08/06/2012 : Youth Editorial Board up for NFA Award

Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) has been named as a finalist in a national award programme by the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA), whose 55 member organisations manage just under half of council-owned homes in England.

The Youth Editorial Board was chosen out of over 100 high quality entries as finalist in the category of Best Use of Communications.

BHP's Youth Editorial Board was set up in 2009 for young people aged 13 to 19 years. The group produce a youth magazine called "Our Say" for the residents of BHP managed homes. It is a quarterly publication run by and for young people enabling them to have their say about issues affecting them within the borough.

"Our Say" has dealt with issues that are very relevant to young people including graffiti, drugs, gun and knife crime, animal welfare issues, the London riots, further education and government cuts.

Peter Nugent, aged 19, and Editor of "Our Say" said: "The Youth Editorial Board is a really good way to gain experience in writing articles as well as communicating ideas with other young people. Some of the highlights were discussing articles with the group, this allowed us to gain different perspectives from other young people and communicate this in our writing".

The NFA awards were judged by an independent panel: Sue Roberts MBE, NFA Chair; Michael Gelling, Chair of TAROE (Tenants and Residents Organisations of England); Michelle Reid, Chief Executive of TPAS; and Stuart Macdonald, Editor of Inside Housing.

Sue Roberts said: "This remains a challenging year for the housing sector as we all work hard to implement new policies from government including changes to funding and welfare reform as well as the forthcoming green deal. Our members, their residents and staff continue to show outstanding dedication and develop creative projects, which make their communities better places to live in."

Gerry Doherty, Chief Executive of Brent Housing Partnership, said: "I would like to extend my congratulations to the members of the Youth Editorial Board who donate their valuable time to give back to their community. They are doing an excellent job and this award nomination from the NFA is brilliant recognition for their hard work".