Today is the #BigHousingThankYou, a day dedicated to celebrating frontline housing workers who have been the invisible heroes of the country’s Covid-19 battle. This is a national campaign, which is supported by the Chartered Institute of Housing, the National Housing Federation, and the National Federation of ALMOs.
Throughout the day, scores of #BigHousingThankyou tributes to frontline housing staff will appear on the campaign’s Twitter account, @OurBHTY. We will be sharing our own stories too - @lincolnshirehp.
The day began with the launch of a two-minute video on the website of the housing sector’s top news publication, Inside Housing. The film features 22 residents and leading figures from organisations across the housing sector. They read a specially commissioned poem against a backdrop of housing staff from more than 30 housing associations, councils and ALMOs, all pictured on the Covid-19 frontline. The full poem is below:
Thanks Are Due
Here we make a house a home,
here we make a flat your own...
and this work we don't do alone.
There's hundreds out there every day
working hard to keep at bay
the wear and tear, the "come what may" -
To you we owe our gratitude
for your bravery, your aptitude:
caretakers take the time to care, empty bins, clean the stairs,
make a difference everywhere;
care workers lend a helping hand: medication, dignity,
a ray of hope - they're the key;
sparkies, plumbers conduct repairs, keep the lights on, keep prepared
every home, every space we share;
and those who run our refuge spaces, who provide the safest places
to go when things are at their worst;
and residents, now well versed in social distance, staying in
who keep things calm, inspiring;
and everyone who works with us, delivers, fixes, and in doing thus
makes us proud, keeps our chins up.
To our workers: we depend on you -
your bravery, your fortitude,
for every single thing you do
a million times, our thanks are due.
Staff at LHP have still been working to keep communities safe and well-cared for: they’ve undertaken emergency repairs, and called hundreds of vulnerable residents weekly to provide a friendly ear at the end of the phone. Call centre staff and income officers have been there to reassure and advise residents, at a time when so many have feared for their livelihoods and even their homes.
