Residents’ Bulletin

Pathways

Vaughan Court Completion

It’s finished! Well almost, there are a few minor cosmetic issues inside which are still outstanding. Our first resident moved in on Saturday 22nd March 2014.

Works on our new housing block started almost a year ago. It has taken slightly longer to build than we had first anticipated. Initially lorries had problems gaining access to the Close due to their size. The adverse weather caused some delays at the start of the project and again in February this year, particularly with heavy rain. The installation of gas proved to be problematic as we had to run the supply from Northfields Allotments site.

We are pleased to announce that we have already accepted offers on flats 7 and 8 which we are selling as leasehold properties. These two properties have been sold with designated parking bays.

We are also pleased to announce that our Board of Trustees, at a recent lettings panel, have approved two applicants for the six flats which are to be let.

We have twenty-four hour security at Vaughan Court and it will remain until the property is 50% full.

The Board of Trustees and the staff at Pathways would like to thank all the residents in Bowman’s Close for their patience and understanding during the building of Vaughan Court.

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Spring 2014

In this issue:

Vaughan Court 1

WMC Statements 2

What to do if you are in arrears? 2

Volunteers wanted 2

New staff in housing team 3

Residents’ service improvements meetings 3

Easter and Spring opening times 4

Contact us 4

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Weekly Maintenance Contribution (WMC) Statements

We are pleased to include with this newsletter your statement for WMC for the period 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2014. Please check your statement to ensure that the payments you have made have been received.

If you receive Housing Benefit that is paid directly to Pathways please check to make sure that your payments are correct. You are still responsible for these payments although they are paid directly to us. If you have any queries on the balance of the account or any other queries regarding the statement please contact your Housing Officer. The contact details can be found on the next page (under ‘New members of the housing team’).

The final balance of your account for week commencing 10th March (week 50) may either be in credit or arrears. A credit balance on the account is shown by “CR”after the amount (eg.100CR) and an account in arrears is shown with the amount outstanding (eg.100). Please contact us if you have any queries relating to the balance of your account.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE IN ARREARS

If your account is in arrears please contact us to let us know the reason why you have not been able to keep up with the WMC payments. We will be able to provide advice and assistance if there has been a change in your financial circumstances, we will also be able to agree a repayment plan with you to clear the outstanding debt within a specified timescale. However, if we fail to come to an arrangement with you to reduce or clear the arrears because we have not had a response from you following our communication with you or you may not have kept to the agreement you made with us, we may start legal proceedings against you which may result in you loosing your home.

We are happy to talk with you about your financial situation however should you prefer to talk with an external independent advice agency, we would be happy to provide you with contact details of services in your area.

We would stress that it is essential that you contact us if your account is in arrears.

Volunteers wanted for filming and photography

Pathways are looking for residents who are willing to volunteer to have their photograph taken or feature in a filmed interview. We will provide each participant with a £25 voucher, and food if their time is required for more than two hours.

The film will be featured on our website for information to future potential residents. The images will be used for a case study of Pathways by Charity Bank.

If you are interested in taking part, please contact Chris Brosnan on 020 8579 7411.

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Residents’ service improvement meetings

We are currently reviewing our Housing Service. Shabera Rashid – the Interim Head of Housing is leading on this project, she is meeting with our residents to hear your views and experiences of the services Pathways provides and your expectations for improvements. She has already met with residents from five schemes and will be meeting residents at the other schemes on the following dates:

SCHEME DATE OF MEETING

Sir Abraham Dawes Almshouses 1st April 2014

Legg Whittuck / Leyton United 7th April 2014

King George V Almshouses 15th April 2014

Taylor Court / Tawny CloseBowmans Court / Victoria & 22nd April 2014Wheeler Homes

Dean Court 29th April 2014

Shabera will be writing to residents to let them know the time and venue of the meeting for their scheme(s). If you are unable to attend the meeting we would appreciate it if you could spare some time to talk to Shabera and give her feedback on your experiences as a Pathways resident. Shabera can be contacted on: 0208 579 7411 or shabera.rashid@yourpathways.org.uk.

New Members of the Housing Team

Greg Smikle joined the team in December 2013 as Housing Officer. He manages the following schemes: Esther Doe,King George V Almshouses, Pilgrim’s Lodge, Legg Whittock, Leyton United, Dean Court, Bowmans Court and Victoria and Wheeler.

Greg can be contacted on: 020 8579 7643 or 07770 4330924 ; gregory.smikle@yourpathways.org.uk

Kevin Ellis, our other Housing Officer, has been with Pathways for about a year. He manages the following schemes: Sir Abraham Dawes, The Jubilee Trust, Woolwich Parochial, Tawny Close and Taylor Court.

Kevin can be contacted on: 020 8579 7643 (Mon/Thurs/Fri) or 020 8694 6654 (Tues/Wed) 078 2488 8574; kevin.ellis@yourpathways.org.uk

Greg and Kevin will be visiting each of the schemes they manage during April, May and June. If you would like to meet with them when they visit your schemes please contact them and they will give you the date and time of their visit.

Jazz Bilkhu is the Property Manager and is responsible for overseeing the effective delivery of the Housing and Maintenance Services at Pathways.

Jazz can be contacted on: 020 8579 7411 or 075 0130 3700; Jazz.bilkhu@yourpathways.org.uk.

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Contact us Pathways Trust Office

Pathways Trust Office, 65 Tawny Close, West Ealing, London, W13 9LX Tel (Housing Office): 0300 123 2203 Tel (Main Number): 0208 579 7411

Pathways Greenwich Office*

Greenwich Office, 23 The Jubilee, Egerton Drive, London, SE10 8JW Tel: 0208 694 6680

*(The Greenwich office is only open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays)

Pathways, 65 Tawny Close, West Ealing, W13 9LX - 020 8579 7411http://www.yourpathways.org.uk - info@yourpathways.org.uk

Easter period and spring office opening times

Our usual working hours, when we can be contacted, are from 9:00am to 5:00pm. The office opening times over the Easter period are as follows:

Ealing office opening hours

Up to 17th April 9am to 5pm

Friday 18th April (Good Friday) Closed

Monday 21st April (Easter Monday) Closed

Tuesday 22nd to Friday 2nd May 9am to 5pm

Monday 5th May Closed (Early May Bank Holiday)

Greenwich office opening hours

The Greenwich office will open every Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:00am to 5:00pm unless advised otherwise.