Chief Executive's Report

Equality is still elusive

Clare Winstanley - Chief Executive

As we move towards our 25th year of existence it is worth reflecting on our mission and raison d’etre. Innisfree was formed to address the housing and support needs of the Irish community. Like many other BME communities, the Irish have suffered from discrimination and inequality in terms of access and provision of services.

At Innisfree we remain firmly committed to housing people in need and welcome the many tenants from new and emerging communities who have become part of Innisfree. We are also delighted to be working with Inquilab and refugee community organisations on a unique Housing Corporation funded project, Integrated in Brent,. Through this we intend to gain a better knowledge and understanding of the needs of refugees which we can share with other mainstream providers, and to help the refugees navigate the maze of housing policies and procedures.

While the main pressures are for more, larger family homes, the needs within the Irish community are for smaller dwellings. We continue to see vulnerable single people who desperately need the culturally sensitive support we are able to provide. With the disappearance of CARA into a group structure with Central & Cecil Housing Trust, the need for our services will become more acute. This sadly coincides with a break in our long-standing relationships with our referral agencies who are no longer allowed to refer clients directly to us but must direct them to a "single access route" for supported housing.

We deplore the short-sightedness of government agencies who seem to be throwing the baby out with the bath water. It is currently not fashionable to single out the needs of particular communities. Integration and cohesion are the politically correct words. We were therefore heartened to read the findings of that most enlightened judge, Lord Justice Moses, in the case of Southall Black Sisters and their funding battle with Ealing Council. He said "there is no dichotomy between funding specialist services and cohesion; equality is necessary for cohesion to be achieved."

Innisfree joins with our many colleagues who believe that the battle for equality still has to be fought.

Clare Winstanley
Chief Executive