Supporting the delivery of its new Thriving Communities Strategy, leading social housing provider and housebuilder Orbit has appointed Annie Cairns as a Children, Young People and Families Lead.
This brand-new role for Orbit will be responsible for involving families, schools and other community partners in implementing a new Children, Young People and Families plan that ensures that parents, carers and children receive the right support via Orbit’s Better Days programme.
The Better Days programme, which is open to all Orbit customers, offers free support on a range of issues including managing finances, employment and skills, mental health and general wellbeing.
Annie, who previously worked with a local authority on a project to support young care leavers, said: “Child and young adulthood is such a formative time and the support provided and actions taken at this stage in a child’s life can have profound impact on their future. Led by families, I want to ensure that people get the support they need and are empowered to be resilient to both expected and unexpected life events and changes in circumstances. I’m really excited to be joining an organisation that wants the customer to be at the heart of its operations and to be leading on this important new strategy that will help ensure that families can lead happy and fulfilled lives.”
The creation of the Children, Young People, and Families Lead role is part of Orbit’s new Thriving Communities Strategy, which launched earlier this year and aims to ensure that Orbit creates maximum social value within the communities in which it operates.
Last year, more than 5,000 Orbit customers, alongside a cohort of non-Orbit customers living in and around Orbit communities, accessed its Better Days services. The strategy aims to build on this success and allow for increased participation in the design and co-production of the Better Days provision, involving communities and customers in determining and acting on local priorities.