Just before the Christmas break, we had the fantastic news that we are now signed up to the HouseProud pledge.
The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge, created by HouseProud and delivered by Stonewall Housing, is a scheme which all social housing providers can sign up to, to demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ resident equality and support.
This means that we will commit to several pledges in the next 12 months, including working alongside tenants as well as employees, looking at our policies and procedures, working with support from senior leaders, increasing evidence of visibility, and providing training opportunities.
This pledge will be impactful not only to employees but to customers too so they can visibly understand its purpose and our commitment to understanding the challenges LGBTQ+ residents face and being as inclusive as possible.
The Chair of our Pride group, Jonathan Hill, said: “Work is already ongoing to put our commitments to this pledge into practice, and we will keep updating our progress. By taking these steps, we aim to achieve Pledge Pioneer status. I’m proud we are investing so much into making a safe space for our LGBTQ+ colleagues, customers, partners and stakeholders and taking in consideration issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community when it comes to shaping and improving our services. We celebrate diversity and continue to create a workforce and service where everyone feels free to be who they are.”
Our Chief Executive and Pride group sponsor, Martyn Shaw, added: “When I was given the opportunity to sign the pledge it was a very easy choice for me to make. Our Pride group has made waves this past year since forming, and working towards this pledge shows our commitment to making our community as diverse, inclusive and visible as possible.
“We want to make sure we have the best possible foundations to support our LGBTQ+ colleagues and customers. Both a workplace and a home should be a safe place where people can be their true selves without fear or discrimination. I am certainly very proud to sponsor the group, and I look forward to seeing the further excellent work and progress that will come from taking the pledge.”
Dave Thorpe, our Service Director for Technical Services said: “As Service Director sponsor of the Pride ERG I am really proud of this significant step, making our pledge and signing up to House Proud. It is important that we do this as we do some amazing things already in our organisation to support equality, diversity and inclusion and this pledge really unites us with other providers in the housing sector. Making a level playing field for the people who work here and live in our homes and communities is important to me and this is another step that really demonstrates our unwavering support, allegiance and commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.”
Our Pride group are interested in hearing from customers who would like to be part of a new LGBT+ focus group, we would love to know what the Houseproud pledge means to you. If this were something you would like to be involved in, please get in touch [email protected].