how it really sits. I’m always thinking of who’s
Interview
coming behind me. Who are the next tenants to live in these houses? Who are the next generation to sit on these boards? So, it’s about making sure our voices are heard now and we have that consistency for the future. From your perspective, what are Southway doing well? And what could we be doing better at? Karlet I think Southway do really well. Sometimes you sit on boards and organisations can be defensive, you can see it. They’re not doing that. We might not be exactly where we want to be, but I can see that we’re getting there together. When I read through the reports now, I’m like ‘yeah, this has changed’. I even said it the other day, I see more happiness. In terms of what we could be doing better, I feel like there’s an age group of young people that we’re missing. I see we do a lot for other age groups and that’s beautiful, but we’ve also got to think of the next generation. These people have so much to say, but I feel society doesn’t give them time. We could be leading the way and giving them that opportunity. What would you say to any tenants who might be thinking of getting involved and making their voice heard? Karlet Get involved! Before being sat on this board, I’d had nothing to do with social housing or the housing industry, and now I’ve learned a lot. Sometimes it’s just about sitting down and listening and asking questions. No question is a stupid question, because you’re learning. And they’re all learning too! They have lots to learn from us, so we’re all learning together.
Karlet Manning talks involvement, community and looking ahead to the future
Could you tell me a bit about how you’ve been getting involved with Southway, and the kind of work you’ve been doing with us? Karlet I’m the Vice-Chair of Southway’s Customer Voice Committee. We’ve been looking over policies, strategies and if we’re facing and addressing what our communities need. Why did you want to get involved? Karlet I got involved because I was having some repairs done in my home that I wasn’t happy with at the time. But the way I dealt with the Customer Hub and the way we worked together was really good. At the end of this, someone from the Hub said to me ‘Oh I bet you’d be great on this board! Would you go on a board…?’, she was adamant! So, I was like, ‘Yeah! Why not?’.
Karlet Sitting on boards where you’re listening and reading a lot is difficult for me, because I have dyslexia and I’m neurodiverse. Southway’s Governance team adapted the documents we have to read to be dyslexia friendly. They’ve done a lot of work around making them more spacious and using different fonts. It’s helped me show up more and not let fear, or my dyslexia make me sit in the back. Also, there were so many professionals sat around the table, so meeting all these new people and thinking about how I fit in was a lot! I thought about how I was perceived at first. Was I really contributing enough? That was my personal thing. Now you’re settled in, what do you think you bring to the table? Karlet As a tenant I think I bring the realistic view of our community. Sometimes if you’re not part of a community it’s hard to understand it,
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