In March, housing providers from across the Black Country came together with the NHS for a roundtable event to mark the establishment of the Black Country Health and Housing Forum.
The Black Country Health and Housing Forum is a new innovative partnership between health and housing to reduce health inequalities for social housing residents across the Black Country.
The roundtable event provided an opportunity for social housing providers from across the Black Country to come together for the first time and discuss the ways they can work with the NHS to address health inequalities for residents.
Led by Andrew Van Doorn, OBE and CEO of the Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (HACT), attendees shared ideas of how housing and health can work collaboratively together to help address health inequalities and support housing residents to lead happier, healthier futures, as well as collectively agreeing an initial vision, value and key deliverables for the health and housing forum.
Tapiwa Mtemachani, Director of Transformation and Partnership at NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “The health and housing roundtable was an important milestone in developing a stronger and more collaborative relationship between health and housing sectors across the Black Country.
“Social housing landlords look after some of our most vulnerable, economically disadvantaged and underserved communities, therefore working together is crucial if the NHS is to better understand, better reach and better serve those communities.
“I am absolutely thrilled to work with social housing colleagues across the Black Country to take forward an ambitious collaborative agenda that will redress inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of our Black Country population.”
The Black Country Health and Housing Forum will continue to work in partnership across the Black Country to ensure social housing residents benefit from a collaborative approach and will be taking part in the Integrated Care System (ICS) and Housing Development Programme over the next few months.
The ICS and Housing Development Programme is an intensive learning programme for social housing providers in the Black Country, designed to give housing professionals a firm grounding in what is happening in the current health and social care landscape.
The programme is delivered over four separate days between April and June and is suitable for people working in social housing organisations in senior business development and operational roles, as well as those working in community investment, supported housing, general housing management, strategy, and partnerships. It is designed to give housing professionals a firm grounding in what is happening in the current health and social care landscape, and participants in the programme will be members of the Black Country Health and Housing Forum.
For more information about the ICS and Housing Development Programme, please email Sureya.
