Equality, diversity and inclusion at Habinteg | Tenant news

As we’re marking Black History Month throughout October, it’s an ideal time to remind you how Habinteg promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion.

We want all tenants to feel welcome, valued, and included, which is why we’re reviewing and developing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) across the organisation to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and has the opportunity to be heard.

Promoting fairness

Our DEI approach is all about making sure everyone is treated fairly, no matter what their background, age, ability, or personal circumstances are.

We take the time to understand the unique needs and backgrounds of our tenants so we can provide fair and appropriate support for each person.

Information such as ethnicity, religion, and disability is collected through surveys, home visits, and when new tenants move in.

Collecting that information helps our staff offer support in ways that suit individual needs, whether that’s translation services, large print letters, or other accessible formats. All information is optional and handled with care and respect.

We’ll contact tenants who haven’t been in touch with us recently, giving them the chance to share their experiences, raise concerns, and help shape the services they receive.

We also take steps to address unfair treatment and disadvantage so that everyone has a fair chance in everything we do. This includes:

• Accessing the homes and services we provide
• How we recruit, employ, and train staff
• How we develop our homes and work with contractors
• Being part of our governing body and management committees.

Equality of opportunity means removing bias, prejudice, and stereotypes so that differences do not hold anyone back.

Celebrating our community

It’s important that all tenants feel included and represented.

We want everyone to feel comfortable to participate in activities and events, including people from ethnic minority backgrounds, younger tenants, and anyone who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, or part of another gender or sexual identity (often written as LGBTQIA+) tenants.

Creating more opportunities for these groups helps make our services and engagement activities more inclusive.

“Inclusion and equity helps tenants feel respected and heard,” says Frances Clarke, an Involved Habinteg tenant. “It makes sure everyone has the same opportunities, no matter their background or who they are.”

Habinteg is also proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. This means we make sure that disabled people, and those with long-term health conditions, have a fair chance to get jobs and stay in work.

As a level 3 Leader, we have been checked and recognised for going the extra mile to support disabled staff and help them grow in their careers.

Get involved

Our DEI plan runs until 2026, and we regularly review our progress to make improvements.

If you want to share your experiences, help to shape our services, or simply learn more about what we are doing, we welcome your input.

For more information about DEI at Habinteg, visit www.habinteg.org.uk/equality-and-diversity.

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