Member Article

Durham City Homes committed to tackling domestic abuse

A Durham landlord will reinforce its commitment to supporting tenants affected by domestic abuse by working toward a nationally-recognised accreditation.

Durham City Homes has signed up to begin a process that leads to an accreditation from the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA).

Carol Crathorne, Estates and Tenancy Manager at Durham City Homes, said: “We are proud to be working towards this accreditation with DAHA to strengthen the way our services approach domestic abuse in our neighbourhoods.

“Durham City Homes is committed to tackling anything that negatively impacts our tenants and their ability to feel confident and safe at home.

“Our employees are ideally placed within local communities to challenge domestic abuse and support those who are at risk.”

The Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) is a partnership between Gentoo, Peabody and Standing Together Against Domestic Violence. All have a longstanding commitment to tackling domestic abuse and are working to improve the housing sector’s response through an accreditation process, which assesses individual housing providers and supports them to improve their practice through partnership working.

The DAHA accreditation process can take between three and 12 months and will focus on improving key elements of Durham City Homes’ service delivery, including policies and procedures, risk management and training.

Durham City Homes will achieve DAHA’s accreditation upon completion of the process, which signals that the organisation has a robust and nationally accredited response to domestic abuse.

Kelly Henderson, Business Manager (Domestic Abuse) at Gentoo, said: “At Gentoo we are committed to tackling domestic abuse and are delighted to be part of a partnership that can influence the housing sector’s response to domestic violence.

“Over the past year the response from the housing sector has been overwhelming.

“DAHA is delighted to be working with Durham City Homes to support them to improve their response to domestic abuse.

“Their passion and commitment to tackling this issue is commendable – leading the way as our first DAHA customer in the north east.”

Photo: (left to right) Gentoo’s Business Manager (Domestic Abuse), Kelly Henderson, with Durham City Homes’ Estates and Tenancy Manager, Carol Crathorne.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Reilly .