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Status
Received: on time
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Income
£1.4M
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Spending
£1.1M
Public benefits
The provision of housing accommodation and assistance to those in need. The direct benefits are the provision of permanent affordable accommodation and the relief of distress or hardship to those rehoused in permanent affordable accommodation. These benefits are demonstrated through information collated on new tenancies by the Northern Ireland
Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA) on their NICORE database. The benefits for existing tenants are high levels of service satisfaction and satisfaction with accommodation as recorded in our biennial surveying of these tenants which is also benchmarked against other housing associations' results via NIFHA annual exercise. Our existing tenants also benefit from affordable rents traditionally lower than equivalent accommodation in the private sector. Additionally all users of our service benefit from our experienced and knowledgeable staff offering appropriate advice and support on issues directly to do with their homes and tenancies including help and assistance with benefits. There is no harm attached to our public benefit. As we are made up of a board of management many of whom live or have family within our main area of operation (Short Strand Belfast, BT5) and some of whom are existing tenants there is the potential for an incidental private benefit of enjoying access to our permanent affordable accommodation. However this is only via the initial open access of the statutory Common Waiting List and Common Selection Scheme the rules of which governs how we allocate property. Additionally, SMHA have robust governance policies and procedures for dealing with potential conflicts of interest that undergo regular compliance inspection from the Department of Social Development, operational staff conduct the Association’s operational activities based on policies and statutory rules and trustees are not involved in the operational allocation process.
... [more] [less]What your organisation does
The Association provides housing accommodation and assistance to those in need. The Association's beneficiaries are the general public who can access the NIHE Common Waiting List for all social landlords which we use to allocate households to all our accommodation. The need of households on the waiting list is determined by a points system which
allocates greater points and priority for those households suffering homelessness, distress or with limited functionality/mobility. This means the Association often assists the homeless, older people and disabled people to be rehoused in permanent affordable accommodation. We regularly advise many people on their housing application and/or the best options suitable for them in attaining permanent, affordable accommodation. We offer a full housing management and maintenance service to our existing tenants ensuring they have quality, affordable homes and will assist them in applying for benefits or with appropriate money advice if they get into difficulty in paying their rents.
... [more] [less]The charity’s classifications
- The prevention or relief of poverty
- The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
Who the charity helps
- General public
- Homelessness
- Older people
- Physical disabilities
- Tenants
- Unemployed/low income
How the charity works
- Accommodation/housing
- Advice/advocacy/information
