Innisfree was formed in 1985 to meet the acute housing needs of homeless and inadequately housed Irish people living in London. In 1989 Innisfree registered with the Housing Corporation. The organisation started by managing a small number of short life properties located across a couple of London boroughs. Over the past 20 years we have gone through a period of steady growth. We are now a well-established and highly regarded social housing provider.

Innisfree now has over 500 permanent homes in ownership. As well as general needs housing, Innisfree provides a range of supported housing services to its customers including sheltered housing for Irish elders. We have a small development pipeline with very modest growth anticipated between 2009 and 2011.

The Board

The association is governed by a strong Board. Board and committee members come from a variety of backgrounds and offer an extensive range of skills and experience. Members are listed in Appendices 1 & 2. A full Governance Review was carried out by an independent consultant in 2007-8. A summary is available at Appendix 9.

Our Tenants

Tenants are encouraged to play an active role within the organisation. A number of tenant members sit on the Board or its sub committees. We are committed to ensuring that all approaches to tenant involvement are fully explored so that all of our tenants have the opportunity to contribute in the way they feel most appropriate. We regularly run focus groups, block meetings and other events to involve tenants in the way we run Innisfree.

The Staff

The staff team is Innisfree's key asset and resource. There is a very stable and experienced senior management team. (Appendix 3) Staff members are both committed and competent. They recognise the significance of being Irish and the importance of providing services in a culturally sensitive way. The staff structure chart in Appendix 4 sets out the positions within the organisation. Staff work closely together, across departmental boundaries, to meet the aims of the organisation. As an organisation, Innisfree places a great deal of emphasis on attention to detail and delivering high quality services in an efficient and effective manner.

Stakeholders

We consult regularly with our stakeholders. A survey carried out in 2008 demonstrated that most of them think we are doing a very good job. This is available on our website and a summary is attached at Appendix 7.

Friends of Innisfree

The Friends of Innisfree was set up to support and promote the work of the organisation. It has attracted a number of prominent people. The association receives vital help, support and encouragement from Friends of Innisfree. This enables the association to distribute at least £4000 a year in small grants for projects and to individuals in need.