Residents of member social housing provider Berneslai Homes in Barnsley have been working together as part of a pilot training scheme on the causes and treatment of damp and mould, held by EN:Able Communities and NOCN Group.
Four residents took part in the pilot online training session Understanding Damp and Mould in Domestic Dwellings, which aimed to educate participants on identifying the causes of the issue, as well as how to take steps to both prevent and treat it. With approximately 3.8% of homes in England having some form of damp problem, the user-friendly course provided comprehensive information on a range of topics to the residents, who then answered a series of questions at the end of each section to confirm their knowledge.
Following the success of the pilot session, EN:Able Communities and NOCN are hoping to roll the programme out more widely to help more residents keep their homes dry and mould-free.
EN:Able Communities was established by social housing consortium Efficiency North to support the regeneration of communities in Northern England. The organisation aims to provide training opportunities to help boost the skills of residents, and has also provided financial support to small projects and charities that make a real difference to the local community.
Lee Parkinson, chief executive of Efficiency North, said: "We are delighted to have collaborated with Berneslai Homes on the delivery of this project. Everyone in the social housing sector knows the pernicious impact that damp and mould in the home can have on the health and wellbeing of its inhabitants. Berneslai Homes has a long-standing reputation of working closely with its tenants and communities and this project is another example of how the team strive to do their very best to provide high quality and safe housing that provides a place that their tenants are proud to call home."
Tracey Patmore, head of products at NOCN, said: “Education is fundamental when it comes to protecting the health and wellbeing of locals, and this course is a fantastic way to help boost residents’ knowledge of what they can do to prevent and treat damp and mould in the home. It’s been brilliant to work with Efficiency North on this pilot scheme, and we’re hopeful we’ll be able to roll the course out to even more people to help spread awareness.”
Berneslai Homes manages around 18,000 homes on behalf of Barnsley Council and works together with tenants to create thriving communities, supporting them with training, skills, jobs, and all elements of managing their tenancies.
Arturo Gulla, executive director of property services at Berneslai Homes, said: "Keeping tenants safe is our number one priority, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to offer places to Berneslai Homes tenants on the training session hosted by Efficiency North. The focus was on empowering tenants to proactively identify, prevent, and tackle damp-related problems. During the training tenants were shown how to identify the signs of damp and condensation at an early stage, and what practical steps to take to prevent further issues such as ventilation, heating, and good housekeeping, which was the perfect complement to our existing ‘STAR’ campaign for tenants.”
Hear more from residents who took part in Yorkshire Live HERE
This story is also published in We Are Barnsley and Barnsley Chronicle