Peabody Trust is one of London’s oldest housing associations, and owns nearly 6000 homes in Islington. Peabody have been part of the Islington Giving board since 2020, developing a partnership approach to their community investment.
Peabody want to support their residents in the borough to have healthier and happier lives. Their long-standing partnership with Islington Giving focuses on creating opportunities for residents to have more social connections with their neighbours and take an active role locally. This has included developing the Good Neighbours Scheme in partnership with Help on Your Doorstep to address increasing social isolation, and the Make it Happen Fund, which offers small grants to bring joyful community projects to life.
Good Neighbours Scheme
Local research, such as that published in Distant Neighbours: poverty and inequality in Islington (2013) showed that many Islington residents spend day-to-day life in a small geographical area. Rising costs of living, unemployment, precarious employment, changes to social security, debt, and problems with accessing credit, have all intensified poverty in Islington over the last two decades. Responding to this research, Peabody and Islington Giving funded a project run by our delivery partner Help on your Doorstep, to replicate a successful Good neighbour’s Scheme in Canonbury to neighbourhoods where Peabody owns housing in the borough.
Make it Happen
In 2021 we developed the Make it Happen fund in partnership with Peabody. With joint funding from other local housing associations – The Hyde Group, Southern Housing, Clarion Futures and Newlon Housing Trust – the fund offers grants of up to £500 to support local people with ideas that contribute towards a healthier, happier, and more connected community. Now in its second year, the programme has helped to bring a wide ranges of inspiring ideas to life, kickstarting community action and development – and bringing joy to our community in the process.
“Their professional approach, deep-rooted local knowledge and connections with residents and trusted name has increased the number of people we can reach.” ~ Stephen Burns,Executive Director, Peabody
