Housing Rights is excited to announce its win at the CIH All-Ireland Awards, held on Friday evening. Our Housing and Domestic Abuse: An Immersive Training Course, created in partnership with North Down and Ards Women’s Aid, was honoured with the ‘Working in Partnership’ award.
The CIH All-Ireland Housing Awards recognise the creativity, passion and innovation within the housing sector across Ireland.
The ‘working in partnership’ category honours collaborations between organisations or groups that result in the best possible outcomes. This year’s award acknowledges the strength of the partnership between Housing Rights and North Down and Ards Women’s Aid.
The immersive training course, which was born out of the Community Solutions to Housing & Homelessness programme, organised and funded by The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, aims to develop innovative projects to help address homelessness.
The project brought together women with lived experience of domestic abuse, ESC Films, and the two organizations to create a powerful training tool for frontline housing and homelessness practitioners.
The course uses Virtual Reality (VR) technology to create empathy and provide deeper insights into the challenges faced by women affected by domestic abuse and homelessness. The goal is to foster better support and understanding for women who have experienced these difficult situations.
It was extra special that some of the women involved in the project were also able to join us for the awards.
Housing Rights Chief Executive Officer Kate McCauley commented on the strength of the partnership:
“Working with North Down & Ards Women’s Aid and the women connected to their services has been a very positive experience for our team. It is a partnership based on shared values, respect and empowering people most affected by the issue to create change.”
Emalyn Turkington, Chief Executive Officer of North Down and Ards Women’s Aid commented:
“Working in partnership with Housing Rights has been very rewarding, both for the women we work with and the North Down and Ards Women’s Aid team. It’s great when collaboration leads to positive outcomes, through empowering women who have experienced domestic abuse and raising awareness on homelessness and domestic abuse to frontline staff.”
Since launching in June 2024, the immersive training course has been delivered seven times, reaching 68 frontline staff members. An impressive 98% of participants reported feeling better informed and their skills had improved following the training, while 100% of the experts by experience involved in the project confirmed that their voices and experiences were reflected in the VR film and training program.
The award is a testament to the power of collaboration and its impact on improving lives.