Cath Wallis and Stuart Holland will work on initiatives aimed at preventing anti-social behaviour happening in the first place, with evictions or injunctions only being applied against problem tenants as a last resort.
Mark Palmer, Head of Housing for Home’s Central (Yorkshire and the Midlands) region explains: “We decided to recruit the team in response to concerns our residents have about anti-social behaviour.
“Although anti-social behaviour is not a problem on our estates, as part of the Government’s Respect agenda, we wanted to have a dedicated team that can work alongside our housing and community development officers to focus on building good relationships with our residents and the wider community.
“They will also deal with more serious levels of anti-social behaviour. Home believes that ‘prevention is better than cure’, so the team will also be working on initiatives to deal with low-level anti-social behaviour and ways to stop it developing in the first place.
“Cath and Stuart have already made excellent progress in working closely with individuals who have caused specific problems to some of our residents and the wider community.
“The real focus is on stopping problems escalating and creating pleasant and sustainable communities where Home residents can enjoy their tenancies in peace.”
Cath, who will be based at Home’s office in Wetherby, and Stuart, who will be based at its Derby office, both have previous experience in the anti-social behaviour field.
Stuart was a police officer with the Metropolitan Police for nine years before working as an Anti-Social Behaviour Officer with Mansfield District Council, and as a Neighbourhood Housing Officer on the Isle of Wight.
Cath previously worked for Sheffield City Council in a family intervention project, providing support for families evicted for causing high levels of anti- social behaviour. She also has experience working with ex-offenders and people who have drug and alcohol dependence.