Derwent & Solway Housing Association, a member of the Harvest Housing Group, have this week announced that they have been shortlisted for a prestigious Gold Award by the Housing Corporation, the government agency that funds new affordable homes and regulates housing associations in England.
The annual competition has been organised by the Housing Corporation to recognise excellence in housing provision and share cutting-edge knowledge within the sector. Their ultimate goal is to improve the quality of housing provision for millions of residents throughout England. From the 28 Housing Associations who entered the competition, only 6 were shortlisted for the award and D&S were entered for their Routes 2 Work initiative in the theme of ‘Worklessness’.
Routes 2 Work is a successful partnership which has delivered a ground breaking people based regeneration initiative throughout West Cumbria. The initiative helps and supports individuals, groups and whole communities in reducing worklessness and the negative social impacts that worklessness fuels. The delivery of Routes 2 Work breaks through this employment barrier by helping people into employment through various training projects and learning support programmes.
Commenting on the initiative, Robert Porter, Director of Derwent & Solway Housing Association said:
“West Cumbria is a challenging area in terms of job opportunities and since 2005 we and our partners have been committed to developing and delivering regeneration activities focused on maximising opportunities that enable greater social inclusion and an enhance quality of life for excluded individuals disadvantaged by unemployment. We are delighted to have been shortlisted by the Housing Corporation for our involvement in Routes 2 Work initiative and look forward to hosting an assessment visit in the near future”.
An announcement regarding the Gold Award second round is expected in the coming weeks.