On Wednesday 22nd July we were pleased to welcome Maggie Galliers CBE, Chair of the National Housing Federation, to Red Kite.
Maggie's visit provided an opportunity to showcase the breadth of work that takes place across our organisation and to introduce her to colleagues working directly with our tenants every day. She spent time with teams across customer services, complaints, community investment and resident engagement, learning more about the support we provide and the challenges and opportunities facing our sector.
Discussions covered everything from our contact centre and tenant communication channels to community projects, complaints handling, and our recent Community Morning 'Little Door Knock' initiative. Maggie was particularly interested in hearing how we listen and respond to tenant feedback.
Maggie also visited Social Link's OpportuniTEA Café, one of the many community projects we've supported through our funding programme, seeing the positive impact these partnerships have on local people.
Over lunch, she met with our involved tenants and our Resident and Community Engagement Team, discussing the importance of the tenant voice and hearing directly from those who help shape our services.
The day concluded with a meeting with our Executive Leadership Team, providing an opportunity to discuss the wider housing sector, the challenges facing communities, and the role housing associations play in supporting people beyond their homes.
Darren Mealings, Red Kite's Chief Operating Officer, said:
"It was a privilege to welcome Maggie to Red Kite. The visit gave us the opportunity not only to demonstrate the progress we are making as an organisation, but also to discuss the wider challenges and opportunities facing the social housing sector. By sharing ideas, learning from one another and maintaining an unwavering focus on tenants, we can continue to raise standards and strengthen confidence in social housing. We are proud to play our part in that ambition."
Reflecting on her visit, Maggie commented on the wide range of services we provide beyond traditional housing management and the collaborative way we work with partner organisations across the area. She also highlighted the value of meeting tenant-facing colleagues and gaining a real insight into what is happening across the Red Kite Group, and the passion, expertise and commitment of our teams in supporting local communities.