ForHousing transforms communication with residents, all whilst saving significant cost and time.

ForHousing owns and manages over 19,000 homes across the North West, predominantly social housing located in Salford, Knowsley and Oldham. Of these homes, more than 800 are within supported housing schemes, where maintaining strong communication, resident safety and responsive service delivery is especially important. Extra Care and Supported Housing Manager, Kelly Scapens, explains that ForHousing’s approach is built around listening to residents and responding quickly and effectively to their needs, ensuring homes are safe, well-maintained and offer accessible services.

The Challenge

ForHousing’s resident-focused model relies on regular, meaningful contact with tenants, alongside daily property checks and clear communication to ensure people feel informed, supported and confident in accessing services. This includes sharing service updates, safety messages and creating simple ways for residents to report issues or provide feedback.

Historically, many of these interactions were time-consuming and relied on manual processes, such as phone calls, paper-based communication and in-person visits. As the organisation grew, ForHousing recognised the need for a more efficient and consistent way to manage communication and service requests across multiple schemes, without losing the personal touch that residents value.

How did Alertacall help?

In 2020, Alertacall installed its Housing Proactive® service across more than 140 supported accommodation units in Oldham. Following the success of this, ForHousing expanded the service to supported housing schemes in Salford in September 2024, with Knowsley following in 2025. They now have over 800 customers on the service.

Before installation, Alertacall worked closely with ForHousing to ensure residents felt confident using the touchscreen. This included two months of on-site demonstrations, hands-on support and opportunities for residents to ask questions and understand how Housing Proactive® would fit into their daily routines.

Since installation, engagement has been consistently high. Kelly says that more than 70% of residents now regularly use the touchscreen, not only to check in via OKEachDay®, but also to communicate directly with ForHousing, report repairs and take part in surveys.

The messaging functionality has transformed how ForHousing communicates with residents. Staff can now send messages instantly to individuals or entire schemes, ensuring residents receive important information at the right time. This includes updates on planned works, reminders about appointments with housing staff, cold weather alerts, and warnings about bogus callers in the area.

“Being able to message everyone at the same time has been hugely beneficial. It means residents are better informed, issues are prevented before they escalate, and we no longer rely on printing and hand-delivering letters, which saves a significant amount of time and cost.” comments Kelly Scapens, Extra Care and Supported Housing Manager, ForHousing

Repairs reporting through the touchscreen has also improved customer service. Residents can log issues in a way that suits them, whether that’s typing a message, requesting a call back or leaving a voice note, without needing to navigate phone queues or wait for office hours. This has led to clearer information being captured at the first point of contact, faster triage of repairs and fewer follow-up calls for staff.

Before Housing Proactive® was installed, staff carried out daily property checks by manually contacting residents. This process could take up to three hours each day and only operated Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays.

“Installing Housing Proactive® has had a really positive impact for both our staff and residents. It allows us to manage occupancy levels more effectively while supporting tenants to live independently and remain safe and secure in their homes. We can interact with residents in real time, improve how repairs and issues are reported, and significantly reduce the workload for our staff, delivering efficiencies, freeing up valuable time and resources. Alertacall has been fantastic to work with throughout. They share a very similar ethos to ForHousing and genuinely put people first in everything they do, supporting independence while ensuring the right service is always in place.” commented Kelly.

Click here to read the full case study, including more quotes from ForHousing.

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