WCHG Tenants Conference 2019 ‘Healthy Wythenshawe’
Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) hosted its most successful tenant conference to date with an impressive 208 local residents in attendance. The conference took place at Wythenshawe Forum on 31st October and this year’s theme was ‘Healthy Wythenshawe’.
Attendees enjoyed a packed agenda, including presentations from special guests Andy Burnham the Mayor of Greater Manchester, The Bishop of Manchester, Doctor David Walker who delivered presentations on the issues surrounding homelessness on the streets of Manchester and Chief Executive of TPAS, Jenny Osbourne MBE.
The event is planned and organised by involved tenants at WCHG and also saw local Councillor Glynn Evans return as the master of ceremonies for the event.
This year’s agenda item “Question Time” provided attendees the opportunity to speak directly to WCHG’s new Group Chief Executive, Nick Horne to get answers to the questions that mean the most to them.
The event also featured the 2019 Wythenshawe Community Awards which were presented by the Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Abid Latif Chohan.
This years winners were:
Staff Award - Perveen Mohammed
Community Group Award - Tree of life
Community Champion Award - Jo Hastings
Good Neighbour Award - Doreen Maddocks
Involvement Champion Award - Kirsty Taylor
Diversity Award - Louis Elyse
Youth Group Award - Norbrook Juniors Youth Club
Young Person Award - Tammim Yorke Davenport
Paul Goggins Award - Frank Brown
WCHG Group Chief Executive Nick Horne said, “This was my first Tenant Conference as Group Chief Executive and was really impressed to see the level of involvement and interaction with our tenants and their enthusiasm, commitment and empowerment for the Wythenshawe community. The Conference put the spotlight on some tough issues Wythenshawe and Manchester are facing such as the impact of adverse childhood experiences and homelessness as well as celebrating and championing tenant involvement with ‘Together with Tenants’, and the legendary ‘Community Awards’ showcasing the great work going on in Wythenshawe. I would personally like to thank all the involved tenants, volunteers and colleagues who contributed to making this a hugely successful conference”.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester said, “It was a great honour to be invited to speak at WCHG’s Tenant Conference which enabled me to place the spotlight once again on the issues surrounding the homelessness crisis and the positive ground gained to support people get off the streets”.
Chair of the WCHG Board, The Bishop of Manchester, Doctor David Walker said, “I’m proud of the way WCHG is playing its part in combatting homelessness in our city, both in helping our tenants to survive and thrive in their homes and in helping find homes for those who have ended up with nowhere to live. It is all too easy to end up on the streets, and too many people across our city have faced that experience in these last few years. Whilst we still need major improvements in how our national government delivers services that reduce, rather than increase, the numbers becoming homeless, in Manchester we have made substantial strides in the last few years”.
Chair of the Tenant Committee Janet Papworth said, “It was really great to see so many tenants attend and in my opinion the best conference yet. Thank you to all the Community Team who helped run the event on the day, see you all again next year.”
If you would like to get involved with WCHG or find out more about the range of ways that you can get help, please contact the Involvement team for a chat on 0300 111 0000 or 0800 633 5500 or email getinvolved@wchg.org.uk
