Who are we?

Tai Hafan is a charitable housing association providing housing and support services to women with a variety of needs. We are the only housing association in Britain to offer a person-centred approach to the provision of housing and support services to women, by women.
We offer a holistic approach to the provision of support to women with a wide range of needs, often complex or multiple needs – including women who have experienced physical, sexual or psychological abuse; women recovering their mental health; ex-offenders; substance misusers; care leavers.
Our structured support package enables women and their children to develop the skills and confidence needed to assist with their own recovery and our Project Co-ordinators ensure that all relevant agencies are included in the package of support provided to each tenant.
All staff work from a common value base, are trained in counselling and active listening and have skills, experience and knowledge in a wide variety of areas.

Values statement
Our Purpose

Tai Hafan works with women of all ages and their children (if any), who require housing with support, to assist them in meeting their needs and to enable them to develop the necessary independence to take control over their own lives.

Our Beliefs

We believe that all people should be treated equally and with respect. We believe that each individual is unique and special and deserves to be nurtured in a way which helps them to grow.
We believe that all women and children have the right to expect to be treated fairly and in a non-abusive manner and to be allowed to develop their full potential and we will deliver our service in a holistic way to ensure this.
We believe that everyone has the right to a safe home from which to enjoy their everyday life.
We believe that people should have the opportunities to take control over their own lives and to acknowledge their responsibilities to others.

We believe that the following is necessary
to provide a supportive service to others:

• acceptance and valuing of the individual
• empathy and objectivity
• hard work and commitment
• respect and valuing of staff
• good management
• adequate finance and resources
• being non-judgemental
• encouragement to achieve their full potential

Our Aims

To fulfil our purpose we will:

• provide a holistic housing and support service to all tenants
• provide quality practical, emotional and additional support services so that women can develop independence and gain more control over their lives and their children can be nurtured to develop their full potential
• provide the highest standard of housing which ensures that tenants are safe and free from harm
• develop partnerships to identify and provide for the needs of all women who are vulnerable in a way which respects their dignity
• ensure that our employment practices are of a high standard in order to attract, recruit and train staff of the highest calibre
• manage our resources in a way which will ensure that the services we provide are of good quality and provide value for money
• promote equality of opportunity in all areas of our work and service
• represent the rights, needs and aspirations of women and their children who require housing and support and promote the ways in which these can be met

Our Approach

Tai Hafan works with women of all ages and their children (if any), to help them identify what they need and want. We involve the people who use our services in the planning and the running of our schemes and projects. We encourage and enable staff and service users to actively participate with the Management Committee in the decision-making processes of the Association.
We strive to ensure the best quality in all of our services and will continue to monitor and review all areas of our work so that they will constantly improve. We welcome comments, complaints or suggestions as to how things could be further improved.
These are our beliefs, aims and purpose. Everyone who works for Tai Hafan, whether paid or unpaid, strives to put them into practice.

History

Fifteen years ago Tai Hafan had no properties, no tenants, no staff and next to no money in the bank. What it did have was a group of women with vision and commitment who saw a need for longer term and more intensive support for women who had experienced domestic abuse - and had the will to meet that need.
In partnership with the Welsh Office, the Housing Corporation in Wales and Welsh Women’s Aid they worked to bring about the birth of a unique specialist housing organisation.
In 1989 Tai Hafan was the last independent housing association to be registered in Wales and had to gain private finance from the start when it was turned down for a full development grant. On the positive side, we were able to appoint Support Workers from the very beginning with the advent of Special Needs Management Allowance in 1990.
In the early 1990s, we widened our remit to include the needs of all women who are vulnerable. This came as a result of an increasing recognition that many of the women we were supporting had multiple needs and that this complexity ought to be recognised.
Our philosophy of continuous improvement has brought a sharper focus to the service we provide to tenants and on creating effective local networks and relationships. To ensure long-term financial viability we have a lean management structure, and have appointed a Fundraiser to assist in accessing funds from non-statutory sources.
Since 1995, we have worked to focus also on the needs of children and young people – in the first place by developing projects to address the needs of young women leaving care and those who are vulnerable, in particular 16 and 17 year olds. We have also appointed Children’s Services Co-ordinators to work alongside our support staff (who are known as Project Co-ordinators) to address the specific needs of the children and young people in our cluster and floating support schemes.
The priority we have given to involving our tenants and service users in the organisation, and their willingness and enthusiasm to participate means that Tai Hafan is well prepared to take forward Best Value and continue our focus on quality and customer service.