Scaffolding – Seamus Heaney

Masons, when they start upon a building,
Are careful to test out the scaffolding;
Make sure that planks won’t slip at busy points,
Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.
And yet all this comes down when the job’s done,
Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.

Introduction

This Corporate Plan for Innisfree Housing Association is designed to capture the essence of what we are trying to achieve and why.

We are an organisation with a very secure financial base, highly satisfied tenants, a strong and ambitious Board, with a skilled staff team and a good reputation. On our core landlord services, we perform to a very high standard and always aim to make it “personal”; we are proud of the feedback our tenants give us.

Our ambition is that our core offer of high quality, affordable homes is complemented by our services and support for the communities we serve, so that they can live healthy and fulfilling lives –and that we keep looking for ways to do more of this, the work that we were originally set up to do.

Heaney’s poetry, used here, is not just describing the physical creation of a building –it’s actually describing the construction of a strong relationship. One that stands “…sure and solid…” when the job is done.

About

Innisfree’s story started in 1985 when the unmet housing needs of the Irish communities in London prompted some activists to set up a new housing association.

We are an Irish roots organisation; nearly 50% of our tenants have an Irish background, though when we let our homes, we are open to the diverse community of Londoners in need of genuinely affordable housing.

Our Irish roots help us to understand some of the challenges of the migrant experience –the experience of someone having to leave their homeland and coming to London for a new life.

Our future is in continuing to serve the Irish in London in need, whilst welcoming and speaking up with residents with other backgrounds and life experiences.