Housing Justice News Release 1 April 2003
For immediate release
New housing charity Housing Justice appoints first Chief Executive and Chair
Housing Justice, the new Christian Housing Charity, comes in to being today, Tuesday 1 April 2003.
To coincide with this new start, the charity has announced that its first Chief Executive will be Robina Rafferty, one of the best known figures in the housing world.
Robina is the previous Director of the Catholic Housing Aid Society and currently serves as Clerk to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Homelessness and Housing Need. She was a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Urban Priority Areas which produced the report Faith in the City in 1985. She has served on numerous Church and housing bodies over the years and was awarded the Cross of St Augustine by the Most Revd Dr George Carey in 2002.
At the same time Housing Justice has announced that its first chair will be the Rt Revd David Walker.
Bishop David is the Bishop of Dudley in the Church of England Diocese of Worcester, having previously served as a clergyman in Yorkshire. He is a former member of the National Housing Federation Executive Board and has served on various government and voluntary sector groups across the fields of housing and regeneration.
Commenting on the appointment of the new CEO, Bishop David said, “I am delighted that Robina has been appointed to be our first Chief Executive. She brings an unparalleled combination of experience in both the Housing and Church sectors. In the face of a stiff field of competition, she was our unanimous choice for this post. Her appointment will give confidence to the many partners with whom Housing Justice will work towards the eradication of homelessness and housing need.”
Notes for editors
1. Housing Justice has been formed from the merger of the Churches National Housing Coalition and the Catholic Housing Aid Society. This merger (covered in an earlier press release) creates a united voice for the Christian community in campaigning, service delivery, education, policy work and housing advice. A formal launch of the new body, by national church leaders, will take place in the autumn.
2. Further details of Robina Rafferty and David Walker can be found in Who’s Who.
3. CHAS has been campaigning to prevent homelessness for over 40 years. It has a network of ten housing advice centres in England, providing professional advice and assistance to people in housing need. Its Policy and Education team works with church and community groups, providing a range of materials to help them both to respond practically to their local housing issues and to campaign at local and national level.
4. CNHC came into being at the start of the 1990s, as a way of bringing together local and other groups across a wide geographical and denominational range. As well as campaigning it promotes and develops a range of models by which local churches can engage with Housing Issues. Present examples include MegaBite (a food token scheme operating in several towns and cities) and Regenerate (bringing together tenants and local activists from different parts of the country). Partners include The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and the Housing Corporation. Its director was Brendan Bowles.
Contact
Luke Evans 020 7723 7273
email media@housingjustice.org.uk