They were homeless when they arrived in Sheffield and South Yorkshire Housing Association (SYHA) offered them a home. Mo recalls:
“I picked my bedroom, it was the one facing the garden. I started doing a paper round as a child and I got to know the area. It was a magical home and the years went so fast. I was always outdoors playing and I got into music. I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a footballer. All of these avenues opened up because of South Yorkshire Housing Association.”
Mo remains a customer with SYHA and now has his own home, and has added his own individual design touches.
“I’ve chosen a theme for my house. It’s based on New York Katz’s Deli, the Jewish cafe. My sister helped me, she does a lot of interior. It’s a nice little nest. My favourite part of the house is the living room, it’s just a little treasure of mine. I feel privileged, I feel valued.”
Mo attended SYHA’s ‘Meet the Housing Ombudsman’ event this year [2024] and spoke passionately about the support he’s received from South Yorkshire Housing Association as a tenant over the years. Mo was interested to learn more about our Customer Scrutiny Panel and is in the process of becoming a member. So far, Mo has used his experience to input at an engagement session for our new Customer Service Standards and is developing his IT skills a laptop lent by SYHA. When he does become a member of the panel he will have access to additional training sessions.
“Mo is very engaged and feels very passionately about his local community,” says Jo Szurko, Customer Advisor – Experience at SYHA, “I know he values the support he has received from SYHA.”
Mo also attended SYHA’s Refugee Week event, where he was one of five speakers talking about his lived experience of seeking sanctuary and how local services have supported him to settle in his home.
Mo summarised the support he’s received by saying, “You’ve given me a roof, security, safety, knowledge, wellbeing – you’ve given me everything.”
SYHA and Refugee Week
Gaynor Marsters, Housing Officer (Lettings) at South Yorkshire Housing Association also spoke at the Refugee Week event about the support provided for refugees:
“Since 2020 we have offered and accommodated over 20 refugee families between Sheffield and Doncaster Refugee Resettlement Teams – UKRS. Families from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Syria have been welcomed into SYHA homes.
“We hold the same values as the Refugee Council, and recognise that many families do not have safe ways to claim asylum in the UK. We believe all refugees escaping war and persecution deserve fair and humane treatment.
“Working closely with Sheffield and Doncaster Resettlement teams, we identified homes we could use to help them set up for families in need. We met with the council to check the property was suitable and then they furnished the property and set up support services. We used interpretation services where necessary at sign up, so our new customers understood their responsibilities and know we are here to help them settle into their new tenancy and continue their journey with SYHA.
The nicest part of my job is handing over those keys to someone who is truly happy to have a new home.”
SYHA working in partnership
ASSIST is a local charity that supports people who are seeking sanctuary and who have been refused asylum. SYHA have worked with ASSIST by offering our void properties to provide safe, free, temporary homes to people settling in Sheffield.
SYHA have also worked in partnership with Home from Home Hallam, who are a group of individuals from parishes within the Catholic Diocese of Hallam, who came together to support asylum seekers moving to Sheffield, as part of the government Community Sponsorship scheme. SYHA worked with Home from Home Hallam to provide housing support, including identifying a suitable property for a family, ensuring the property was in a good lettable condition and supporting them to navigate tenancy agreements and other legal requirements. Home from Home Hallam supported the family to furnish their home, enrol their children at school and worked with other relevant services to help the family settle in Sheffield.
Geraldine, the lead volunteer from Home from Home Hallam who worked with SYHA on the scheme said, “They love the house and the children are very happy too. The father has plans to grow vegetables and the kids love the local park.”
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