A housing association has embedded a series of new safety initiatives, after signing up to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s Northamptonshire Women’s Charter.
The Women’s Charter campaign is Danielle Stone’s call to action for organisations to keep women and girls safe in this county and halve violence against women and girls in the next decade.
When Greatwell Homes joined the pledge, they used Danielle’s free Women’s Safety Survey to understand changes their staff wanted to see where they work.
The housing association, who operate across Northamptonshire, had almost 60 responses from their workforce.
As a direct result of the feedback, all frontline staff have now been trained in conflict management, de-escalation and personal safety to keep workers safe in the community.
This includes basic self-defence training and tips on how to manage situations involving verbal abuse.
The team is also looking at options to implement additional methods to increase safety to protect staff and the public.
Jo Savage (pictured above, left), Chief Executive of Greatwell Homes, said: “The safety of our colleagues and customers has always been a top priority for Greatwell Homes, but particularly now where we are sadly seeing a rise in aggression towards our colleagues.
“We’ve surveyed our colleagues about their safety priorities when at work and in our communities and have created a seven-step plan to address those concerns. Using this insight, as well as the expertise of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s office and partners, we have been able to quickly put these training sessions in place to give our colleagues increased confidence in dealing with these stressful situations if they do arise.
“However, we know that doesn’t eliminate the risk of these situations happening so as a direct suggestion from our frontline colleagues, we are looking into additional methods to increase safety for frontline staff. We won’t stop there and will continue to discuss safety, and use the tools given to us from the Women’s Safety Charter to continue to maximise safety of our colleagues, customers and communities.”
The Northamptonshire Women’s Charter now has 118 members who also have access to a free training portal and guest webinars.
Danielle Stone (pictured above, right) said: “Greatwell Homes were among the first signatories to join the Northamptonshire Women’s Charter and they have taken my campaign in their stride to do better for women in this county.
“By listening to their female colleagues, and asking them what they want to see at work to make them feel safer, senior leaders have made a clear commitment to empower their workforce and make them feel secure and supported.”
