This research initially focussed on a case study at one housing association keen to improve their services for tenants. A week of fieldwork was undertaken, with observations and interviews undertaken by Hannah. When discussing the project with the group of tenant-researchers, they suggested that people who do not allow access to their homes be included. Quite a challenge to try to speak to people who may not want to talk to you! For this element of the research, a Research Associate is being recruited to train the tenant-researchers in qualitative interviewing. The plan is to reach out through the social housing tenant networks and find tenants who do not allow access, so they can be interviewed by our tenant-researchers. We are excited to see how this strand develops and are working on creating the interview schedule together.
Hannah’s background in community and volunteer management while working in social housing shows in her approach to research. She believes in centring what matters to tenants in her work, and using her social power to influence practitioners, campaigners and policymakers to centre an emotional understanding of home in relevant policy and practice.