27/09/12……Tenants? work reaches national shortlist

THE voluntary work of Oxfordshire social housing tenants is to be pitted against professional teams from Glasgow City Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Annual Report, which Soha residents produced for their landlord last year, has been shortlisted for The Guardian newspaper?s Public Services Award for best communications project.

Chief Executive Richard Peacock said: ?It is very exciting to see our residents? production in this illustrious company. Glasgow is one of the largest local authorities in the UK and the stock-in trade of the FCO is communicating British foreign policy. Soha, by contrast, is a mid-sized rural housing association. Over 100 tenants were involved in the creation of a watercolour which they called ‘Painting a Picture’.

“The scenes from a year in the life of Soha, which the watercolour featured, were the basis for articles the tenants wrote about Soha?s performance. Another group of tenants has just designed, written and photographed for the 2012 report.?