Frequently Asked Questions

What is Resident Involvement?
Resident Involvement is a way of involving residents in how we deliver our services. Residents can get involved in a variety of activities in a variety of ways and it needn’t take up a huge amount of time.

What sort of things can I get involved in?
We want you to have the opportunity to get involved in anything and everything! We are regularly looking for residents to help us develop, monitor and review our housing policies, strategies and services, and to get involved in wider activities for the benefit of residents and the Association. So, you could have the opportunity to influence how our repairs and maintenance service is delivered or maybe you can help us by monitoring our grounds maintenance contractors.

How can I get involved?
Getting involved does not take up a lot of your time or mean making a long term commitment. We appreciate that everyone is different and your personal cuircumstances may make it harder for you to commit a lot of time. However, we have worked hard to make sure that we offer as many opportunities as possible so that anyone who want to get involved can.

Why should I get involved?
By getting involved you can really influence decisions that affect you and other residents. It will help us to better understand the needs of our residents and develop a service that is of a better quality and customer focused. It will also help you to develop your own skills. We are now able to offer some of our more involved residents access to trianing and support to fuilfill their role and develop themselves personally. Moreover, you'll get to meet like-minded people and share your ideas and concerns.

What if I haven't done anything like this before?
Don't worry! We want to hear everyone's views and suggestions from all areas, ages, ethnic originis, genders, disabilities, faiths and sexual orientations. Our Resident Involvement team will be on hand to offer you all the help and support that you need.

Will it cost me anything?
We will organise transport to an event if you need it, so if you don't drive, don't worry! We will also reimburse you for any transport or childcare costs. If you have any queries about this, please contact the Resident Involvement team.

How much time will participating in Resident Involvement take?
That all depends on what you get involved in. It can be from as little as an hour here or there or more if you have the time. We want everyone to have the opportunity to get involved, no matter how much time they have. Please read on for a list of the different ways you can get involved and how much time they will take.

What should I get involved in?
You can get involved in as much or as little as you like. To help you choose, we have given each activity a key. The more clocks an activity has, the more time it will take. For example, one clock means you giving up just an hour at a one off session. Five clocks will mean you are getting involved in regular activities on a regular basis. The more hearts an acitivity has, the greater influence it will have on the decision making of the Association.

I want to set up a Residents’ group – what do I need to do/who can help me?
You might want to speak to people in your area to see if they are interested in helping. We’re more than happy to help you with this, plus we can support you by helping you to organise a venue, decide on a constitution for your group and other practicalities. We’ll also give all formally recognised groups a grant of £250.00.

Is there a Residents’ Association in my area/who is my Resident Representative?
A list of all our Residents' Associations and Resident Representatives can be found here.

I am a leaseholder – can I join the resident group?
We are in the process of setting up a Leaseholder Panel, who will feed into Way Ahead With Wherry, the overall resident body. If you contact us using the method at the top of this page, we’ll forward your details onto the Customer Liaison Manager, Paula Steel, and ask her to contact you.

How do I find out more?
Either by reading on to find out more about the different ways you can get involved, speaking to the Resident Involvement team using the contact methods at the top of this page or by requesting we send you a leaflet which explains the various options in more detail.

What is the Resident Readers Panel?
The Readers Panel are sent publications, such as leaflets or our newsletter before we give them to all residents to check that they are reader friendly. This is a good way of getting involved if you don’t have a huge amount of time as it only requires 30 minutes every now and then and you don’t have to come into the office as publications will be sent to you at home. Time required: 30 minutes every 2 weeks

What are Patch Panels?
Patch Panels are set up by Neighbourhood Officers in each of Wherry’s Neighbourhood patch areas. Each Panel is made up of between 12 and 15 residents. This is a role for people who want to influence services at a local level. The Panel meets with other people in the area to discuss issues in the local area and plays an important role in providing a two-way communication between Wherry and residents. The Panels help our Neighbourhood Officers in montoring and reviewing services and in deciding spending priorities for the area. Time required: 3 hours every 3 months

How can I join my Patch Panel?
We can pass your details onto the relevant Neighbourhood Officer and ask them to get in touch with you. The Neighbourhood Officers aim to ensure that each Patch Panel is representative of their patch area so we want to make sure we have members from all over the Patch and that they are representative in terms of age, ethnicity and household

What is a Resident Mystery Shopper?
Resident Mystery Shoppers are residents that help us to test how good our services are. All our Mystery Shoppers receive training then are asked to complete a number of tasks such as telephoning the office to report a repair or ask about a mutual exchange and report back to us about the service they received. The information gathered from these shops helps us to improve the service. Time required: Maximum of 2 hours over a month

What are Resident Representatives?
The Resident Representative is the formally recognised representative of other residents in a defined area. They have to have the signed support of other residents in the area to become a Resident Representative (usually done through a ballot) and sign a Code of Conduct and a Code of Confidentiality. Time required: Up to 2 hours a month

How do I become a Resident Representative?
If you’re interested in becoming a Resident Representative we can organise for a member of the Resident Involvement team to visit you to talk through the next steps. You will have to decide what area you are happy to represent, for example which street, estate or block of flats, and have the signed support of other residents in the area. This is usually done by Wherry conducting a ballot of your agreed area. We’ll then support you by offering training and providing you with a special pack to help you with your role.

What is the Repairs Partnership Board
The Repairs Partnership Board are a group of residents who meet every other month to talk specifically about repairs issues and help Wherry to identify how improvements can be made. Time required: 3 hours 6 times a year

How can I join the Repairs Partnership Board?
Please contact the Resident Invovlement team using the methods mentioned at the top of this page.

What is Way Ahead with Wherry (WAWW)?
Way Ahead with Wherry is the landlord-wide representative body on behalf of Wherry’s residents and provides a two-way link between residents and the Wherry Board. Executive members of Way Ahead with Wherry are made up of nominations from the Patch Panels. Time required: 3 hours once a month

How can I join Way Ahead with Wherry (WAWW)?
WAWW is made up of recognised Resident Representatives and Residents’ Associations. To become a member of WAWW you either need to be an elected Representative or a nominated representative from a Residents’ Association.
The WAWW Executive is selected from Patch Panel members, SHAP representatives and members of the E&D Group. Therefore you have to be both a member of one of these groups and either a Resident Representative or Residents’ Association representative to become a member of the WAWW Executive.

If you can't find the information you're looking for please call 01603 595 140 or freephone 0800 694 0165 and ask for the Resident Involvement team.

Write to:
Resident Involvement Team
Wherry Housing Association
6 Central Avenue
St Andrew Business Park
Norwich NR7 0HR

Email: wherryinvolvement@circle.org.uk

Or text: 07624 804159 and start your message with 'RI'.

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Last modified 09/05/11