Housing Rights Highly Commended at recent CIH awards

Housing Rights is delighted to have two of our projects Highly Commended at the Chartered Institute of Housing Awards on the 24 February 2017 in Belfast. 

Housing Advice NI

HousingadviceNI.org, our public advice website, was Highly Commended for the Excellence in Customer Service award. This award recognises organisations who can demonstrate customer service and excellence in both practice and innovation.  

Housing adviceNI’s responsively designed, mobile-first website provides excellent access to housing advice free of charge, all day, every day.  It has become a first stop online for people seeking information on housing in Northern Ireland. 

The website is built with all users in mind, and has

• audio-visual content
• accessibility features for visually impaired users
• content in 10 additional languages
• email advice & live-chat service.

The work of Housing Rights and the issues that come through on our helpline helps shape the information that is on the site. Housing AdviceNI has specific, tailored sections of advice for

• young people
• people facing debt and repossession
• prisoners
• private landlords.

Developing a Prisons Protocol

Housing Rights has worked to develop a prisons protocol framework to deliver the best outcomes for the client. This project was Highly Commended for the Working Together award. This award commends collaboration between organisations, individuals or groups to achieve the best possible outcomes.

For 10 years we have offered a quality advice service in prisons delivering positive housing outcomes for 98.8% of clients.  This is only possible by working together with Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Northern Ireland Prison Service, Probation Board Northern Ireland and NIACRO. 

We have worked with the organisations above to develop a protocol that improves service delivery by

• providing a formal framework for inter-agency co-operation
• establishing clear roles and responsibilities for those agencies involved
• enhancing a culture of collective responsibility and shared understanding
• avoiding duplication and maximising complementary working between the Agencies
• ensuring the most effective & efficient use of all partners resources

After the protocol was implemented service quality improved because it provided a clear structure and process that

• targeted the intervention of relevant agencies at key stages & times in the custody journey.
• provided practical guidance for everyday use by staff working within
• partner agencies.
• delivered positive outcomes to 98.8% of the service users last year
• has an ongoing commitment to quality and improvement. Every year users and partners take part in an annual review aimed at identifying any areas or processes that can be improved upon.

“NIHE commit significant time, effort and resources to working with the Protocol and the partner agencies through the advice service in prisons.  We do this to help prevent homelessness and ensure even more people leaving custody have a home." NIHE