Registered social landlord bosses make a stand against domestic violence

The chief executives of the registered social landlord organisations for Berwickshire, Eildon, Scottish Borders and Waverley have agreed to the pledge developed by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) in partnership with Women’s Aid and the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance.

The components of the pledge are to develop and implement a policy for staff and tenants, make information on domestic violence available on their websites and to appoint a domestic abuse champion at a senior level.

During October almost 300 colleagues from the four organisations were trained on the new policy.

Michelle Meldrum, chief executive of Berwickshire Housing Association, said: “Domestic abuse affects people from all walks of life. As responsible employers and organisations who provide front-line services to customers living in 12,000 homes across the Scottish Borders, we want to make sure that we are playing our part in addressing these issues.

“As housing providers we are ideally placed to spot the signs of domestic abuse and work with other agencies to support those impacted.”

Callum Chomczuk, national director of CIH Scotland, said: “I am delighted to see members of the Borders Housing Network refresh their commitment to the CIH Make a Stand pledge.

“I would encourage other housing providers to do the same and share their commitment and approach. As sector, if we work together to tackle domestic abuse we can make a huge difference.”

Photo L to R: Nile Istephan, Michelle Meldrum, Julia Mulloy, Fraser Kelly and Callum Chomczuk.