Thirteen listening to communities in Stockton

Thirteen is running a number of drop-in surgeries in community venues in Stockton for customers living in almost 11,200 homes to come along and talk about issues affecting them or the area they live in.

As an example, the neighbourhood co-ordinator for Primrose Hill, Heidi Laverick, spends every Friday morning at the Primrose Hill Community Centre to give residents the chance to call in for a chat.

Helen Ivison, Thirteen’s senior neighbourhoods manager in Stockton, said: “While we have worked hard over the last year to make sure we can provide a better service within our neighbourhoods, tenants have told us that they want to see Thirteen’s staff on their estates more regularly.

“We’re spending a lot more time out and about on estates throughout Stockton which is giving people more choice in the way that they can contact us. This helps customers with any issues they have and helps us to build relationships in our communities.

“By holding more drop-in events, people can talk to us about anything to do with their home, tenancy or estate and find out about the wide range of services that we offer to customers, including rent and money advice, support with anti-social behaviour issues or even services to help customers find work or training.

“I think the drop-ins offer a great opportunity for both ourselves and our customers, so we’d love to see more people dropping in for a chat.”

Thirteen has developed a full programme of drop-in sessions covering areas across Stockton, from Albany and Billingham, to Wrensfield and Yarm Road.

As well as the drop-in sessions, Thirteen’s neighbourhood co-ordinators organise walkabouts on estates which people can join to identify issues that might need to be tackled. Recent walkabouts have identified issues around fly tipping, litter, graffiti and maintenance of green spaces.

Following the walkabouts, the neighbourhood co-ordinators work with partners to tackle the problems, helping to create a better environment for people to live in.

Customers and other residents can get more details about the walkabouts and their neighbourhood co-ordinators from the Thirteen website at www.thirteengroup.co.uk/FindOutAbout