March 2024

March 18, 2024

Celebrating Neurodiversity in 2024

This week, from the 18th to the 24th March, is Neurodiversity Week.

Conversations about diversity and inclusion are increasingly including neurodiversity and this week aims to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about, and celebrate, neurological differences, as part of the infinite variety of ways to be human. How familiar are you with the concept?

The term is a broad one, created in 1998 by Judy Singer, and tends to include varied ways of thinking or experiencing the world such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Autism, ADHD and Tourettes Syndrome. The Neurodoversity Week Resource Hub is packed with information collated from across the internet to help us all understand more about Neurodiversity.

The Week, and the campaign, want to help us all recognise and celebrate those who think differently. As with so many campaigns by and for those of us who stand outside the mainstream, they state that the main problems neurodivergent people face frequently come from systemic and structural issues, inside systems designed by and for the majority.

There are lots of events running throughout the week, starting with an Introduction to Neurodiversity on Monday 18th and including Neurodiversity for HR Professionals, and Good Practice for Neurodiversity Professionals.

Are you part of an organisation that wants to increase your support for neurodivergent people? Check out the full calendar at a glance in a handy table here and sign up through the individual event links below the table.

March 12, 2024

Students and investor-supporters come together to secure sustainable and affordable student housing in Birmingham

support Featured, Financing Co-operative Housing, Lending

A multi-stakeholder co-operative has secured a financial package enabling the purchase of a property that will provide affordable tenancies and access to democratically owned accommodation for students in the Birmingham area.

Founded in March 2018, Student Co-operative Homes (SCH) aims to bring together existing and start up student housing co-operatives across the UK and build a portfolio of properties for lease to local self-managing student housing co-ops.

The board is made up of individuals nominated by ‘user members’ – frequently current student residents – along with ‘investor supporter’ members, these are generally individuals with years of experience and expertise in the co-operative sector or established Co-operatives such the Heart of England and Midcounties Retail Co-operatives who bring their experience and capital in support of Student Housing Co-operatives.

Securing loans from both Co-operative & Community Finance and Co-op Loan Fund has enabled Student Co-operative Homes to purchase the property currently resided in by the Birmingham Student Housing Co-operative set up in 2014. The acquisition has helped lay the future roadmap for the property and the local co-operative, enabling a collective long-term vision with renovations, retrofit and a green agenda alongside the existing positive impact for students’ wellbeing of security in the property, affordable rents, democratic control and a purposeful student community.

Consisting of nine bedrooms, the detached two-storey house is located close by to the University of Birmingham (just outside the main student population area of Selly Oak) with excellent transport links to the city centre. Living in the housing co-operative while studying enables tenants to come together, pool resources and collaborate for mutual benefit with the view to passing on the accommodation to other students once they leave. Fostering a sense of autonomy among the students also gives time and opportunity to develop their skills and build local connections in the wider community.

Scott Jennings, Chair of Student Co-op Homes said, “We are massively grateful to both lenders for stepping in and supporting this acquisition at such an important time. This enables us as Multi-Stakeholder Co-op and the local Student Housing Co-operative to step forward together and to enact our plans for the future of the property that are essential to enable affordable student housing into the future that addresses and challenges a fundamentally broken student housing market.”

As a multi-stakeholder co-operative with members (with and without property) in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham, Manchester, Belfast and Bristol and in Cork (Republic of Ireland); the co-operative is keen to see the development of more student housing co-ops across the UK and beyond, acting as a platform for promoting co-operative values and development particularly amongst young people.

Kevin Lloyd-Evans, Lending and Relationship Manager at Co-operative & Community Finance said: “We are delighted to be able to support Student Co-operative Homes Limited purchase this property. Student Housing Co-operatives are an excellent initiative which can help build the co-operative sector of the future. They are attracting a new generation of co-operative members which is good to see.”

For more information about Student Co-operative Homes, you can visit their website.

March 8, 2024

Happy International Women’s Day!

Becky John Featured, ICOF50, News

Today is International Women’s Day. The UN theme this year is Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress and that’s one we can really get behind.

As a social investor, we see – daily – the power of investment to drive real change, at a local and national scale. We know that only when all members of a community are involved in driving change, can change come for all.

The UN suggests five key areas for change under the ‘Invest in Women’ header. We will be incorporating these ideas into our Equalities work and planning.

Investing in women, a human rights issue: Time is running out. An additional $360 billion is needed per year to achieve gender equality. Closing gender gaps in employment could boost GDP per capita by 20 per cent.
Ending poverty: Due to the COVID pandemic and conflicts, 75 million more people have fallen into severe poverty since 2020. Immediate action is crucial to prevent over 342 million women and girls living in poverty by 2030.
Implementing gender-responsive financing: Conflicts and rising prices may lead 75% of countries to cut public spending by 2025, negatively impacting women and their essential services. In the UK right now we are seeing cash strapped local councils cut funding to women’s services.
Shifting to a green economy and care society: The current economic system disproportionately affects women. Advocates propose a shift to a green economy and care society to amplify women’s voices. Closing gaps in care and expanding services with decent jobs could spark almost 300 million jobs by 2035.
Supporting feminist change-makers: Despite leading efforts, feminist organisations receive only 0.13% of official development assistance.

Read more about the UN International Women’s Day here, meet 18 women who changed the world here, and meet some of the incredible women who have been part of our story over the last fifty years – Dame Pauline Green, Theodora Hadjimichael, Margaret Trotter, Jo White, our own Anne Wilks and our current Board Members Nankunda, Jaye, Dominica, Maggie and Ruth.