Victor da Cunha, Curo’s Chief Exec, joined Kwajo Tweneboa, housing activist, and Peter Locke, Head of Communities at North Star Housing, on a panel at the Housing Diversity Network Walk Your Talk conference on Monday 10 October at a session on listening to residents.
“It was a pleasure to hear Kwajo tell his story first hand and hear what drove him to share his experiences on social media,” said Victor. “It’s true that residents shouldn’t have to do what Kwajo calls ‘public shaming’. Delivering core services well should be in our DNA and part of our culture.”
Kwajo is a 23-year-old campaigner and student from south London who uses social media to give a voice to housing tenants, after publicising the conditions of his family’s flat in south London and the problems they faced in getting it repaired.
At the conference he spoke about what drove him to become an activist: “It’s important to educate people who are in the housing profession, politicians, and people with power and influence to create change,” said Kwajo. “And to make suggestions, come up with ideas on how to guide them and to make sure that residents are represented and are being listened to.”
Victor said that the panel discussion highlighted how listening is not enough – it must be followed up with understanding and action. “After many years in a role, it can be easy to develop preconceived notions of what might be a presenting issue and then passport those notions into incorrect solutions which don’t work,” he said.
“We must resist falling into this pattern of behaviour and focus on what is actually being said. If we do that well and consistently, we stand a much better chance of solving the real problems; saving time, money and lots of frustration along the way.
“As Kwajo said at the conference, only real action matters. Talk and apologies will not be enough. So, let us properly seek to understand and then let us act promptly, while also learning how to prevent repeat problems occurring. If we do, we will become better social landlords and we will fulfil our aspiration of providing renowned customer service.”