Member Spotlight
It’s our members that make Tpas such a great organisation to be part of and what better way to show this than with our member spotlight feature.
Each month we will invite one of our members to share their engagement achievements, tips and ambitions, allowing you to keep bang up to date with what others are up to across the sector.
Member Spotlight - Worthing Homes 
We asked Clive Cavanagh, Community Development Manager at Worthing Homes to share some of the work they are currently doing.
If you’d like to contact Clive about any of the below, click here
Give us a little known fact about your organisation
Worthing Homes has a house in a terrace row we call Community House which we initially ran through Lottery funding but is now supported by Worthing Homes. Community House offers a range of activities and health related therapies as well as daily free food to the people in the area. It provides significant social value but its importance to the area is as a haven and a place to get support and guidance as well as maybe some free groceries or the chance to sign up on a course or get help to find a job.
Tell us about a time that engagement has made a difference to your services or communities?
Sometimes it’s the small things which make such a difference. A few years back the Resident Voice group (the Resident body which feeds its thoughts and Scrutiny into the Board at WH) began to set the agenda for their meetings and since then the meetings have been a lot livelier as we were tackling the things they wanted to discuss. Ensuring they had autonomy, I feel has added to their impact, they were not just a functional element of our Housing Association but they had greater meaning and purpose beyond just Worthing Homes and if they ask the difficult questions and feel empowered to do so, so much the better.
What are you currently working on when it comes to engagement?
I have just put the final touches to the Contractors Charter which we have been working on with the Residents Voice. Contractors play such an important role in our work and are often representatives when they go out to do a job in someone’s home so we wanted to ensure that they had a set of standards that the tenants were aware of and which they would be guided by. It sets a level which will hopefully improve contractor standards and drive up TSM indicators.
Also working on initial groundwork for a ABCD (Asset Based Community Development) project which would focus on a specific locality. The aim of this would be to give residents greater say in what their area looks like and work to build stronger community ties to create a better place to live with greater local ownership.
Why did you decide to join Tpas?
Too many reasons really but to name a few: in broad terms Tpas exemplifies an approach to working with residents which is closely akin to how I feel about the people who rent our properties and make into their homes. I always start from a position of feeling that the resident, through paying their rent is actually my employer and if you start from that position then how you build relationships creates respect on both sides. Tpas works for this so that’s why we are members. The community of practice and the shared learning is also a help when you come up against a problem you are finding difficult to solve, or you are looking for a new way to do something.
What is your top engagement tip?
As noted above I always come at this from a position of treating the resident in front of me as an adult and with unconditional positive regard. That if you approach the conversation in the right way there is no end to the potential of each interaction.
What’s the one thing you are really proud of when it comes to engagement?
I have been fortunate enough to spend my working life in jobs that seek to make a difference and that mission is as relevant today as it was when I began. In Worthing Homes though I have a team who share that vision and work to make a difference. Sometimes you don’t realise just how important your efforts have been until someone stops you to say thank you and it means a lot, but to have a dedicated team who regularly make the difference and change people’s lives is probably the thing which makes it for me.
Previous Member Spotlights
December 2024 - Lumensol
October / November 2024 - Orbit
September 2024 - Gentoo
August 2024 - Watford Community Housing
July 2024 - BFT Mastclimbing
May / June 2024 - Stonewater
April 2024 - Hull City Council
March 2024 - Partners Foundation
February 2024 - Red Kite Community Housing
January 2024 - St Leger Homes of Doncaster
December 2023 - settle
November 2023 - Flagship Group
Sept / Oct 2023 - Hinckley and Bosworth Council
August 2023 - Tenants Hub CIC
June / July 2023 - Dovecotes TMO
May 2023 - Stockport Homes
April 2023 - TPTracker
March 2023 - Metropolitan Thames Valley
February 2023 - West Kent
January 2023 - Fairhive
December 2022 - Platform Housing Group
November 2022 - Integrated Solutions - City Plumbing
September / October 2022 - Homes Plus
August 2022 - Aspire
May 2022 - Arches
April 2022 - Acis Group
March 2022 - wdh
February 2022 - Michael Dyson Associates Ltd
January 2022 - South Yorkshire HA
December 2021 - Gateshead Council
November 2021 - LiveWest
October 2021 - YMCA Thames Gateway
September 2021 - Bernicia
August 2021 - Anglian Building Products
July 2021 - Warrington HA
June 2021 - Futr
May 2021 - Vale of Aylesbury HT
April 2021 - Aaron Services
March 2021 - Soha
February 2021 - North West Leicestershire DC
January 2021 - Vinci Facllities
December 2020 - Ongo
November 2020 - Places for People
October 2020 - Community Gateway Association
September 2020 - Dacorum BC
August 2020 - Eastend Homes
July 2020 - Connexus
June 2020 - Gridizen
May 2020 - Grand Union Housing Group
March / April 2020 - Onward Homes
January / February 2020 - Estuary HA
December 2019 - Muir Group
November 2019 - Blackpool Coastal Homes
October 2019 - Texthelp
September 2019 - Greatwell Homes
August 2019 - Selby DC
July 2019 - North Star Housing Group
June 2019 - Rotherham MBC
May 2019 - Homes for Haringey
I'd like to be in the spotlight
If you'd like to be featured in our Member Spotlight and highlight the work you are doing, please get in touch by emailing lisa.holt@tpas.org.uk.
Why choose Tpas?
Well established
We've been promoting, supporting and championing tenant involvement and empowerment across England for over three decades
Not for profit
Investing in Tpas means benefitting from the latest tenant involvement policies and practices but also securing and supporting the future of the tenant involvement agenda
Accreditation
We offer the only independent evidence-based accreditation scheme that assesses resident involvement arrangements.
Expert advice
Our shared knowledge, expertise and experience with staff, tenants, landlord and contractors are the building blocks of this organisation.
Find out more?
For more information please contact our dedicated membership team