Tenants First to continue ethnic minority service

Tenants First Housing Co-operative has received financial support to enable it to continue its pioneering Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) housing project for a third year.

The funding, which has been received from the Lintel Trust, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Council, will enable Tenants First Housing Co-operative to provide a specialist housing information and advice service for BAME communities in the North East of Scotland.

The project, led for Tenants First by Alison McLaughlin, aims to break down the barriers to housing that people from BAME communities may face. The service is provided to help people understand their housing options, including both social and private housing sectors.

Commenting on the continuation of the project, Alison McLaughlin commented: “I am delighted funding has been secured for year three of the project. I am looking forward to building on the contacts I have made, so that I can continue to work with what are diverse and enriching communities.

“The North East is increasingly becoming one of the most diverse and multicultural regions in Scotland to live in, but language barriers can often cause problems with finding accommodation.

“Naturally, one of the first things people want to do when they arrive in the North East is to find somewhere to stay. But that can be very difficult in a new and often daunting country, especially if you cannot speak English. It is for this reason that the project is so important.”

The ethnic minority housing project began more than three years ago with the production, by Tenants First, of a series of leaflets offering translation and interpretations about the co-operative in ten languages.

This early initiative has been followed up and Alison McLaughlin has since established strong links with various BAME communities, including Chinese, African and Muslim communities, through established community groups and cultural organisations.

Tenants First has more than 1,300 properties in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Glasgow.

www.tenantsfirst.com