It’s been 18 months since I joined Leeds Federated Housing Association – a place-based housing association with homes across the Leeds City Region and North Yorkshire. During my induction period, I often told people “I’m new to the housing sector” but when I sat down to write this blog and reflected on my journey into Leeds Federated, I realised that housing has been a constant throughout most of my career.
In one of my first jobs in the late noughties I worked for a local council. A housing colleague spoke passionately to me about the 1960s BBC drama ‘Cathy Come Home’ which followed events through Cathy’s life that led to her becoming homeless and losing her children. Following that conversation, I spent hours scouring the internet to order a DVD of the programme (it’s hard to imagine a time before streaming and catch-up TV!). Since then, Cathy’s story and the importance of ‘home’ has really stuck with me.
After the council, my career took a brief turn into the private sector. I worked for a haulage company which supplied products for the house-building sector where the peaks and troughs in work were very much driven by changes in government policy and direction around spending and investment in housing and regeneration.
Since then, I’ve worked in the third sector for organisations that have supported people across domestic violence, homelessness, health, and social care. The common conversations between those organisations have been around housing…or more accurately, ‘home’.
Conversations about people being able to live in the place they call home, to stay living in their home for longer or to be able to move home. And woven through those conversations has been the importance of place – the communities, connections and relationships that help people thrive.
So, why did I choose housing? Well, it’s always been there and always will be…it’s about more than just bricks and mortar, it’s the fabric and foundation of society.
And there are so many different job opportunities in the housing sector, from construction and repairs to tenancy support and engagement, to HR, finance, policy and of course, communications. But whatever the role, we’re all working towards the same goal of ‘helping people make a home’ and I’m proud to work for an organisation whose mission is just that!
