Tag: Muirhouse Housing Association

A very merry Muirhouse Christmas!

MUIRHOUSE Housing Association delivered a spectacular Christmas event  filled with family fun to kick off the festive season.

The Association laid on a sparkling seasonal celebration where its office car park came alive full of festive cheer. Families gathered and the holiday spirit was everywhere ensuring a  perfect start to the Christmas festivities!

Chief Executive Susan Bell said the occasion was full of festive cheer and an event filled with fun and happiness. 

The highlight of the occasion was undoubtedly the Christmas tree lights switch-on, generously sponsored for the third consecutive year by Kerax Land Ltd, the landscaping and estates contractor for the housing association.

The event featured a variety of family-friendly craft activities, writing letters to Santa and musical bingo with the best Christmas melodies. Everyone joined the sing-along dancing and swaying away with each other.

Kevin Matthews Founder of BLAST Boxing shared information and highlights how sports like boxing benefit not just kids, but whole families. 

BLAST Boxing is a Community Interest Company which seeks to improve mental health for the many communities of Edinburgh & beyond.

Refreshments were served up and everyone enjoyed free hot food with a delicious Lebanese twist from Lazeez Street Food and Catering Services, adding an international flair to the event.

As part of the celebrations, everyone was entered into the raffle for the chance to win tickets to see Goldilocks and the Three Bears presented by Forth Children’s Theatre at North Edinburgh Arts Centre. 

A guitarist from the community singing group Ama-zing Harmonies led everyone in carol singing with all-time greats like Jingle Bells, When Santa Got Stuck Up the Chimney and to finish the event everyone joined in with We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

“We are incredibly thankful to everyone who attended. It was the perfect event to kick off the festive season,” said Susan. “It was wonderful to see the community come together again, and the excitement from the children who came along was truly heartwarming.

“We hope everyone enjoyed themselves and wish everyone a wonderful Christmas.”

Susan also extended her thanks to the staff team for their hard work in organising and making it such a success.

Deborah Brown, Muirhouse’s Community Engagement Officer, said it was the perfect seasonal occasion to engage with tenants and the wider Muirhouse community. This highlights Muirhouse Housing Associations commitment to fostering community spirit and bringing people together during the holiday season.

A Triumph for Muirhouse!

‘Come Dine With Us’ initiative recognised for tackling loneliness and fostering community wellbeing

MUIRHOUSE HOUSING Association is celebrating a magnificent triumph in a prestigious set of national awards.

The Association excelled in the Tenant Participation Service (TPAS) Scotland National Good Practice Awards scoring a win in the keenly-contested category for Community Involvement – tenant/community group. 

It was a powerful endorsement of Muirhouse’s commitment to placing its community at the heart of everything it does as a housing provider.

The National Good Practice Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in tenant participation by individual tenants, tenant groups and social landlords.

The category won by Muirhouse “recognises and celebrates the achievements of a tenant or community-led group or project that has supported other individuals or groups within their community and made a positive impact.”

Muirhouse’s triumph centred on its innovative and inclusive “Come Dine With  Us” initiative – a recurring event offering a free meal and companionship to local residents aimed at tackling isolation and loneliness

Launched in 2022, it instantly resonated with the community and attracts between 15 and 30 people to the weekly get-together in winter with it running fortnightly in the summer.

It has chalked up some impressive outcomes with evaluation showing an increase in the age groups attending ranging from 26-85 plus an impressive 140% increase in how satisfied those attending are with their lives. An increase of 83% was recorded from those attending who felt the things they do in life are “worthwhile”.

Muirhouse Chief Executive Susan Bell, added: “Ensuring we do our bit to tackle loneliness and isolation in our community – especially among those who are single – remains an important part of our work.

“In the face of the cost-of-living challenges, we as a housing association are ideally placed to make a difference and Come Dine With Us tackles this very issue. We remain very grateful for the funding received which helps to support this important initiative.”

“This project provides the opportunity to inspire and empower individuals to foster better health, connect with others in the community and feel valued.

“We are thrilled to receive this award, which recognises the dedication and teamwork behind our efforts to support the community.”

A Merry Muirhouse Christmas!

MUIRHOUSE Housing Association delivered a Christmas cracker filled with family fun to kick off the festive season.

The Association laid on a sparkling Christmas celebration next to its offices brimming with seasonal cheer which families flocked to. It was the perfect way to start the Christmas festivities and get everyone into the holiday spirit. 

Muirhouse Chief Executive Susan Bell said the event was a tremendous success and thanked the community for their support by coming along.

The highlight was definitely the Christmas tree lights switch-on, generously sponsored for the second consecutive year by Kerax Land Ltd, the landscaping and estates contractor for the housing association.

The event featured a variety of family-friendly activities, including seasonal arts and crafts like making “angel templates” and writing letters to Santa.

To banish the Edinburgh winter chill, attendees enjoyed free hot food with a delicious Lebanese twist from Lazeez Street Food and Catering Services, adding an international flair to the event.

A guitarist from the community singing group “Ama-zing Harmonies” led everyone in carol singing. 

Susan expressed her gratitude, saying: “We are incredibly thankful to everyone who attended. It was the perfect event to launch the festive season. 

“It was wonderful to see the community come together again, and the excitement from the children who came along was truly heartwarming. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves and wish everyone a wonderful Christmas.”

She also extended her thanks to the staff team for their hard work in organising and making it such a success.

Deborah Brown, Muirhouse’s Community Engagement Officer, said it was the perfect seasonal occasion to engage with tenants and the wider Muirhouse community.

Scottish Housing Day: Alliance of Edinburgh affordable housing providers rally together to support sustainable housing

With Scottish Housing Day (14 September 2022) focusing on sustainable housing, the Alliance of Registered Co-operatives and Housing Associations, Independent in Edinburgh (ARCHIE) is working collaboratively to address the challenges around decarbonisation and energy efficiency and provide advice on how tenants can live sustainable lives, from energy saving tips to financial support.

Past ARCHIE successes include joint ventures such as distributing energy saving packs to tenants and energy use advice. One of the most successful projects is the provision of Tenant Advice Services, which includes money, debt, benefits and tenancy sustainment advice.

Through sharing services and collaborating on joint activities ARCHIE members provide value for money and keep rents affordable.

The ARCHIE members are Lister Housing Co-operative, Manor Estates Housing Association, Muirhouse Housing Association, Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA), Prospect Community Housing, Viewpoint Housing Association and West Granton Housing Co-operative.

Larke Adger, Chair of ARCHIE and Chief Executive, West Granton Housing Co-op commented: “Through collaborative working, we have achieved better services and support for tenants across all ARCHIE member organisations.

“We look forward to continuing to build on this work to help create thriving, sustainable communities.”

Festive Community Event at NEA

As 2021 draws to a close, big changes are on the horizon for North Edinburgh Arts. As part of the ongoing regeneration programme around MacMillan Square, development work at North Edinburgh Arts should begin in the next few weeks.

One of the last events before the planned makeover will be the Festive Community Event on Monday 13 December, kindly funded by Police Scotland.

North Edinburgh Arts will be host to many local community stalls on the day, so it’ll be a great opportunity to learn more about what’s going on in the local area, get together with other local residents and go away with a free goodie bag including some wonderful books to read this winter!

Whether you’re a regular user or occasional visitor to the North Edinburgh Arts space, you’re invited to say goodbye to the North Edinburgh Arts building. You can drop-in any time between 10am and 3pm when you can find out more about our temporary relocation while having a wander, a chat, a festive mince pie and hot drink. 

Stalls will include presentations and resources from: Edinburgh Police DivisionScottish Fire and Rescue ServiceCraigroyston Community High SchoolThe Reading AgencyA Stitch in TimeMuirhouse Housing Association, Mobile Library, The Reading Agency, North Edinburgh Community Shed and Arts for Grown-ups.

Everyone’s welcome.

To learn more about North Edinburgh Arts, visit:https://northedinburgharts.co.uk/

Urban Union and Muirhouse Housing Association support Millennium Centre with £15,000 donation

Urban Union, as part of their community benefit programmes for the City of Edinburgh Council, and Muirhouse Housing Association (MHA) have together provided over £15,000 in ongoing support to the Muirhouse Millennium Centre in the north of Edinburgh since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Muirhouse Millennium Centre, run in partnership with Low Income Families Together (LIFT), aims to relieve poverty among the residents of the surrounding areas, provide recreational and leisure facilities, and promote education and training in skills of all kinds.

During the first wave of the pandemic, from March to October, the cash boosts from MHA and the developer behind Pennywell Living helped the Millennium Centre become a major player in food distribution in the north of Edinburgh.

Since then and throughout the two lockdowns, the money has helped fund over 5,000 food parcels, 22,000 packed lunches, 6,000 ready meals, as well as baby formula and nappies for local families and homeless accommodation.

Adapting their recreational support service, the Millennium Centre also delivered over 500 play packs and activity resources, allowing children to continue taking part in the Centre’s homework and youth clubs through Zoom.  In October, once children were allowed to be welcomed back, the Centre used the funding to deliver five sessions a week to reduce isolation and strengthen social skills after being at home for the duration of the first lockdown.

As part of their community benefits mission, Urban Union has previously also supported Muirhouse Library’s Breakfast Club to ensure local children had a nutritious start to their day as well as helping Pennywell School build their STEM curriculum, recently launching a STEM-based learning project.

Neil McKay, Managing Director of Urban Union, said: “Our focus at Urban Union is to not only regenerate a physical landscape, but to create strong relationships and support the communities in which our developments are based. We are ecstatic to have been able to support the Millennium Centre and LIFT throughout a very challenging period for many families.

“We are always happy to give something back to the Muirhouse community and we will continue to offer opportunities for local people and support for the most vulnerable in the area.”

Iain Strachan, Chair of the Muirhouse Housing Association added: “Muirhouse Housing Association is dedicated to supporting our tenants and local community.

“This last year has been one of the most challenging in our near 30 years of being part of the Muirhouse community. We are glad that we can work with Muirhouse Millennium Centre and LIFT in supporting local people and families during a very difficult time and will continue to do so in the future.”

Pauline Bowie, Managing Director of Low Income Families Together said: “We are very grateful for this generous donation from Urban Union and MHA which has made a real tangible difference to children and families alike across Edinburgh during an extremely difficult time.

“The Centre relies on funding to deliver our programmes and reach those who need it the most. Everyone deserves a chance in life, and donations like this allow for local people in challenging situations to access different forms of support.”

City of Edinburgh Council’s Convener of Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work, Councillor Kate Campbell said: “During this crisis, we’ve worked together to put our most vulnerable residents first and making sure people can access the right support when and where they need it has been an absolute priority.

“It’s great to see our development partner Urban Union and Muirhouse Housing Association providing this much needed funding for Muirhouse Millennium Centre’s invaluable work, and the positive impact it’s had on the community’s families and children since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Pennywell Living is the centre of an exciting 8-year regeneration project as part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s house-building programme.

Now in phase three, the development offers an exceptional range of 315 one to four bedroom flats and houses designed for modern living. Over half of these will be for affordable rent.

Urban Union regenerates areas across Scotland to create revitalised communities through building new, high quality, affordable homes.

Across each of its developments, Urban Union aims to deliver sustainable long-term benefits to the new and surrounding neighbourhoods, with job and training opportunities, ensuring the community will benefit from the projects for years to come.

To find out more about Urban Union, visit: https://www.urbanunionltd.co.uk/

To find out more about the Millennium Centre, visit: https://www.lift-edinburgh.com/muirhouse-millennium