concerns and build understanding at a local level. We’re also exploring how we can develop Places of Safety in our communities to create trusted, welcoming spaces where people feel able to seek support and access help locally.
Alongside this, a key part of our approach is bringing people together from different backgrounds and experiences, creating opportunities for connection and shared understanding. This includes supporting community activity – from Pride and Southampton Mela to Summer of Fun events, Black History Month celebrations and community‑led initiatives – helping to build relationships, reduce isolation and strengthen a shared sense of belonging.
Across the sector
Many of the pressures affecting communities extend beyond individual places or organisations. We work closely with local authorities through community safety and cohesion partnerships, including expanding our involvement in areas such as Southampton and Eastleigh and helping shape Bracknell Forest’s Communities Strategy. We also contribute at a sector level through ongoing collaboration with the National Housing Federation, race equality groups and sector research, sharing insight on issues such as misinformation, discrimination and access to housing to support more consistent, evidence‑led approaches.
Bringing it all together
Community cohesion is built day by day through everyday interactions, shared spaces and the relationships people form with one another and with the organisations rooted in their neighbourhoods. When trust frays or divisions deepen, the effects are felt locally – and repairing them takes patience, consistency and care.
As a place‑based housing provider, we see supporting cohesion as part of our wider responsibility to the communities where our homes sit. That means working in partnership, listening to our communities, and continuing to strengthen how we support safe, inclusive neighbourhoods where people feel respected and able to belong.