What's going on in your community
Darlington is a safe place for you.
Refugee Week
17th - 23rd June was Refugee Week – the world’s largest Arts & Culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of Refugee’s and people seeking sanctuary The theme this year was ‘Our Home’.
To celebrate the occasion DBC Refugee Team hosted an event to celebrate at The Hullabaloo and wanted the event to be entertaining, productive and educational but also to display the amazing resources in Darlington and the support on offer. There was access to the amazing Hullabaloo sensory area, a fire engine for children to enjoy investigating, an amazing Ukrainian Orchestra; Kostia for people to enjoy, a wealth of agency stands offering practical advice, free services, events and guidance.
There was an amazing and poignant artwork display from Corporation Road School, a craft area, some amazing presentations from The Red Cross explaining all their services and how they assist people and the scale of their involvement all over the World. There was a beautiful speech from Sasha; a Ukrainian lady who arrived to Darlington via the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and she spoke of the obstacles she was met with but more importantly how she dealt with them to become the amazing person that she is today. She spoke of the supporting family she lives with, her skills she has shared by volunteering with the Learning & Skills team and how her move to the UK has shaped her growth not just as a Refugee but as a person making an appalling situation into a positive experience for herself and demonstrating the resilience of Refugee’s, Migrants and Asylum Seekers.
DBC also secured some amazing donations from staff from a donations box and a dress down day which allowed us to allow people to take items that a lot of people take for granted such as colouring pens, sanitary items, food, toiletries but some of the attendee’s would deem a ‘luxury item’ given the basic income they receive. We also were kindly donated swimming vouchers from the Dolphin Centre and access to the new Hope Town facility.
We would like to thank the following agencies for their support and assistance:
- The Hullabaloo
- The Fire Service
- Move More
- Darlington Citizens Advice Bureau – displaying what amazing support they can offer
- Darlington Libraries
- Kostia – Ukrainian Orchestra
- Darlington DWP
- Dolphin Centre
- Triage
- Police
- Red Cross
- Corporation Road School & The Lingfield Trusts – especially to the Children who made the display and the two wonderful ladies who helped assemble it.
- Learning & Skills
- Darlington Connect
- Sasha Tsymbal – Our amazing speaker
- The events staff, hosts and catering team at the Hullabaloo and Dolphin Centre
Gathering at the Hullabaloo
The Refugee Support Team
Learning and Skills
June News
Tenants' Panel
In June our Tenants Panel took place at Tennyson Gardens as part of our initiative to ensure that the panel visit different locations in the Town and encourage tenants to attend who may not have a chance to travel to the Town Hall.
At the meeting the following items were discussed
- Domestic Abuse
- Annual Report
- Online Meetings
- Scrutiny Workshops
- Tenant Satisfaction Measures Focus Groups
Our Tenants Panel roadshow will continue throughout the year so keep your eyes peeled to see if we will be visiting your area in the coming months.
If you are interested in joining our online tenants panel email our team at [email protected] or call the team on 01325 405333. Visit the Tenants' Panel page for more information.
Dalkeith House
There was a big birthday in June as Dalkeith House celebrated their 50th birthday in style. Tenants at the scheme helped celebrate with live music, a photo booth, raffle and a fantastic afternoon tea prepared by the cook at the scheme.
Dalkeith House is one of three of our Extra Care Schemes which offers affordable housing for anyone aged 55+ with a care need.
If you are interested in the benefits of Extra Care contact the Adult Social Care team on 01325 406111 for more information.
Branksome in Bloom
As part of the Gardening Competition which is running throughout the summer our Tenancy Involvement Team where invited to Branksome Hall Drive to get a guided tour of current garden project at the scheme.
Residents Don and Mike along with scheme manager Penny showcased the fantastic work by the green fingered enthusiasts at the site.
From flowers to hanging baskets to tomatoes and courgettes the scheme has it all and will be nominated for our ‘Best Scheme’ award
Well done to everyone involved.
Gardening Competition
In May we launched our third annual Gardening Competition which will run until the end of July. Until then tenants can apply with prizes awarded in the following categories
- Best Individual Garden
- Best Communal Garden
- Best Housing Sheltered Scheme
- Best Young Gardener
- Largest Sunflower
We will also give out a monthly prize with prizes awarded in May, June and July.
Important Information
You may have seen a series of posts on our Facebook page [external link] throughout June which is aimed at helping our tenants find out important information that they need regarding there tenancy.
This has included posts about Housing Plus, Bulky Waste Collections, Policies and Procedures, Tenancy Sustainment and much more.
This will be a regular feature on our Facebook page and if there is any information that you feel should be included get in touch with us via [email protected]