Tackling the stigma faced by social housing tenants

Wednesday 26 February 2025 – 6.30pm, online

Stop Social Housing Stigma came into being in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy. Throughout the post Grenfell Ministerial tenant roadshows that took place, tenants repeatedly raised stigma as their number one priority. This led to stigma being referred to in the subsequent social housing Green Paper, but it did not lead to action to tackle stigma in the White Paper and the issue remained unaddressed under the last Government. With several MPs elected last year having grown up or lived in social housing, the issue of social housing stigma has risen up the agenda.

The Stop Social Housing Stigma (SSHS) campaign – a tenant led body – has worked with academics and others on a Tackling Stigma Journey Planner – aimed at helping tenants, landlords and other work together to tackle stigma. A set of pilots will lead to final publication in Spring 2025.

This session will discuss SSHS’s work with a presentation given by Nigel Bowness and Nic Bliss.

Nigel Bowness is an SSHS Committee member.  He served for over ten years as a Non-Executive Director and Trustee of various social purpose organisations including as a former resident board member of a large social housing landlord in London.  He also served as Trustee of TAROE Trust, a national tenants’ charity that championed the rights and empowerment of tenants nationally.

Nic Bliss is SSHS’s Campaign Director.  As a former social housing tenant for over 30 years in a Birmingham housing co-op Nic was a volunteer and subsequently Policy Director of the Confederation of Co-operative Housing until 2022.  He also played a leading role in setting up the National Tenant Voice in 2008 and the post-Grenfell A Voice for Tenants and has worked numerous tenants and landlords over many years.

Please click below to register for the event:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/gOiXXjhCTOKLzfesGTO37g