Ayrshire Initiatives is holding an event on Friday 30^th May 2008 to celebrate the achievement of all those who have been involved with the Tenant Welcome Programme over the past year or so.

Adam Ingram MSP will be on hand to celebrate the achievement of the participants and present them with a certificate on the day.

Participants will also tell their stories to the guests invited.

Over 50 tenants in South Ayrshire have benefited from involvement in the Tenant Welcome Programme in South Ayrshire since December 2006.

The Tenant Welcome Programme uses home improvement to work with tenants experiencing difficulties to help them settle in their homes successfully and get on with their lives. The programme aims to increase tenants’ pride in and responsibility for their home; reduce evictions and tenancy abandonments; prevent homelessness and assist individuals to move on in their lives and into education, training or employment.

Everyone involved in the programme get one-to-one help from our dedicated tenant Welcome Officer, James Skilling, to design and implement a home improvement project. As well as advice on design, help to develop the skills and experience needed James also provides help with shopping and budgeting for the materials needed. In addition to this help all participants also get a set of the tools needed for home improvement and a DIY manual and can attend specially designed DIY workshops at Ayr College.

Note:

The Tenant Welcome Programme Celebration Event is being held at 12.00pm on Friday 30^th May 2008 at Elms Court Hotel, 21 Miller Road, Ayr, KA7 2AX.

The quotations at the beginning of the release are from participants of the programme. The event will last from 12.15pm to 1.00pm with a buffet lunch afterwards. There will be opportunities for individual and group photographs of the participants who are due to be presented with their certificates towards the end of the event (around 12.45pm).

The Tenant Welcome Programme uses home improvement to work with vulnerable new tenants with the intention of increasing their pride and responsibility for their home; reducing evictions and tenancy abandonments; preventing homelessness and assisting individuals to move on in their lives and into education, training or employment.

Ayrshire Initiatives developed, managed and delivered the Tenant Welcome Programme from December 2006 until end March 2008 with funding from Communities Scotland Wider Role Fund and in kind support from Ayr College. Tenants of South Ayrshire Council and Ayrshire Housing benefited from the programme.

The Tenant Welcome Programme is now being delivered across Ayrshire in partnership with Ayrshire Housing, Irvine Housing Association, Ancho, Atrium Homes, Shire Housing Association and West of Scotland Housing Association with support from the Scottish Government Wider Role Fund.

Ayrshire Initiatives is a locally based social enterprise and part of the Ayrshire Housing Group. We were established to develop and deliver inclusion and regeneration services and initiatives which benefited communities across Ayrshire, particularly disadvantaged communities and individuals. In addition to the Tenant Welcome Programme we deliver a housing support service, a home based literacy service, a community development initiative in Lochside and a construction jobs programme.

For more information on Ayrshire Initiatives or the Tenant Welcome Programme contact:

Louise Christie                                                                                                          

Director

Ayrshire Initiatives                                                    

01292 670 674

07917 204178

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