Supporting our customers and helping our communities to prosper is incredibly important to us. That’s why in 2024/25 we developed initiatives and worked harder than ever to support those who needed it the most.

Jimmy’s Jackets, the free lunch club that we introduced in 2023, has become an important part of the community. The weekly club gives members a safe space to socialise and have a free hot meal. With funding from Watford Borough Council and our own Community Chest fund the group was able to accommodate an increase of attendees – from an average of seven per week to 35.

Supporting residents with money worries

Our Financial Inclusion team has helped residents to improve their finances by a combined value of £1,281,325.45. This is the first time we have surpassed £1 million in a 12-month period. 

This represents extra income received by our customers through the assistance we have given them with claiming benefits, reporting changes in circumstances, challenging benefit decisions and seeking other forms of financial assistance such as charitable funds and applying for reductions in utility bills. This figure includes Housing Benefit, Universal Credit, Pension Credit, various other benefits, and payments from Watford Community Housing’s own Welfare Fund for people in need of support with living costs.

Customers received:

The team also attended various events during the year to provide financial support to residents such as the Healthy Hub, run by Watford Borough Council, a community event at Yeatman Court, and a visit to the Foodbank at St James Church. 

We also:

• held a free pop-up uniform shop to support families with children at local schools 
• made 219 food parcels for families of Laurence Haines School
• distributed 100 ‘Warm in Winter’ bags from Small Acts of Kindness to residents over winter 
• gave out £2,000-worth of Asda vouchers, provided by Watford Lions, to make sure residents would be able to buy a Christmas dinner 

Working with our partners

In our 2020-25 Business Plan we committed to investing £1 million into community projects across the five-year period of the plan. In 2024/25, we continued to support our Nifty (over) Fifty group, Solo Stars, our tenant and residents’ associations and many more groups and projects that have a positive impact on physical wellbeing, mental health and social isolation.

We have attended and supported a variety of community events across the year. These included: 

• housing and financial advice sessions with W3RT CVS 
• older persons activity learning and safety sessions with Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service 
• Abbots Autumn Fest 
• the Lighthouse Café’s Christmas Carol Service

Involving our residents

As a Community Gateway housing association, our residents play a vital role in our decision-making. We actively seek out and listen to our residents through a variety of engagement opportunities, including our Tenant Question Time (TQT) events and scrutiny sprints. 

TQTs provide a platform for residents to raise their concerns and queries directly with our staff panel. Topics tackled during 2024/25 included fly-tipping and dumped rubbish, getting back to our customers, and a special pre-Annual General Meeting session. We also hosted an additional TQT on rechargeable repairs, which influenced the approval of a new policy by our Gateway Membership Team in September.

To delve deeper into the issues raised we ran two scrutiny sprint sessions. These involve customers spending a day with our staff and taking a closer look at the topics discussed during TQTs. The outcomes of these sessions led to service improvements, which you can read about in the Performance section of this report.

Recognising the different needs of our customers, we held three dedicated sessions for leaseholders and shared owners. These meetings focused on the specific services and concerns of these groups, ensuring their voices are heard and their questions addressed.