Clarion Housing

Alongside Clarion staff, EQUANS staff have been volunteering their time to assist Clarion Futures in the delivery of their Digital Inclusion sessions for residents.

Over the past six months 12 of our staff have been attending sessions on smart phone use, laptops and tablets and have so far helped more than 100 Clarion residents!

Most recently, Senior Business Development Manager, Andrew Troop and his son Paul, generously volunteered their time to attend the latest Clarion Digital Inclusion session to help offer support to residents learning about the digital world.

During the session residents took a closer look at Spotify, eBay, YouTube, general use of devices and even Tik Tok!

"This has been such a fantastic experience, the wide ranging requests for support really took me back. We had a gentleman who could no longer speak due to mouth cancer so his only means of communicating with his family who live abroad is digitally. Then a lady who wanted to do her shopping online due to mobility issues, and so many more. I highly recommend any EQUANS staff wanting to volunteer, to sign up to the scheme." Andrew Troop, Senior Business Development Manager for EQUANS

The Advice Store in Basildon recently received free redecoration works thanks to volunteers from EQUANS.

Earlier in May, Social Value Manager, Julian Sanz was joined by Learning and Development Officer, Suzanne Bingham and four trainees and graduates to spend a few days painting some of the rooms at the store.

The rooms being redecorated will be used to provide employment support and guidance to local job seekers.

Supply Chain Partner, Dulux also supported the event by supplying all the required paint free of charge.

A week later, Julian returned with five more trainees and apprentices as well as Senior Business Development Manager, Gary Spicer where they were able to complete the redecoration of two training and meeting rooms, the hallway and the kitchen.

In partnership with Clarion and Transforming Local Communities, EQUANS has launched a brand new initiative called 'Safe at Home' to help support survivors of domestic abuse.

As part of our work with the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant, the initiative will provide practical life saving help to victims of domestic abuse by providing a free donation and installation of a security camera and lighting in an effort to help reduce the risk of post separation abuse and harassment.

For those who need to be re-housed due to the severity of their abuse, EQUANS also offers free redecoration works to two rooms and up to £100 in fixtures and fittings within their new home.

Working with Yvonne Ogden from Clarion Housing, Social Value Manager for EQUANS, Julian Sanz, was able to utilise part of our social value budget to help fund this new initiative. In addition, Stacy Bradley from Transforming Local Communities is not only a brave abuse survivor herself, but the brains behind this fantastic idea.

"The end of a relationship can see an escalation in abuse. Through installing cameras and security lighting, we can help you feel safe at home." Stacy Bradly, Survivor and Director of Transforming Local Communities

For more information, and to get help through the scheme, please contact Julian Sanz on 07795 194 449. If you'd prefer to speak to a female employee, please email Julian at julian.sanz@equans.com with your contact details and Stacy from Transforming Local Communities will call you back at a convenient time.

In May, EQUANS' Social Value Manager, Julian Sanz, arranged for a number of volunteers to help undertake redecoration works to the new home of care leavers.

When the Government launched the Care Leaver Covenant (CLC) in 2018 as part of their 'Keep on Caring' strategy, EQUANS was the first Signatory Member, committing to supporting young people leaving care to become independent. Although EQUANS initially pledged to provide training and employment skills, mentoring, and job opportunities, it quickly became apparent that we could help care leavers further in their transition to independence.

Recognising the expectation for young care leavers to be fully independent once they turn 18, EQUANS has been providing practical support through our bespoke 'Helping Hands' initiatives. As part of our initiative, resources, materials and tradespersons are donated to carry out practical repairs and improvements to help care leavers in their first new home.

On 4th May, Julian was joined by volunteers from EQUANS, where they helped care leavers, Laura and Carla decorate their new property.

They redecorated the lounge and kitchen, giving everything a good clean as they went. Our supply chain partners, Dulux Decorator Centre also generously donated all the required paint.

In April, EQUANS provided free first aid training to residents from Newton Le Wilows.

A major focus of our social value work is to strengthen communities by offering opportunities for employment and training. Our bespoke employment skills plan for Clarion sets out an aim to engage and support residents through work placements, job training and apprenticeships and ENGIE is working in partnership with Clarion Futures, the charitable trust at the heart of Clarion, to deliver this.

All training courses are accredited and industry recognised and delivered through ENGIE's in-house Learning and Development Centre of Excellence Team.

The first aid course covers a range of topics including typical site hazards and how to control them, occupational health, protective wear and equipment, manual handling, working at height, individual responsibilities, practical standards for site safety and legal requirements and liabilities.

As part of our social value commitments to Clarin, EQUANS provides access to over 2,000 accredited training spaces every year!

TLF have been appointed by Clarion to provide a consistent and informative approach to gain the feedback by way of resident satisfaction surveys, thus taking this process away from EQUANS to gain a non-biased reflection of how you found the works.

A selection of residents will be contacted at random by telephone to gain their feedback and this will then be reported back to Clarion and EQUANS for analysis. You may be asked your name and address but you are able to answer anonymously if you wish.

It is important to remember, should you be contacted, that these questions relate only to the works you had completed by EQUANS and not any ongoing issues you may have with Clarion.

Please refer to our Compliments, comments & complaints page within the About Us section for more information.

Joined by staff from Clarion, Regeneration Director for EQUANS, James Cousins, recently visited the decarbonisation scheme in Wisbech to see how the works were progressing.

James commented: "It was great to host a joint visit to the Wisbech site to see how the decarbonisation works are progressing and looking at the massive benefits for all the residents involved and moving towards net carbon zero. We've also recently started surveys for properties under wave one of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, where we'll be working with Clarion to deliver decarbonisation measures to a further 200 homes, making them healthier, warmer, and more energy efficient, whilst significantly reducing carbon emissions."

In April, EQUANS worked in partnership with Clarion, The Hyde Group and Leeds Building Society along with several other supporters to transform one an old office building in Peterborough, into much needed accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.

As part of this project, Clarion donated furniture from their show homes to furnish the living spaces. The most recent donation included two double beds, sofas, tables and chairs, decorative pieces and several units.

Working closely with our supply chain partners, Moores Furniture Group, Dulux Decorator Centre and KM-ECO Ltd, EQUANS was able to source all the necessary paint and EQUANS volunteers carried out all the painting, waste clearance and works to the communal kitchen for the project.

In partnership with Hertfordshire County Council, a residents fun day was hosted at Brook Meadow Park in Borehamwood this April.

With support from EQUANS' Social Value Manager, Julian Sanz, the day included a visit from the local fire brigade, bouncy castles and live music as well as many more fun activities. Julian also arranged for the provision of a face painter and refreshment for residents throughout the day.

The sun made an appearance, ensuring the event was well attended.

In April, EQUANS staff volunteered their time at one of Clarion's Digital Inclusion sessions in Burnham on Crouch.

Resident Liaison Manager, Olivia McRoe generously volunteered her time to attend the latest Clarion Digital Inclusion session to help offer support to residents learning about the digital world.

During the session residents took a closer look at Spotify, eBay, YouTube, general use of devices and even Tik Tok!

"It's amazing to see people of this generation embracing something so out of their comfort zone." Julian Sanz, Social Value Manager for EQUANS