FHM worker honoured for dedication to local community

An employee of community regeneration specialist Frank Haslam Milan (FHM) North East, who helped to support elderly residents through a major regeneration scheme in Gateshead, has been honoured for her efforts.

Heather Miller, 52, has been shortlisted for the Resident Involvement Officer of the Year (Contractor) in the 2011 Northern Region TPAS Awards.

The awards recognise workers and tenants who make communities better places to live.

Miller’s nomination comes after her work supporting residents during FHM’s construction of 150 new homes in the village of Kibblesworth, for The Gateshead Housing Company (TGHC).

She said: “I’m very proud to be shortlisted and delighted to see that my work is benefiting the community.

“This has been a major project in a small village, with a large number of elderly residents. My role has been to ensure that people who are living in the area receive all of the support they need during the development. As many of the residents in the area are older, it has been vital that we have been there for them whenever they have needed advice or assistance.

“I’m met some fantastic people in Kibblesworth and built up a very good relationship with the community.”

The Kibblesworth development will replace a rundown ‘Airey’ housing estate, which was built in the 1950s. The project, which started in 2010, will cost £14 million and is being carried out over three years.

Kibblesworth has one of the highest rates of older people being helped to live at home, and is above the Gateshead average. Miller has become the first point of contact for residents during the development, answering questions and ensuring that tenants know when their homes will be affected by the scheme.

She has arranged consultation days, visited people in their homes and also organised a Tenant Choice Day, which gave people the chance to choose designs for their new kitchens and bathrooms.

Following the completion of the first set of properties there was a delay in connecting phone lines. This meant that the CallCare service provided to vulnerable residents could not connect. Miller offered residents the use of her mobile phone calling in to see them on a daily basis.

The Northern Region TPAS Awards ceremony will take place at the Palace Hotel in Manchester, on 11 February. If she is successful she will be entered into the National TPAS Awards Final later in the year.