Curo News

“We want LGBTQ+ customers to feel safe”

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 15:55:00 Z

As Curo launches our new LGBTQ+ Resident Engagement Group, Paul Shearer, Empty Homes Lettings Negotiator (pictured above), talks about his experiences of homelessness and growing up gay.

I know what it's like to be homeless because I've lived through it myself. My dad, who was in the Army, wasn't around much. I'd known I was gay since I was five, always feeling a bit different from the others. One night, aged 16, I went out to a gay club in Swindon and returned home to a devastating discovery: my mum had passed away. In a panic, my sister and I called 999.

That was in June 1991. Going back to school was tough; I had to face a whole new set of challenges while completing my exams. They held a big assembly about my mum. I had always been bullied for being gay at school. The bullying stopped and I felt a shift in how I was treated. But it was strange and unnatural, and I didn't like it.

By Christmas that year, my dad had already moved on, finding another partner. On Christmas Day, my sister and I found ourselves alone in the house. When my dad returned, there was a big argument.

I was placed in a hostel for homeless kids. Then I moved into Pathways, Curo’s accommodation for homeless young people and got a job as a junior chef in Bath. I enjoyed living in Pathways, there was a sense of community. It didn’t matter that I was gay there. I even appeared in a Channel 4 documentary about homelessness - I remember watching it on TV with other residents.

But I was in a bad place emotionally. I turned to drugs and was getting out of my mind to forget everything. I moved to Weston Super Mare and my addiction spiraled out of control.

One day, I decided I’d had enough. I left for London with just one bag. I became an office manager at a Fleet Street publishing house and was very successful. It was a happy time. I met my partner and I’m proud to say that we’ve been together for 22 years.

But I’m a Bathonian at heart. I wanted to move back to the city and give something back to my community. I returned and I got a job with Curo at Dartmouth Avenue, our temporary accommodation for homeless people. I now work in the lettings department, supporting people to move into their homes.

Things have changed for LGBTQ+ people since I was younger, but the effects of those earlier days still linger for me. When I was growing up, being gay was a dirty secret. I still don’t have photos of my partner and I out on display. My partner and I never hold hands when we walk down the street. We don’t hug each other; we don’t show affection. There was a culture of shame. I grew up in the AIDS pandemic. People I knew were dying all the time. You’d have bouncers on the doors of gay clubs making sure we weren’t getting gay bashed on the way out. I’ve been hit, kicked and punched. The age of consent was 21 when I was growing up – it wasn’t lowered to 16 until 2001. It was a climate of disapproval.

I’m pleased that times have moved on for younger LGBTQ+ people. But the community still faces problems. In lettings, we've had to relocate people due to hate crimes based on their sexual orientation. Fortunately, the police take hate crime seriously and my team is on hand to offer advice and support.

Curo have signed up to the HouseProud Pledge, a scheme that all social housing providers can sign up to, to demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ resident equality and support.

The home is so important to LGBTQ+ residents, because it should be a place where people can freely express their sexual orientation and/or gender identity without fear or prejudice. Sadly, despite recent changes in equality laws, LGBTQ+ residents continue to experience discrimination in their everyday lives, including in relation to their housing. For example, research from HouseProud found that 60% of the trans respondents did not feel that their neighbourhood was a safe place to live and one-in-five gay men reported modifying their home in some way – for example, moving pictures or books – to hide their sexual orientation from a visiting repairs operative or housing officer. That’s why Curo signing up to the pledge matters.

I’m part of the LGBTQ+ Colleague Group at Curo, which has been an important step in creating a workplace where people can feel safe. Now we want to set up a customer LGBTQ+ group to support customers and let them know that we are a welcoming and supportive. We want to get customers’ ideas about how we can improve how we do things. If you’re interested in joining the group, please email pride@curo-group.co.uk.

I hope that by telling my story, I can help people who’ve had similar experiences feel confident in getting in touch.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 14:49:41 Z

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we asked Julie Evans, Curo’s Executive Director of Property Services, what it’s like to be a female leader in housing.

What made you embark on a career in housing?

It was never my ambition to work in housing, simply because I never thought of it as a career. I was in my second year studying English Literature at Swansea University when, by chance, I went to a talk given by the local council’s head of housing. I thought, “This is a way I can make a difference.” Thirty-five years later, I’m still working in the sector.

I think I was attracted to it because I’d lived in a council house in Cardiff as a child. So I instinctively knew that stable, good-quality homes are the foundation of thriving communities.

A family friend worked in housing and her husband was a manager at a housing association in Chelsea and Kensington in London. I did some job shadowing with him while still at uni and instantly loved it.

What was your first role?

After I left college I became a trainee housing manager at Newport Borough Council. I got experience of the different services, working in lettings and the housing advice centre. At the same time, I studied for a post-graduate Diploma in Housing Studies, which covered the history of housing.

The work was so varied – you never knew what you’d be dealing with. There was the lovely stuff like giving people the keys to their first home, or helping older people move into homes that better met their needs. Then there were the more challenging things, like dealing with rent arrears. But I found helping people to work through their problems very satisfying.

The work fulfilled my passion for helping to change people’s lives. For example, it was great to be able to provide survivors of domestic abuse with a springboard to move on with their lives.

What have been the biggest achievements of your career?

When I worked at Cardiff Community Housing Association, I got the local authority to sign up to a city-wide disabled register. This meant that, rather than having to wait on a general housing list, anyone who was disabled could be matched with properties that suited their needs as soon as they came up. If someone needed a stairlift, we could match them with a home that had one.

At Curo, I’m proud of Passport to Housing, which prepares residents for their tenancies. We had lots of back and forth with the council as they thought the scheme meant we would cherry-pick people for tenancies. We did a pilot and used the data to convince them otherwise. They could see that, far from stopping people getting a home, the scheme was helping residents to succeed with their tenancies for the long term.

Can you describe a moment in your career when you faced a barrier because you are a woman?

It might be surprising to say, but I’ve never personally faced one because I’m a woman. Perhaps the housing sector is more egalitarian than others. But I would like to address the lack of women in trades roles. Out of around 100 trades colleagues at Curo, only four are women.

Only eight of the top 25 housing associations in the UK are headed by women. Why is that and how can we change it?

We have to look at the way housing associations are governed. In the past there’s been a predominance of white, middle-aged men on boards. This is changing but a certain amount of catching up must be done.

I also think it’s true that woman look at a job advert and think, “I can only do six out of 10 of those things – I won’t apply.” Whereas a man will think, “I can do three – I’ll go for it.”

Women can suffer from imposter syndrome. When I joined Curo 17 years ago, it was my first director role. I felt like I was putting on my ‘director’s cloak’ and that I had to be someone else. But with maturity you get to the point where the fear goes away. You get more wins under your belt and gain more confidence as you get older. And I’ve always been open to feedback, good and bad, so that I can grow.

In 2019, I became an Executive Director at Curo, joining a small team alongside three very confident men. Women are brought up to be polite. It’s our social conditioning. But in a leadership team, if you waited to be asked to speak, you’d be waiting a long time. I’m lucky, however, that the team are all welcoming, accepting and live Curo’s values of caring, respectful, open, fair and trusting.

Which women inspire you?

The courage of the Suffragettes is inspiring. As a small group of women, they were willing to give up their lives so that women could vote. Voting is a priceless gift which we should never take for granted.

I also hugely admire Rosa Parks, the Black woman who refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger in 1950s Alabama. She was determined to stand up against injustice. Her brave actions paved the way for huge changes in the civil rights of Black people in the US.

My favourite female political figure is Betty Boothroyd. She was the first and only female speaker of the House of Commons – and one of the best. Politicians across the spectrum respected her.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

I always come back to a quote by Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Whether you’re working in trades, development or customer accounts, always treat the customer as an individual, not a number, not bricks and mortar. You could change their life.

What tips would you give to women starting out in their housing careers?

Aspire to be the best you can be. Break through the glass ceiling. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t – you can.

Black History Month: Fairfield House and a social club for all ages

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 13:46:55 Z

I’m a proud Bathonian. One of three Ifill children, I was born and raised in Bath, my parents are from Bath and Birmingham and I have extended family who originate from Barbados, Jamaica, St. Kitts, and from Britain going back three generations. I grew up in suburban Oldfield Park in a terraced house that my parents were lucky enough to buy in the 1980s. It was quiet, with not many children around with a mainly older generation living around us.

As children we were fortunate to spend a lot of time with our grandparents during non-school hours and holidays. Usually they were the same old things: do the chores, play together, watch and help our grandfather in his allotment and see friends from school.

My sister is a few years younger than my brother and I, so she spent a lot more time with them as we gained a bit more independence after school. Then out of the blue she started talking of a club she had gone to with Granma and Grandad, raving about her Wednesdays and Fridays there.

By ‘club’, we thought it was a day club for senior citizens at the local community hall, but when the summer holiday came we realised what it was really about. The birth of BEMSCA at Fairfield House...

It was nineteen ninety something and we arrived at a Grade II listed villa tucked away in the Newbridge area of Bath. I remember my brother and I thinking it was going to be a boring day with old people in a smelly old house. How wrong we were.

These were sessions for a diverse elder community, with familiar faces of family and friends doing what they enjoy and learning new things, as well as others also bringing their grandchildren along.

There was a large garden to enjoy, games for all (including bingo with prizes), time for worship and, best of all, food!

I recall the house and one room in particular with a large portrait above the mantelpiece of an emperor in regalia, and another of him and his family in a different room. When we asked our parents the significance of this gentlemen they told us this was His Imperial Majesty Emperor of Ethiopia Hailie Selassie and the club was in his former residence, which he donated to the City of Bath in 1958.

Hearing the name made me recall some old reggae where his name was referenced. This led us to questions: why was this figurehead so different to other people in power at the time; and what was his significance in the black community? We started to learn about his place in the Rastafari movement and his connection with the city.

This was just the beginning of my experiences at Fairfield House. Since then I have attended many events there, organised by BEMSCA. This is a hidden gem of Bath with a lot of history and significance to the whole city, and it’s a place that should live on serving its purpose. BEMSCA is still very active to this day and the Fairfield House Bath community interest company has been set up in protect and preserve its legacy.

If you're interested in learning more about Fairfield House, they are holding guided tours for Black History Month every Sunday which you can book here and have been running a series of learning events called Freedom in the City.

Photos courtesy of Fairfield House.

Social Housing has a Black History

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 17:18:23 Z

Curo recently formed a new racial equality colleague network – called Originem (Latin for ‘origin’) – and we’re using Black History Month (BHM) to empower, educate and celebrate. This is very personal for me as my parents were part of the Windrush generation coming to England for better opportunities. However instead of being welcomed they were faced with various forms of racism and signs that read 'No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs' when they were looking for a home.

Black and minority ethnic (BME) people had to contend with poor quality privately rented housing in the inner cities run by slum landlords like the infamous Peter Rachman who provided grossly over-crowded accommodation to immigrants and evicted using intimidation and dogs.

The struggle to find good quality rented housing in the 1950s and 60s sowed the seeds for the BME housing movement.

Housing associations specially created to help immigrants began to emerge. Aggrey Housing Limited appeared in Leeds in 1955, closely followed by the Birmingham Friendship Housing Association, the Bath Voluntary Association for Commonwealth Housing, Nottingham Coloured People’s Housing Society and London’s Tredegar Housing Association. The Rachman scandal, which ended with his death in 1962, also inspired the creation of Shelter and Notting Hill Housing Trust.

However structural discrimination continued and in 1984 the manager of a Reading hostel for young black people, Louis Julienne, co-founded the Federation of Black Housing Organisations (FBHO), an umbrella body for BME housing associations that represented the sector and lobbied government on its behalf. In 1986 the FBHO set in motion the first black housing strategy and over the next few years about 40 BME housing associations were founded. In 2008 the FBHO closed due to funding difficulties, but another representative body, BMENational, was swiftly created only a year later.

In Bristol, United Housing Association was formed in 1985 when local civil rights leaders and activists come together to address the problem of unequal access to decent housing, a problem that particularly affected elders of Caribbean descent. In supporting the foundation of United Housing Association and SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality), these leaders looked to address racial discrimination in the core areas of everyday life: the workplace, the home, education and the city’s public spaces.

Although BME housing associations were formed to address the clear and obvious disadvantage facing some communities in accessing good quality affordable housing. They have achieved that and much more: over the decades they played a pioneering role in British society, pushing into the mainstream issues of race, equality and inclusion. They have irrevocably changed the housing landscape.

A BME positive action scheme in Bristol brought me into housing in the 1990s and I have seen a lot of policy interventions over that time.

Many of the BME-led organisations have merged into mainstream housing associations including United. So, in the South West it is up to housing providers like Curo to become the housing associations that finally stamp out discrimination in social housing and welcome and support BME colleagues and customers.

In Bristol as part of the Iconic Black Britons Heritage trail you can take a little walk around St Pauls and see all the murals of the black pioneers who enabled change in social housing and for us all.

Here’s a small selection of the many events and activities happening in #BlackHistoryMonth:

Bristol's BHM magazine is out now - click here to register and view.
Events happening in Bristol - click here to find out more.
Every Sunday in October, Fairfield House Tour, Bath - click here to book your tickets.
11 October, 1-5pm - Regional BHM online conference - click here to find out more.
13 October, 8pm - Exploring Britain’s Black LGBTQIA+ history - click here to find out more.
18 October, 6pm - B&NES webinar - ‘Race equality in B&NES – progress made and challenges ahead' - click here to find out more.
21 October, 6-7pm - Black Poppies in south-west England? Black and Asian experiences during World War One - click here to find out more.
21 October, 7.30-11.30pm - Bop Against Racism with RSVP Bhangra Band - A Love Music Hate Racism Event - click here to find out more.
Lots of other events can be found at www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk

Black Lives Matters - taking inspiration from our young residents

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 11:45:56 Z

Pictured: Young entrepreneur and Curo customer Jackson pictured at a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol.

2020 has been a turbulent year for us all. From the uncharted waters of COVID-19 to the murky injustices which have come back to the surface after the distressing footage of a racial attack on a black man in the USA which sparked protest around the world, igniting a united global support for the Black Lives Matter movement. The images and issues that this brought up have been difficult to witness, however are crucial in gaining an understanding of the experiences of fellow citizens.

One thing that has rung out loud and clear for me is that to effect change we must act; we must stand up for our neighbours and each other. Sadly, alongside the progressive nature of recent events connected with the Black Lives Matter movement, there has also been backlash and division. This makes it all the more important to stand together and celebrate positive change, innovation and justice.

As a Support Worker at Curo, I am lucky enough to work with inspiring young people as part of Curo’s Young Parent Project in Bath. It is these young people who hold the potential to realise positive change in society.

One particularly inspiring young man I work with is Jackson. At the young age of 22, he and his business partner started their own business in music, artist promotion, events promotion and a clothing brand. As a person of colour in a predominantly white city, Jackson has experienced racial discrimination through his life and has faced barriers in setting up his business. He and his business partner have pledged to donate all profits from their clothing brand to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, and have made it their mission to facilitate positive change in society to avoid other people facing the same barriers they have.

Jackson and his business partner were interviewed for an article for Somerset Live; you can find the full article here.

Something else I take from recent events is that this movement is about everyone. If there is no justice for one community then there is no justice for any community. It is a matter of human rights, and if these are not consistent across society then they count for nothing. As explained by the Black Lives Matter movement: ‘To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a prerequisite for wanting the same for others.’ This movement has sparked action around the globe, inspiring people to make changes and to invest in learning about the history of, not just a nation, but a global society – and how this history still influences the lives of individuals today.

Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 after the murder of teen Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his pursuer George Zimmerman, not to mention centuries of inequality and injustices. The Movement is an inclusive, progressive global network of individuals striving for justice and freedom. Its strength as a network has grown due to the power of their membership and supporters. In their own words: ‘Every day, we recommit to healing ourselves and each other, and to co-creating alongside comrades, allies, and family a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported… We acknowledge, respect, and celebrate differences and commonalities.’

Black Lives Matter is an educational platform and a foundation for action, solidarity and community. The recent occurrences have been a call to action, and indeed we have seen peaceful political and non-political endorsement of justice and a wave of new support for the Black Lives Matter movement across the world.

If you’d like to know more about Jackson’s business, it’s called Go Getter World.

Jackson is also a music artist by the name of Jax who recently released a new album on his birthday in June - it’s already sold out! He is a hardworking and innovative young man and an inspiration to many young people. His music can be found here on Instagram.

I want to finish with one of my favourite quotes by the anthropologist Margaret Mead. She said: ‘never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has’.

If you would like to learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement here are three excellent websites to visit:

And five must-see documentaries and films: