ACORN’s Homes for Health project in Bradford works with private and social tenants living on the Holme Wood estate, equipping them with the knowledge and confidence to advocate for their rights and improve the homes and health of their community
Who
The project works with private and social tenants in Holme Wood to help improve housing conditions. It is organised by ACORN, a community union with branches across England and Wales.
What
Building a group of tenant volunteers, supporting tenants on a one-to-one basis and fostering tenants to have a collective voice and agency to improve their housing conditions.
Where
Holme Wood, Bradford
Achievements
- The team recently helped prevent a rent increase for a member. As a full-time parent, he was struggling with his rent being increased surpassing any increases in his housing benefit. He joined as a member after a door-knocking session and mentioned to his landlord that he was now involved with ACORN. His landlord retracted his requested rent increase, which has positively impacted his mental health, in both being able to provide more for his kids and not go into debt when he pays rent. Since this, he has been enthusiastic about working with the team on more campaigns and has recruited his partner and worked on finding more member defence cases.
- The project has built strong community relations via St Christopher’s Church, they are now a weekly fixture at the Church. The Church run a food pantry/coffee morning and are the main source of crisis food provision on the estate. Volunteers at this are all Holme Wood residents and well-known in their community. This has supported member recruitment and case referrals to the project.
- ACORN have also attended the community centre coffee mornings and have integrated themselves with the leadership team organising the morning. ACORN have adapted their usual door knocking outreach approach on the estate by supplementing it engaging with other community meeting places. Working with the church and other community assets has helped them to be more strategic and engage parts of the community they would not have otherwise.
When
2023-2025
This 21-month project works with private and social tenants living on the Holme Wood estate in Bradford. Homes on the estate are in a poor state of repair with main issues being damp and mould. Residents struggle to get essential repairs carried out by landlords resulting in respiratory conditions as well as stress and anxiety.
The project is building a group of tenants-volunteers (some of whom will be trained to become case workers) to support other residents on a one to one basis with housing issues. Following the ACORN model, the group is democratic and comprised of local people from Holme Wood, equipped with the knowledge and confidence to advocate for their rights and improve the homes and health of their community.
A central aim is to improve housing conditions in Holme Wood, both in social and private rented housing, addressing key disrepair issues such as damp and mould which will improve the health of tenants.
This will be done by establishing a case support team in Holme Wood which local tenants can use to represent their interests and improve their housing conditions and health outcomes. The case support team reflects the demographic make-up of the neighbourhood and most marginalised groups with a specific focus on older adults and parents of school aged children.
The project is securing improvements to people’s housing situations to improve their health outcomes, with a goal of 80% of cases taken on to be resolved partially or entirely. Cases include preventing evictions, removing and preventing damp and mould, and repairs to heating systems.
The project also advocates for proactive enforcement and management of housing standards by Bradford Council, private landlords and letting agents. Participants will report on whether housing providers are more responsive to their complaints and needs, and collective issues will be run as campaigns to be resolved successfully.
Another key aim of the project is that tenants in Holme Wood have a collective voice and agency to improve their housing conditions, giving them security and stability in their housing and leading to better health outcomes.
The case support team in Holme Wood has a central role establishing this aim, to help ensure stability and security for low-income tenants and therefore lowering stress and improving mental health.
Local tenants will be empowered with confidence and knowledge around their legal rights and feel able to use them to address rent rises and threats of eviction.
As part of Homes for Health, the Trust is also funding ACORN projects in Cardiff and Bristol. Find out more about Homes for Health.
“My child’s life should have never been in danger just because I can’t afford to buy a property. That’s not ok.”
Tatiana Briosa
ACORN Bradford member
