How we support equality, diversity and inclusion

As June and Pride Month draws to a close, it’s a suitable time to reflect on how we can each champion acceptance and equality throughout the year.

Pride month is a time to recognise and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and the importance of inclusion. At Habinteg, we want everyone to feel welcome, valued, and included, and our new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) plan will help us ensure this is the case for our tenants.

We understand that tenants come from diverse backgrounds and cultures, and we want to celebrate that. That’s why we recently published our Diversity and Inclusion Calendar.

Knowing our tenants

EDI is about treating people fairly, recognising, and respecting differences, and making sure no one feels left out.

A key part of our EDI plan is making sure all tenants, no matter who they are can access fair and responsive services.

To do this, we’re gathering better information about who our tenants are, including details about ethnicity, religion, disability, and other factors that might affect the support you need.

We collect those details during home visits, surveys and when tenants move in. While we’ll always manage your personal information with care and respect, you don’t have to share this information; it’s optional.

We’re also reconnecting with tenants who haven’t been in touch with us for over a year, to make sure everyone can be heard, and any concerns are addressed.

Reflecting our community

We’d like to see more tenants get involved at Habinteg. We want to create a place where everyone feels welcome and comfortable seeking support or taking part..

We aim to increase involvement from all tenants, including ethnic minorities, younger tenants, and LGBTQIA+ tenants. Right now, these groups are less represented in our Involved Tenant activities, and we want to change that.

“Celebrating Equality Diversity and Inclusion helps to create a good relationship between landlords and tenants,” says Frances Clarke, an involved Habinteg tenant from London.

“It allows the tenant to feel respected and valued and is an opportunity for tenants to reach their full potential, regardless of background, identity or characteristics.”

Our Neighbourhood Teams are reaching out to all tenants to encourage your participation with Habinteg. For more details, visit www.habinteg.org.uk/tenantinvolvement.

Tailoring our support

We use the information we collect from you to ensure our services are fair and accessible, and that they include adjustments for disabilities, translation support, and protection from unfair treatment.

If a tenant has specific needs, we can add a note to their account so contractors or staff can respond in the right way.

We can help by providing large print letters, CDs, easy read formats, and textphones for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

“Our focus on EDI will help enhance efficiency, reduce misunderstandings, and foster more positive and transparent interaction,” says Milton Keynes and tenant Editorial Panel member Kerry Thompson.

Get involved

Our EDI plan will run until 2026 and in the coming months, we’ll keep checking our progress and making changes where needed.

Starting this financial year, we’ll gather information on tenants who are not currently engaged, to better understand and support them.

Whether you want to share your thoughts, get involved in shaping services, or simply know more about what we’re doing, we’d love to hear from you. To learn more about EDI at Habinteg, visit www.habinteg.org.uk/equality-and-diversity.

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