Monmouthshire Housing Association (MHA) were delighted to scoop the ‘Customer Service Excellence’ Award for the second year running at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Welsh Housing awards, recently held at the Mercure Hotel, Cardiff.
The awards are created to recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals, organisations and projects that have significantly impacted the Welsh housing sector.
This year, MHA’s IMA qualified Financial Inclusion Team were the proud recipients. The small, but innovative team provide financial support and advice to tenants on all thing’s money, employability and energy and utilities related. They are constantly looking at ways to improve their service and tap into other opportunities to help tenants maximise their income and make their money go further.
A move to a more holistic tenant-centred approach has been the catalyst to helping tenants address their financial challenges whilst building up their long-term financial resilience.
By using a combination of intensive coaching, practical life skills workshops and ongoing support, the team are empowering tenants to take control of their own financial future, helping them attain greater independence and ultimately foster stronger more sustainable communities.
Nadine Fletcher, Financial & Wellbeing Manager said:
“Moving to a more holistic approach has been transformative for both the service and importantly our tenants.
Our small team of money experts maximised tenant’s incomes by £1.1 million in the last financial year; an increase of 40% on the previous year and is on target to significantly increase again this year!
It’s been another challenging and rewarding year, and to finish 2024 winning a much coveted ‘housing Oscar’ really is the icing on the cake for this hard-working, dedicated team. I am super proud of them”.
The new personalised approach provides one to one financial coaching and encourages tenants to manage their own finances independently, as well as providing ongoing support to help build sustainable financial habits and reduce the risk of future financial crises.
Michele Morgan, Director of Housing & Communities said:
“People on lower incomes continue to feel the acute effects of the rise in cost of living, which is why providing a first class, financial wellbeing service is critical to MHA and a proven lifeline to many of our tenants, particularly at this time of year.
The new holistic approach has seen both significant improvements in tenants' ability to manage their finances independently and an increased confidence in handling their financial affairs, substantiated by excellent feedback to date.
A huge well done to Nadine and her team for their determination and tenacity, daily going above and beyond to support and literally transform the lives of others.”
MHA were also awarded £200,000 of Multiply Funding by Welsh Government to further expand the support to include workshops such as cooking on a budget and grow your own garden which helps tenants learn or refine their skills, whilst embedding practical budgeting skills into everyday life.
The inclusion team were also finalists at the prestigious UK Institute of Money Advisors awards in 2024.
The win is hot on the heels of MHA’s previous CIH ‘Customer Service Excellence’ Award win in 2023 for their management of the Monmouthshire Homesearch housing allocations website.
