Here are five ways we’ve worked with you this year:
1. Checked in with our oldest and youngest customers
At the start of the national 'lockdown,' seconded staff from across the Group joined the Community Investment team for a mammoth effort to check-in with our most vulnerable customers.
Our staff made 2,775 welfare phone calls to our customers over the age of 70 and 18.8% of them needed further support.
Staff also made 192 calls to our customers under the age of 30, and 67.1% of them required additional support.
A report from the Housing Associations' Charitable Trust (HACT) found that calls were generally well-received by the people we contacted.
One resident said: "To me, they're not just a housing association; they're a support network."
HACT Chief Executive Andrew van Doorn said: "The work [A2Dominion] has been doing in ensuring the security and safety of their residents and communities has been absolutely vital."
Read a summary of HACT's report on our welfare calls and tenancy sustainment work.
2. Helped budding entrepreneurs to launch their businesses
Each year, we hold our Enterprise Programme for our customers who are looking for some help to get their businesses off the ground.
Over the six months of the programme, successful applicants develop their business ideas into professional plans, improve their presenting skills, and learn what it takes to run a successful business.
Following a nerve-racking, virtual pitch to a panel of A2Dominion senior leaders, 5 winning participants each received a mentor and a grant of over £2,000 to help start their business.
Find out who won the 2020 Enterprise Programme.
3. Supported charitable organisations working through 'lockdown'
When the government instructed us to remain at home this spring, several charitable and volunteer organisations sprang into action to help support those most in need, including several of our customers.
These organisations included Ealing Youth Foundation and their food delivery service in Southall, Age UK virtual social events, and Trinity accommodation for rough sleepers in Oxford.
To support these charities, we provided over £24,000 in grants to several organisations operating in our neighbourhoods through our 'Great Places to Live' Community Emergency Fund.
Learn who benefited from our Community Emergency Fund grants.
4. Innovated a new approach to housing people experiencing homelessness in Spelthorne
Earlier in the year, we stepped up our work with Spelthorne Borough Council to tackle homelessness following an injection of funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for rough sleeper services.
We’re establishing a Housing First project to help people at risk of homelessness who have multiple and complex need to stay in their own homes – through intensive, personalised support.
Different from conventional rough sleeper accommodation, our Housing First scheme will provide our customers with their own home when they start to work with us – giving them the stability they need to work with our support and training services.
Learn more about our Housing First scheme in Spelthorne.
5. Brought wellness to our communities during coronavirus
Through our Connecting Communities programme, we were able to reduce social isolation and loneliness in our 'key neighbourhoods' across Westminster, Ealing, Spelthorne, Bicester, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Winchester, and Chichester.
Our ‘key neighbourhoods’ are communities we’ve identified through a range of measures as needing a little extra attention, such as worklessness, number of anti-social behaviour complaints, and crime levels.
Through 'lockdown' and beyond, we ran numerous online sessions including Zumba classes, yoga, coffee mornings, tutoring for our young people, and bingo.
This summer, we worked with our community partners, Brentford Football Club, to supply activity packs for families wanting to get active in the comfort of their own home.
Together these activities helped keep our residents active and connected during even the most isolating coronavirus restrictions.
Find out what other classes we brought to our residents this year.
Despite everything it has been a great year in some ways. We look forward to working with you and your community in the future.