Last week, the Ian Williams team was so proud to receive several thank yous and mentions about the Responsible Business and Social Value work we’ve been carrying out with our client Riverside.
On two separate occasions recently, with the support of Contracts Manager, Ray Crookall and Business Manager, Kenny Rushton, Ian Williams has been proud to help new Riverside tenants with young children and serious health issues, by decorating their new homes from top to bottom at no charge to Riverside or the tenant. We’re currently showing our creative side too, working on a property that was in a really rundown condition and adding a touch of unicorn wallpaper and cotton candy wallpaper magic for a little girl’s bedroom as she prepares to move in with her Dad.
Riverside’s Project Surveyor in Liverpool, Rob Houghton, who works closely with the Ian Williams team added: “We want to thank Ian Williams for the amazing work they’ve done. The whole team have been amazing and they have given our tenants an excellent start in their new Riverside homes.”
Kenny Rushton comments: “These recent initiatives are the tip of the iceberg really and the Ian Williams’ team is always prepared to go the extra mile to help the communities in which we live and work when we can. We’ve volunteered to paint further 10 properties for Riverside who will be providing homes for families who have been homeless.
We’d like to also thank Brewer Decorating Centres for their support in donating all the materials for these projects. 
Kenny continues: “The social value support our local Ian Williams’ teams have offered goes beyond housing too. We’ve recently painted and helped with FRA actions at a community centre in St Leonards in Bootle, as well as providing much needed donations to the food-bank that operates out of the centre. Such measures of course offer vital, short-term support for people who may be struggling, but we also want to try to make a positive impact for the longer-term.
“That’s why we’re especially proud of the schemes we’ve been carrying out in partnership with Riverside and Social Enterprise organisation, Halton Veterans Association through our exciting painting upskilling programme. Thousands of veterans return to civilian life each year and face the difficult prospect of adjusting to their new way of life. Many of the veterans supported by the Halton Veterans Association suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Painting has long been proven to have many therapeutic benefits particularly with soldiers returning from war and has been used in many innovative ways to assist with rehabilitation. So, our programmes see us offer week-long one to one mentoring and group sessions covering theory, health and safety and practical painting skills and application techniques. All veterans are also given their own painting starter kit which includes essential trade tools such as brushes, rollers and overalls and a certificate of achievement which hope go some way to helping people in their return to work.
We’ll leave the last comment to Riverside: “All in all, the social value works provided by Ian Williams are a shining example of what can be achieved in conjunction with our contractors internal or external. It’s really comforting knowing we have external contractors with the same understanding of social value as ourselves.”
For more information and case studies on partnering we do within social housing, click here
