Beyond Housing

Beyond Housing is sponsoring two board member trainees on a two-year programme to improve the diversity of its board.

Anda Baraskina, a Beyond Housing customer and Drew Pyper, a recent first time homeowner, both living in Scarborough, are accessing the programme, which is being delivered in collaboration with the Housing Diversity Network (HDN) and three other North East housing providers – Thirteen Group, Gentoo and North Star.

HDN's Board Diversity Programme is an initiative that encourages the development of diversity at board level. The aim of the programme is to support people from diverse backgrounds to develop the skills needed to become effective board members.

Anda, who is originally from Latvia, works extensively with communities of different nationalities across the region, launching initiatives to support people to engage positively with their local areas.

Drew is a non binary, neurodiverse person. They are a self-employed photographer, charitable volunteer and a passionate advocate for equality diversity and inclusion. Over the past decade they have worked on cruise ships amongst a hugely diverse and intersectional workforce, engaging with and advocating for quietened voices from global communities. Drew works to positively affect the lives of underrepresented people around them who may not yet have the skills or opportunities to fulfil their goals, in particular through the lens of disability and mental health.

Lyn Peacock, Director of Governance & Business Assurance at Beyond Housing, said: “When we advertised the trainee roles we were keen to encourage applications from our customers and communities, particularly from people aged under 35 or from minority ethnic or LGBTQIA+ backgrounds, all of whom are currently under-represented at board level at Beyond Housing, but also locally and nationally.”

In addition to the training programme with Beyond Housing, the trainees attend HDN workshops. Having already been matched with an external mentor, next year they will start to attend the HDN’s board excellence programme, which is designed to support board members who are new to governance or the housing sector to rapidly get up to speed, providing an understanding of finance, value for money, excellence in governance, development, board dynamics, the role of board members and much more.

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF BEYOND HOUSING

CONTACT: Josh Mason on 01325 363436

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Notes to editors:

Beyond Housing is one of the largest registered housing providers in the North East and North Yorkshire. With its regional offices in Redcar and Scarborough, the organisation is responsible for the letting, management and maintenance of over 15,000 homes across the north east and North Yorkshire.

Beyond Housing is committed to going beyond the bricks and mortar to help its communities and region thrive. By providing quality homes people want to live in alongside valuable additional services delivered by passionate people who want to help, Beyond Housing contributes to the prosperity, wider regeneration and sustainability of its communities, creating neighbourhoods that will flourish well into the future.

Beyond Housing is a Community Benefit Society registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and regulated by both the Homes and Communities Agency and the Financial Conduct Authority.

For more information visit beyondhousing.co.uk.

Find Beyond Housing on social media:

Facebook: BeyondHousingUK

Twitter: @beyondhousinguk