Our Tenancy and Money Support team is there for residents all year round, but they’re more than aware of the extra pressures that Christmas can place on finances.

Working with our repairs arm, TCH Repairs (TCH R), and the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells Christmas Toy Appeal, the team was able to pull together a special package of support for residents who were feeling the pressure the most.

TCH R raised close to £1,000 in supermarket shopping vouchers, thanks to donations from their sub-contractors. This was topped up by a further £1,129.20 from Town & Country Housing’s discretionary support fund.

Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we were able to present 30 families with food shopping vouchers to use for their Christmas celebrations. And on top of that, we were also able to arrange for 21 youngsters within those families to receive a sack of presents each, courtesy of the Mayor’s Toy Appeal.

The vouchers and presents were hand delivered by our Tenancy and Money Support team. Commenting on the initiative, Niki Melville, Money Support Manager, said:

“We know that this time of year can be particularly tough for some people. We’re thankful to TCH R, their contractors and the Mayor’s Toy Appeal for their donations. Their support has meant that these families have been able to have a more enjoyable Christmas. It was lovely being able to deliver the presents in person with my team and to hear the positive feedback.”

• Julie* is a single mum who lives with her young son. She said she was really happy with the shopping voucher as she said she had £5 left until her next benefit payment. This meant she wasn’t able to buy any presents for her son, so she was delighted to receive the toys from the Mayors Toy Appeal.
• Following a series of strokes Ruth* had to move into residential care leaving her children, including grandchildren, in the family home. They told us that they ‘massively appreciate’ everything we’ve done for them over the year, and particularly thanked us for the extra support at Christmas.

Paula Cook, Customer and Community Partner, at TCH R, said she was delighted with the support that was offered by contractors:

“It’s important for TCH R that we contribute in ways that can value TCH residents. We asked the Tenancy and Money Support team how they would like us to help and they suggested the supermarket vouchers. I reached out to our sub-contractors who kindly donated the vouchers. Niki’s team were able to identify the households who would benefit the most, and I’m really pleased that we were able to offer this help.”

A special thanks goes to the following for their contributions to the supermarket vouchers:

• C. Brewers & Sons Ltd
• Edmunson Electrical Ltd
• Glazeview Windows Ltd
• Ashton Roofing and Maintenance Ltd
• Premier Ltd.

*All names have been changed.