Shine a light
The campaign
#ShineALight was Grand Union Chief Executive, Aileen Evans' presidential campaign during her time as Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) president. Launched in 2020 with mental health charity Mind, the campaign's aim was to help housing organisations raise their game on mental health.
Housing professionals often work in stressful conditions which can have a negative impact on their mental health. They often work in isolated environments, sometimes work with tenants who are in crisis, and have limited opportunities to obtain support for their mental health.
Poor mental health affects one in four of us in any given year. It can make it more difficult to deal with everyday life, and that includes maintaining a tenancy. When it comes to mental health, housing professionals and tenants are in it together.
Working closely with Mind, housing organisations and customers, Aileen and the CIH produced two #ShineALight toolkits to help the housing sector better respond to mental health challenges.
Alongside these guides was a piece of research looking at working in housing and support services during the coronavirus pandemic.
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This guide was produced to help employers in the housing sector better support their employees with their mental health. It includes steps you can take to create an environment where everyone feels safe, secure and valued.
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This guide will help organisations when working with tenants and customers who may be experiencing mental health problems, aiming to help individuals and teams reflect on their behaviours to be part of the solution, never part of the problem.
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New research carried out by Jo Richardson and Andrew Mitchell at DeMontfort University, tells the story of working in housing and homelessness services and wellbeing support experienced through the pandemic.