Launch of Empowering Communities: A new social enterprise from Supporting Communities

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Empowering Communities staff and trustees at the launch of the new company. From l-r: Laura O’Dowd, Joe Simpson, Colm McDaid, Steve Pollard, Sheenagh McNally.

Empowering Communities staff and trustees at the launch of the new company. From l-r: Laura O’Dowd, Joe Simpson, Colm McDaid, Steve Pollard, Sheenagh McNally.

On Tuesday 25th April, Supporting Communities launched its new and innovative company, Empowering Communities Enterprise Limited, at a gathering of housing professionals and other stakeholders at the Skainos Centre in Belfast.

The aim of this new business is to be the lead organisation in improving the quality of tenant participation practice by developing and delivering innovative and practical solutions through high-quality training, support, and consultancy services.

As part of these services, Empowering Communities Enterprise Limited (Empowering Communities) will offer social housing providers across Northern Ireland the opportunity to avail of a membership subscription which will include access to reduced rates on a range of training, consultancy, and attendance at networking events.

Speaking at the launch event, the new organisation’s chair Joe Simpson, announced, “Empowering Communities will provide a bespoke service to social housing providers and tenants to help them to create and develop meaningful tenant participation strategies and models that will ultimately help shape and deliver services that work for both tenants and landlords.”

Empowering Communities will compliment and diversify the excellent work that Supporting Communities has provided to the Housing Executive over the past 36 years and it will play a key role in the delivery of the Department for Communities’ Tenant Participation Strategy (2015-2020) as part of its Independent Tenant Organisation role for Northern Ireland.

Lorraine Campbell, Chair of Supporting Communities, concluded the event with her support when she said, “Empowering Communities has been established to meet the need of our growing customer base and will support the growth and sustainability of the organisation going forward. On behalf of Supporting Communities, I want to wish the company every success in its future development and growth.”