At Kingdom Housing Association we were determined not to let COVID-19 become a barrier for our annual tenant event of the year – our Summer Gathering.
Our teams recognised that hosting the event virtually would provide a fun way to support our tenants to connect and tackle the negative effects of isolation which many experienced throughout the ‘lock-down’ period.
Each of our Summer Gathering participants were given the choice of taking part in any two online workshops including: an introduction to mindfulness, gardening, harp therapy, and guide dog training. Children and young people also made the most of sessions based around nature and making music.
The event proved to be such a success that the Association continue to host weekly, online coffee mornings where tenants can log in to have a social chat, give their opinions on policy consultations, and take part in interactive games and quizzes.
Our online activities have been a great way to support digitally excluded tenants to come together and connect. The Kingdom teams have provided a number of devices to tenants and have delivered one-to-one training to support people to get online.
Feedback from tenants who took part in the Summer Gathering included:
‘I live on my own and lost my husband recently so during lockdown I felt quite down sometimes. I loved using Zoom to talk to other people from the comfort of my own home, and I’ll use it again. Thank you Kingdom for making it possible.”
‘I have never used video conference before so I was a bit apprehensive but Max was very patient and helped me over the telephone to connect. We also held a practice session a couple of days before the event and this helped me remember how to use Zoom.”
The team at Kingdom can’t wait to welcome more people to our next virtual gathering in November.
We hope you’ll join TIS in applauding Kingdom’s fantastic efforts in supporting tenants!
kingdomhousing.org.uk | @Kingdom_HA
