SAHA's Ladder of Involvement shows the different ways in which residents can become involved and have an influence on the services they receive. Click on the link to look at the options available.

Residents can chose the option for becoming involved, which best suits their individual circumstances. Some people may have different skills to offer, different interests, or simply more time to spare, so SAHA want to cater for all of these needs.

The Ladder was devised by SAHA's Agency Services department as part of its Resident Involvement Training.

How can you be Involved?

You can be involved in various ways at different levels. These include:

Residents Newsletter

 SAHA publishes four resident newsletters per year.

 Annual Report

 An Annual Report is sent to each Resident.

 Website

 SAHA's website www.saha.org.uk is continually updated and developed, providing information about all aspects of its services

 Annual Residents Survey

 Each year we carry out a survey of all our residents to find out about what they think of their homes and of the service they received from SAHA.  The information received from the survey will be used to improve our services.

 Customer Service Centre Surveys

 Customer Services Officers carry out additional surveys to monitor various aspects of our service to residents. These are:

Major Repair Surveys -  Each year we survey all of our residents to understand what their priorities are as far as planned maintenance is concerned for their property and their estate. This information is used to ensure the programme meets your needs and expectations. We also write and give everyone advanced notice of our intention to carry out work and let you know how it will affect you. You will be consulted and, where relevant, given choices on such things as finishes and colour schemes.

 New Development Surveys -  Questionnaires are sent to all residents who have moved into brand new homes.  The purpose of this survey is to obtain feedback from residents about the homes and services that have been provided with.

 Other Satisfaction Surveys -  Customer Services phone a percentage of our residents to get feedback on a number of service areas, such as the satisfaction of completed repairs, the satisfaction of resolved complaints, the satisfaction of service given to new tenants.

 Residents Meetings

 SAHA hold a number of resident meetings every year. This gives residents an opportunity to talk to either a Support or Project worker, or local Housing Officetr on specific issues who can give one to one feedback.  You can contact your local member of SAHA staff to find out when these meetings are scheduled, normally an agenda is distributed to residents before the meeting and minutes are issued after the meeting, to let everyone know what has been discussed.

 Scheme ‘Neighbourhood Improvement Agreement'

 This involves the local member of SAHA staff (Support or Project Worker, or local Housing Officer) holding a meeting with residents, to identify what they think of the scheme ‘now’, and how they would see the scheme if it was, in their opinion 'excellent'. Together we agree on actions that will make your locality a better place to live, with the overall aim of it becoming an "excellent" place to live. This is monitored and reviewed every 12 months. 

Resident Focus Groups

 A focus Group is a discussion with a group of people about a particular topic or areas of SAHA's service. These can be one - off sessions held locally, that enable SAHA to gain a better understanding of your opinions regarding a particular aspect of our service delivery. 

 Resident Associations

 Although residents' associations may have slightly different objectives, most include improving where they live and the surrounding area, bringing residents together socially and representing resident members when talking to people from the local authority or SAHA. TARA's (Tenants and Residents Associations) may be entitled to a set up grant, click on the link for more details. SAHA is keen to see more residents setting up associations and, if required, we will attend meetings and offer help and advice.  Support is offered also to those residents who wish to have informal groups rather than formal associations.

 Customer Panel

 SAHA has a Customer Panel consisting of 90 residents from foyers, centres and general needs housing, who are consulted on a regular basis on various issues, such as potential policy or procedural changes. Their feedback is taken into consideration before any changes are made and their ideas are incorporated as much as possible. If you would like to join the Customer Panel, please contact Customer Services or the Resident Involvement Co-ordinator.

 Resident Editorial Group

 The group is made up of a small number of residents, approx 8-10, split between the north and south. Meetings are chaired by a resident and facilitated by the Resident Involvement Coordinator. Meetings occur alternately North and South on a quarterly basis to ensure all members get an opportunity to attend locally.

 The group is responsible for reviewing all key documents that SAHA provides to residents to ensure that they are written in plain English and are presented in a user friendly way. Documents are provided to the members (max 3) in advance of the meeting so they can be reviewed at the resident’s leisure before the meeting. At the meeting the language and presentation of each is debated along with issues such as corporate branding.

 All documents that go through the group are branded ‘approved by residents’ to demonstrate the group’s valuable input.

 Mystery Shopping

As a mystery shopper, residents can test our different aspects of SAHA's services (e.g. reporting a repair, or making a complaint) and feedback on their experiences. This helps us to ensure residents are happy with the service they receive and are able to tell SAHA if anything needs improving. Mystery shops are carried out on a regular basis.

For further deails about:

 Resident Working Group Members
Resident Committee Members
Resident Board Members

 Or, to register your interest in becoming more involved, please email haveyoursay@saha.org.uk   -  the dedicated email address for all SAHA's Resident Involvement.

 Alternatively, if you would like to speak to a member of the Customer Services team to discuss how to become involved at SAHA, please call 0800 970 6363, or ask to speak to the Resident Involvement Co-ordinator.