The document is a magazine from Sentinel Housing Association called "Community Spirit". It provides updates on various topics including: Sentinel embracing modern communication methods and moving to bi-monthly email newsletters; awards Sentinel has won for being a good employer and for health and safety; the rollout of Universal Credit; and ways for residents to access the internet for free at Sentinel's offices. It also advertises various Sentinel programs and services like home contents insurance, parking facilities, and a program called STEP to help residents find employment.

1. www.sentinelha.org.uk 1
Community
Summer2015
Homes for
Britain Campaign
DON’T MISS THIS
Get connected
with netpoint
Meet the Grand
Designers of
the future
Betsy the bus
makes Sentinel stop
p14
p7
p11
Last chanceto enter ourGardeningcompetition
See p23
The Sentinel
magazine with
the community
at heart

2. 2 Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart
Sentinel is embracing the modern age, so this
is the last 24 page magazine to be delivered
to your door.
In future you’ll be sent a Community Spirit
bi-monthly email with news, competitions and
updates. You’ll also be able to find it online at
www.sentinelha.org.uk/communityspirit.
If you don’t have access to the internet you can drop
in and use netpoint, for free, in Sentinel’s reception
(see page 7). Or you can request a paper copy by
calling the First Contact Team on 0800 195 5515.
This edition is packed full of articles – from well
deserved health and safety and employers awards
(see page 3) and a prestigious regeneration award for
Popley Islands (see page 4) to updates on Universal
Credit on page, feedback from customer satisfaction
surveys on page 3. And there’s the popular regular
competitions on pages 21 and 22.
Hurry, applications for an opportunity for a mini
makeover are now open – see page 9 to find out if
you’re eligible. There are free family activities going
on this summer at New Horizons (see page 13).
And applications are welcome for a new
community grant scheme on page 12.
A fabulous good news story on page 18 shows how,
by initially being involved with a repairs focus group,
Marcia Burnett opened the doors to further resident
involvement, training and finally a full time job as
Sentinel’s Customer Engagement Officer. Open the
doors and you too could get involved! And you can
read all about Betsy the Bus and her Sentinel stop,
as part of the Homes for Britain campaign,
on pages 14 and 15.
A final word. Heartfelt thanks go to all the residents
involved in shaping Community Spirit. From the first
newsletter focus group, which was launched in 2008,
to the present day – whether it’s been sending in
letters, articles, interviews, opening the door of your
home to welcome Community Spirit across your
threshold, ideas for the magazine, completing
surveys, entering the competitions or for being
part of the editorial panel.
Please do continue to send in ideas for articles about
what’s going on in your area. And don’t forget to
enter the competitions too. Sentinel’s communications
team would love to hear from you.
Farewell.
Juliet Annesley-Gamester (customer)
and the Spirit editorial panel
Vibrant summer greetings!
News 3
Get connected 7
Home front 8
Making a difference 10
Homes for Britain 14
New developments 16
A day in the life 17
Marcia’s Sentinel story 18
Teen Spirit 19
Let’s get quizzical 22
Gardening competition 23
Spring quiz answers 24www.sentinelha.org.uk 1
Community
Summer2015
Homes for
Britain Campaign
DON’T MISS THIS
Get connected
with netpoint
Meet the Grand
Designers of
the future
Betsy the bus
makes Sentinel stop
p14
p7
p11
Last chance
to enter our
Gardening
competition
See p23
The Sentinel
magazine with
the community
at heart
CONTENTS Community Spirit : Spring 2015
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Guest editor

3. www.sentinelha.org.uk 3
News
In May our Popley Islands development won
the Regeneration category for the South East
region at the annual Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards.
The £40m regeneration of Popley Islands has given
this area of Basingstoke a new lease of life. It’s now
a vibrant 242-home estate with new leisure and
recreational facilities and shops.
Training time
From time to time, our phone lines will be opening
at 10am because our First Contact Team and repairs
coordinators will be in training.
This ongoing training will help us to provide
a better customer experience for you.
Popley Islands scoops regeneration prize
As the regional winners we’ll now go forward to the
national RICS Awards
Grand Final in
October. We’ll then
compete against the
winners from the
other 11 regions for
the ultimate accolade
– Project of the Year.
Back in September last year an independent
company, the Leadership Factor, took over our
customer satisfaction surveys. You may have
already had a call from them asking for feedback
on our behalf. Thanks to everyone who’s already
taken the time to be surveyed, we now have a
better idea of what we do well and where we
need to improve.
So far, you’ve told us that:
• We need to get better at keeping in
touch with you
• You’re more satisfied when your call is dealt
with by the first person who answers
At your service
As a result we’ll be focusing on communication
over the coming months – making sure we always
keep you updated and get back to you when we
say we will. And we’ve trained our call handlers to
be able to deal with a wider range of topics, so
your call always gets answered by a specialist
member of the team. They’ll do everything they
can to help you, only passing you to someone else
or arranging a call back if absolutely necessary.
We want to offer the best customer service
we can, so your feedback is really important
to us. Thanks for helping us to keep making
a difference.
Our out of hours support, Medvivo, will be taking
your calls until 10am on these days. But please only
report emergency repairs during this time.
Our phone lines will be opening at 10am on:
• Wednesday 29 July 2015
• Wednesday 30 September 2015
• Wednesday 28 October 2015
• Wednesday 25 November 2015
Normally our phone lines are open on
weekdays 8am – 5.30pm (4.30pm on Fridays).

4. 4 Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart
News
April 2015 saw us achieve Gold standard, not
once but twice in a matter of weeks!
At the beginning of the month, we were recognised
as being a fantastic employer by being awarded the
Investors in People Gold Standard. And this was
followed by winning Gold in the prestigious RoSPA
Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2015.
Formed in 1991, Investors in People was set up by
the UK Government to help organisations get the
best from their people. Investors in People champion
best practice in people management and
organisations that demonstrate the Investors in
People Standard achieve the accreditation through
a rigorous and objective assessment process.
The accreditation is recognised across the world
as a mark of excellence. It’s held by over 15,000
organisations across 75 countries, but just 7% of
the organisations who hold Investors in People
have reached Gold Standard.
To reach Gold Standard, we had to attain a
minimum of 126 out of 157 indicators. These
covered all areas of the business from strategy,
effective leadership and management to learning
and development, staff engagement, reward and
recognition and performance measurement. We
actually achieved a brilliant total of 138 indicators.
The assessors were particularly impressed with
our organisational planning, cross departmental
communication and the way we measure how
we make a difference.
Cathryn Gee, our head of organisational
development, said, “We’re immensely proud to have
achieved the Investors in People Gold Standard.
Sentinel people are passionate, dedicated and hard
Double Gold success
working. They’re the heart of our organisation and
truly live our values. Our continued success is a direct
result of their combined talents.”
Our 2nd Gold award of the month was achieved in
the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
(RoSPA) annual awards.
RoSPA’s mission is to save lives and reduce injuries
amongst people of all ages and in all stages of life.
The RoSPA Awards, which date back 59 years,
recognise commitment to continuous improvement
in accident and ill health prevention at work.
Alison Patrick, our health and safety advisor, said,
“Keeping our staff and customers safe is our highest
priority. So achieving this sought after accolade
recognises the part everyone in the organisation
plays in making sure our standards are as high as
they can be.”
We were presented with our award at a ceremony in
London on 16 June.

5. www.sentinelha.org.uk
News
5
No more
0300number
You don’t have to call us on different
numbers, from your landline or mobile,
anymore to get cheap rates. Our 0800
number is now FREE from mobiles as
well as landlines.
So whatever you’re calling us from,
there’s just one number to remember
– 0800 195 5515
Universal Credit has now been launched in 2 areas where
we have homes. It came to Eastleigh in May and has just
been introduced in Newbury.
Universal Credit is being rolled out around the country in
stages. For most of the areas where we have homes, we
expect Universal Credit to be in place by spring 2016.
Whether you can claim depends on where you live and your
personal circumstances. If you don’t live in a qualifying area
or if you’re not eligible to claim Universal Credit, you may
be able to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance or other benefits.
If you’ve got any questions about Universal Credit
call the helpline on 0345 600 0723 or
check out the Government’s website at
www.gov.uk/universal-credit.
Universal Credit
gets the go aheadWe’ve started using text messages
as a way of contacting you about
your rent account, instead of only
sending out letters. So, if you get a
text message about your rent account
saying it’s from us – don’t worry.
It really is.
We won’t ever ask you to text us any
personal information or bank/credit
card details.
If you’re unsure about any text
messages you receive from us give
us a call on 0800 195 5515. Or email
customer@sentinelha.org.uk.
We’re aiming to extend our
text messaging service over the
coming months.
Let’s talk about text

6. News
In the spring edition of Spirit magazine we
mentioned that we’re going to stop printing
the 24 page magazine in favour of producing
an online version.
It costs just under £40k to design, print and post the
hard copy magazine. So, instead we’ll be delivering
it straight to your inbox. All we need is your current
email address and you’ll get an electronic version
every other month starting from September. If you
want to check that we’ve got your email address
please email customer@sentinelha.org.uk with your
full name and home address so we can check our
records are up to date.
Spirit goes online
Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart6
And if you’re not
online you can pop
into our office and use
netpoint or give us a
call on 0800 195 5515
and ask for a paper copy.
In the meantime, don’t forget that you can keep up
with us on social media. You can like our Facebook
page and/or follow us on Twitter.
www.facebook.com/SentinelHA
www.twitter.com/SentinelHA
From Monday 3 August, you won’t be able to pay
your rent by cash at our offices anymore.
But there are loads of other ways to pay instead.
You can set up a Direct Debit. This is the easiest
way to pay. Simply download a form from our
website, fill it in and send it back to us. Then we’ll
do the rest.
There a several ways you can pay using an
allpay card.
How to get an allpay card
If you haven’t already got an allpay card, you
can order one by calling our First Contact Team
on 0800 195 5515. Or you can email
customer@sentinelha.org.uk .
Remember – it’s not a top up card. You’ll need
a debit card to use this service (not a credit
card) and an email account to sign up.
These are the allpay payment options:
We’re cashing out
Pay online
It’s fast, it’s easy and it’s convenient. It’s also
highly secure so there’s no need to worry. Go to
the allpay website or download the app to your
smartphone or tablet.
Pay by phone
All you need is your allpay card and your debit
card. Call 0844 557 8321 to use the automated
service anytime day or night.
Pay through Facebook
If you’re using Facebook, on your pc or laptop,
you can pay on our page. Go www.facebook.
com/SentinelHA and click on the ‘Pay your
rent’ button.
Pay by cash
You can make cash payments at any Post Office
or anywhere showing the PayPoint or
PAYzone symbol.
If you’d like to know more go to
www.sentinelha.org.uk/rent.

7. www.sentinelha.org.uk 7
It’s open from 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday
and you and your family can either book a session
in advance or just drop in.
You can use netpoint to:
• find out what’s on locally
• stay in touch with loved ones on Twitter
or Facebook
• pay your rent or report a repair
• shop and save online
• look for jobs, training or leisure classes –
such as keep fit
• use HomeSwapper to look for a new home.
Our netpoint champions will be available to help
you get online between 10am – 3pm.
They can help you do things like set up a free
email account, find the information you need and
use our services. But our champions won’t fill out
online forms or recommend products or services,
such as the best energy supplier or which bank
account to choose.
You can book a session by dropping in at
reception or by calling our First Contact Team
on 0800 195 5515.
Get connected with netpoint
On Monday 20 April we launched netpoint. If you don’t have internet access at home, or on a
phone or tablet, you can get online for FREE at netpoint in the reception area of our offices at
Kingsclere Road in Basingstoke.
News
You could climb 296 steps in the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Or 334
steps to the top of Big Ben. Even 1710 steps up the Eiffel Tower.
But it takes just one step to get into work.
Our Support Towards Employment Programme (STEP) provides help
and support for getting a job. Maybe you want some interview
practice, or help with that mind-boggling CV. You’ll be
surprised what you can offer, let’s show your future
employer what that is!
You can drop into STEP at our offices in Basingstoke
every Thursday, from 10am-4pm. Take a STEP in a
new direction – go to www.sentinelha.org.uk/step.
STEP out from the crowd

8. 8 Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart
Home front
Peace
of mind
for less
than a cup
of coffee
Did you know that you can insure the contents of your
home for as little as £1.23 a fortnight?
My Home Contents Insurance covers your furniture, belongings
and other personal items in your home against theft, fire, vandalism,
burst pipes and other household risks.
Some of the benefits include:
• Flexible pay-as-you-go options (meaning you can stop
and start your cover whenever you like)
• No excess (you don’t pay the first part of the claim)
• Cover for lost or stolen keys, freezer contents, damage to internal
decorations, windows and sanitary fixtures (like toilets and
washbasins)
• All postcodes can be insured
• No special window or door locks needed
• Personal items such as iPhones and wheelchairs can also be insured.
To find out more or apply go to www.thistlemyhome.co.uk or
call 01628 586189.

9. www.sentinelha.org.uk 9
If you want to park your vehicle securely, near
the heart of Basingstoke town centre, we’ve got
garages and lockable spaces available to rent.
They’re in Soper Grove and Norden Close – just
minutes from Basingstoke Station and Festival Place.
Prices start at £75 a month for a lockable space
(just £2.67 per day) and £80 a month for a garage.
This is cheaper than parking at the train station.
Special offer for lockable spaces only – get £25
off if you pay upfront for the first 3 months!
You can apply online at www.sentinelha.org.uk/
garages or call us on 0800 195 5515.
Would you like to have 1 of the rooms
in your house decorated for FREE?
You may be eligible to have 1 of your rooms
spruced up on us if you live in Popley, Bramley
or Sherfield-on-Loddon. You’ll also need to live
in a home that’s over 5 years old and:
• be aged 70 or over and/or
• be registered disabled and
• not have anyone living with you that could
decorate for you and
• not owe us any money.
What will be decorated?
We’ll decorate 1 of your rooms – either your;
kitchen, bathroom, lounge or bedroom.
We’ll emulsion the walls, in your choice of 1 of 5
colours and paint the ceiling white.
Give your home
a mini makeover
If your room is currently wallpapered, we won’t be
able to re-paper it. But we may be able to paint it.
Once you’ve applied to us, we’ll come and have a
look at your home. Then we’ll let you know what
work we can do.
What next?
If you qualify to have a room in your home
decorated, get in touch with us as soon as
you can. Places are limited and will be offered
on a “first come – first served” basis.
You can apply online by going to
www.sentinelha.org.uk.
Or give us a call us on 0800 195 5515.
Parklife
Home front

10. 10 Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart
Simon Bridgen, our head of regeneration said,
“As a community focused organisation we work
very closely with all emergency services. We’ve been
working together with Hampshire Constabulary ever
since we had a break in at the site and were only too
happy to give them access to help train their dogs.”
Neil Bell, police dog instructor Hampshire
Constabulary added, “Using Chapel Hill gives us a
safe environment, similar to real life jobs that we get
called to in hundreds of places across the county.
The open space and unused buildings are perfect for
the dogs to search in and to train them to deal
with things they’ll find operationally.”
Once finished Chapel Hill will provide a mix of
affordable homes and homes for sale on the open
market. The iconic white building will be converted
into apartments and there’ll be a large
neighbourhood park.
For more information go to
www.sentinelha.org.uk/chapelhill.
Making a difference
Police dogs on trial
Our Chapel Hill site in Basingstoke recently hosted the search phase of the South East regional
police dog trials. The event saw 12 handlers and their dogs, from Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Hampshire
and Thames Valley police compete to win the title, and the chance to represent their region in the
national trials which were held in Scotland in May.

11. www.sentinelha.org.uk 11
In the spring we welcomed children from
schools in Eastleigh and Basingstoke to 2
of our developments.
In February the Year 3 children from The Crescent
Primary School paid a visit to our Sirocco Park
development in Eastleigh. And at the end of March
the Year 4 pupils from Marnel Community Junior
School took a trip around our New Horizons
development in Oakridge, Basingstoke.
The children from both schools were learning
about the building process and how a development
is designed and built, as part of their Grand
Designs projects.
Our development project manager, Nick Burgoyne,
said, ‘It was a real pleasure to show the children
from The Crescent Primary School around Sirocco
Park. They asked lots of great questions and were
really interested to learn about how the
development is being built. I hope their visit helped
with their school project and will inspire some of
them to be the architects, surveyors and builders
of the future.’
Mrs Silcox, Year 3 teacher at The Crescent Primary
School, said, ‘The visit gave the children the
opportunity to bring their learning to life and put it
into a real context. We all had a fantastic afternoon
and would like to thank everyone for an informative
and memorable experience.’
Making a difference
We meet the
Grand
Designers
of the future
Just before Easter, the Marnel Community Junior
School pupils designed and made models of their
own new build homes which they presented to
Mike Shepherd, our development and regeneration
director, at a special event.
Mike said, “The children from Marnel Community
Junior School worked really hard on their designs.
And I was particularly impressed at they way they’d
considered things like the floorplan, energy saving
and how to futureproof their new home designs.
These are challenges that we have to take into
account when we design and build our
developments.”
To find out more about our new homes go to
www.sentinelha.org.uk
Marnel Community
Junior School
The Crescent Primary School

12. 12 Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart
Making a difference
Let’s make it happen
It’s in the bag
Then read on.
Our Making it Happen fund offers financial help to
groups who need support to deliver activities in our
communities that’ll benefit our customers.
It has 3 key themes (social inclusion, financial
inclusion and digital inclusion) and your project
should fall into 1 or more of them. If you’re eligible
we could support you with a grant of up to £10,000.
You can apply for the fund twice a year.
The first round is open now, until 31 August.
And the second round opens on 2 October
and closes on 30 November.
To find out more and apply go to
www.sentinelha.org.uk/makingithappen
In May we collected over 3 sacks of old bras for
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance’s
Bag it up campaign.
The campaign aimed to collect as many bras as
possible to send to women in West Africa.
It’s a little known fact, but bras can be really hard
to get for many West African women. Not many
countries in the developing world have the facilities
to make bras, so this makes them ridiculously
expensive to buy.
The priority for West African women is to feed and
educate their children. So spending money on a bra
is often looked down upon. But not wearing a bra
can mean these women end up being attacked or
forced to work in the sex trafficking industry.
By donating an item of clothing we take for granted,
we hope to empower women in West Africa and
help them to change their lives through safe and
ethical employment.
Are you part of a charity, community group,
residents’ association or voluntary organisation
that needs funding to deliver a community
project in our region?

13. www.sentinelha.org.uk 13
Keeping the Air
Ambulance flying
Broadening Horizons
Saving lives
at lunchtime
We’re getting closer to reaching our fundraising
target of £5000 for our charity of the year,
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.
The sale of furniture from our ex-show homes,
an Easter raffle and cake sale, St George’s Day
dress down day and the proceeds from our Grand
National sweepstake have boosted our total to
over £4900.
And with more activities planned for the summer
we’re well on course to achieve our goal.
If you’d like to help keep the Air Ambulance
flying and saving lives go to
www.hiow-airambulance.org.uk. Or to make
a one off donation of £5 text Air5 to 70500.
As part of our regeneration of New Horizons,
we’ll be offering a range of FREE family activities
throughout the summer.
Running from Monday 27 July to Friday 28
August, the activities will include things like
drumming, arts and crafts, dance and tee-pee
building. And each week there’ll be a chance to
win a prize by entering our online photography
competition.
If you’d like to know more about what’s on
offer, you can register your interest online or
give us a call.
Places are limited and under 11s must be
accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The National Blood Service’s blood mobile has
been visiting our offices since January 2014.
And during that time we’ve donated a total
of 134 units of blood – that’s 67 litres!
Each blood donation can help as many as 3
people. If you’d like to help save a life by giving
blood go to www.blood.co.uk to find out
about sessions in your local area.
Making a difference

14. Homes for Britain
Betsy
the Bus
makes
Sentinel
stop
Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart14

15. www.sentinelha.org.uk 15
Betsy the Bus made a special stop at our
Chapel Hill development, on Thursday 12 March,
as part of the Homes for Britain roadshow.
The branded Routemaster bus started her journey
from Land’s End on Tuesday 17 February and reached
Westminster on Tuesday 17 March for
the Homes for Britain rally.
We held our roadshow event in support of
the Homes for Britain campaign, which brought
together the entire housing world to call for all
political parties to commit to end the housing
crisis within a generation.
The people that came along pledged their support
for the Homes for Britain campaign by signing bricks.
And Ashlie and Adam from our HomeTeam built t
hem into a wall. They were also treated to a special
performance from the topical, freestyle rapper
Chris Turner.
Mark Perry, our chief executive, said, “For too many
years not enough affordable homes have been built
to meet Britain’s housing need. By 2008, the number
of new homes being started had fallen to its lowest
peacetime level since 1924 – and things haven’t got
any better since then.
Last year there were 24,313 people on the housing
waiting list across our operational area. But only 790
new affordable homes were built. So if you divided
those homes between all the people on the waiting
list that would mean over 30 people squashing into
every home.
The average house price in the South East is now
almost £340,000 – that’s about 14 times the average
salary. And this is making it especially hard for young
people trying to get on to the housing ladder.
10 years ago 55.6% of 25-34 years old owned
a home, with a mortgage. That figure has now
dropped to just 33.7%. We believe everyone
deserves a home to call their own.”
You can learn more about the campaign at
www.homesforbritain.org.uk.
Homes for Britain

16. 16 Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart
Our developments at Dilly Lane in Hartley
Wintney and Sirocco Park in Eastleigh are
both almost complete.
Phase 1 of our Dilly Lane development, consisting
of 40 rented and 30 shared ownership homes, was
completed in 2013. Work on phase 2, which has 40
homes for rent and 22 for shared ownership, started
last year. So far, half of these have been handed over
to us, with the rest due to be finished by Christmas.
Our Sirocco Park development is almost complete.
So far we’ve delivered 58, out of 71, homes for rent
and 34, out of 38, homes for shared ownership. The
last few homes should be all done by August.
We’re helping to tackle the housing crisis and
boost the local economy by redeveloping an
empty office building in Basingstoke, along
with our partners FSL Interiors UK Ltd.
Dextra Court, which is close to Basingstoke town
centre, is being remodelled through the use of
‘Permitted Development Rights’ which means
unused commercial buildings can be converted
into residential homes without the need for
a full planning application.
Our development and regeneration director,
Mike Shepherd, said, ‘With the recent general
election, the housing crisis has become a very hot
topic. Research shows that over the next 20 years
there’ll be 781,000 new families in the South East
who’ll need homes. Current building rates indicate
that 400,000 of these will have nowhere to live.’
‘By redeveloping an existing building, we’re able to
get on site quickly and turn around the new homes.
The added benefit is that by using a local contractor,
whose tradespeople are all Basingstoke based, we’re
also helping to boost the local economy.’
The 56 apartments are expected to be completed by
October and will be made available for market rent.
Local coalition tackles the housing crisis
Delivering new homes
developing new communities
Thanks go to our development partners Barratt
David Wilson, who we’re working with at Dilly Lane
and Bellway Homes, who we’re working alongside
at Sirocco Park.
New developments
Dilly Lane
Sirocco Park

17. www.sentinelha.org.uk 17
When you phone us to report a repair, your call
is answered by one of our dedicated team of
repairs co-ordinators. They’re a vital part of our
HomeTeam, answering about 3,924 calls and
905 emails every month. We spoke to repairs
co-ordinator, Nicole King, about her day.
I spend the mornings answering the phones and
replying to customers’ emails. When calls come in,
we have a chat with the customer to find out what
the problem is. Once we know what work needs
to be done, we then give them a choice of dates
(up to 3 weeks in advance) when the repair can
be made to their home.
The type of calls we deal with are customers
reporting leaks, electrical faults or things like
showers not working. In bad weather we get
lots of calls reporting problems with damaged
fences and roofs.
In the afternoons I spend my time working on our
empty homes. That means making sure they have
valid safety certificates, scanning documents, liaising
with other organisations (such as British Gas), closing
down jobs and preparing our work schedules for the
following week. I also help mentor our apprentice,
Jordan, who’s working on our 1 room decoration
scheme – see page 9.
I’ve worked at Sentinel for just over 4 years.
When I joined I worked for MITIE, a company
contracted by Sentinel to carry out their repairs.
But when HomeTeam launched, in September 2012,
I transferred over to become a fully fledged
member of the Sentinel team.
Things have improved a lot over that time.
HomeTeam used to be based in a different building
from Sentinel’s main offices. But now we’ve moved
into the same building as everyone else our
performance has really got better. It’s changed the
way we work and everything is so much quicker
and easier – which makes us more efficient.
I love working in my team. Everyone gets on so well
and there’s a good mix of people. Sometimes our
jobs can be pretty busy and stressful, but the
atmosphere is always vibrant and positive.
On call
with Nicole
A day in the life

18. 18 Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart
Sentinel customer, Marcia Burnett, joined
our Community Investment team as customer
engagement officer in February. But her
Sentinel journey began a whole year earlier,
when she got a call to follow up on a repair
to her home.
In February 2014 HomeTeam came out to do a repair
to my home. Afterwards I got a follow up call and I
made a comment about how I thought Sentinel
could improve the way they listen to their customers.
At that time Sentinel were looking for customers
to take part in a focus group about its customer
communications. So when I was asked if I
wanted to join in I said yes.
I really enjoyed taking part and sharing my opinions.
Then I was asked if I’d like to join Sentinel’s new
customer involvement group – See3sixty. I thought
I had something to contribute, so I put my name
down for the selection day.
After that I was chosen to be a Change Maker.
It was incredible – I’d never been involved with
anything like that before. Being a stay at home
mum, I’d lost a lot of confidence over the years.
But the training and encouragement I got really
gave me a boost.
It was through being a Change Maker that I found
out about Sentinel’s Support Towards Employment
Programme (STEP).
STEP was amazing. All I could see was the things I
couldn’t do. But STEP helped me to take away the
barriers and showed me how to look at my skills in
a different way. I learned about how to write a CV,
how to apply for jobs and about interview
techniques. But the best thing I got from STEP
was self belief.
Then I saw that Sentinel was looking for a customer
engagement officer. I applied and I got the job!
It’s great to have the backing of an organisation that
has ‘putting customers at the heart of what we do’
as one of its values. I love helping to improve the
lives of Sentinel customers and making a difference.
Marcia’s Sentinel journey
Your story

19. Summer
2015 issue
But it’s important to stay safe. The Royal National Lifeboat
Institution (RNLI) has some top tips for making sure you
enjoy your time in the sea safely.
Before you go
• Find out about the beach you’re going to before you visit
• Check the tide times
• Make sure there’ll be lifeguards
When you’re there
• Swim between the red and yellow flags,
where the lifeguards can see you
• Never swim on your own
• Know your beach safety flags
• Never use inflatables in strong winds or rough seas
• Read and obey the local hazard signs
What to do if things do go wrong
• If you get into trouble, stick your hand in the air
and shout for help
• If you see someone else in trouble, tell a lifeguard.
If you can’t see a lifeguard, call 999 or 112 and ask
for the Coastguard
www.sentinelha.org.ukwww.sentinelha.org.uk 19
Top tips for a safe summer at the seaside
Playing in the sea can be loads of fun, especially on a really hot day!

20. Beach Safety Flags
Windsock – if one of
these if on the beach
and is blowing around it
means it’s too windy to
use inflatables in the sea.
Red and yellow –
shows where the
lifeguards patrol. It’s the
safest place for you to
go into the sea.
Add some tropical sunshine to a summer
picnic by making your own tasty treats!
Preparation time
25 minutes plus 2 hours setting time
Ingredients
100g dried ready-to-eat tropical or other mixed
dried fruits
100g porridge oats
50g puffed rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
85g desiccated coconut
50g blanched hazelnuts or shelled peanuts
or other nuts
50g sunflower, sesame or pumpkin seeds
100g light muscovado sugar
125ml golden syrup
100g butter, chopped up
Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart20
Black and white –
this is an area of the sea
set aside for watersports
like windsurfing and
surfing. You MUST NOT
swim in it.
Red – this means
danger. NEVER go into
the sea where this flag
is flying.
Let’s make sunshine bars
Method
1. Chop the mixed dried fruits into pieces using
kitchen scissors. Tip the oats, cereal, coconut
and fruit into a large bowl and mix well, using a
wooden spoon or clean hands. Put the hazelnuts
and sunflower, sesame or pumpkin seeds in a
frying pan with no oil and, over a moderate heat,
stir until they are lightly toasted. Leave to cool
a little then tip into the bowl and mix.
2. Put the sugar, syrup and butter in a small pan
and heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon
until melted, then simmer for 2 minutes until
slightly thicker and syrupy.
3. Quickly stir the syrup into the dry mix,
stirring until it all starts to bind and there
are no dry patches.
4. Quickly tip into a 20cm square tin and press
down with the back of a spoon to even out the
surface. Leave to cool and set – about 2 hours.
Cut the mixture into 6 one way and 3 the other
to make 18 bars. Store in a tin, or wrapped
tightly in foil for up to a week.

21. Oh we do like to be
beside the seaside!
On a sunny day there’s no better place to be than
the seaside. Can you find the 15 things that you
might see on a daytrip to the seaside hidden in the
grid? They could be hidden forwards, backwards,
diagonally, horizontally or vertically. Find all 15
words and you could win £25 of vouchers.
Circle the fifteen words and send this whole page to:
Chula Bishop, Sentinel Housing Association,
56 Kingsclere Road, Basingstoke RG21 6XG
Or you can take a photo of this whole page,
or scan it and email it to
communications@sentinelha.org.uk
The closing date is Friday 28 August.
The winning entry will be picked at random
by the Spirit editorial panel.
Name:
Address:
Age (you must be 16 or under):
Daytime contact number:
S Q Y C R A B K X
W Z R S L L E H S
I C E C R E A M B
M V I G F E C J R
M L P P S R H D I
I T E K C U B P A
N Y C M B Z A E H
G F I S H C L B C
J D N A S K L B K
R O C K P O O L C
Q W I F X R P E E
V S P A D E Y S D
www.sentinelha.org.ukwww.sentinelha.org.uk 21
Competition
BEACHBALL BUCKET CRAB DECKCHAIR FISH
ICE CREAM PEBBLES PICNIC PIER ROCKPOOL
SAND SEA SHELLS SPADE SWIMMING
Competition winner
Congratulations to Kaylee Butler of Woolton
Hill who won £25 of vouchers for correctly
spotting all 15 words in our springtime word
search competition.
Seaside
word search

22. 22 Spirit: The Sentinel magazine with the community at heart
For your chance to win £50 of vouchers, test your
knowledge of this edition of Spirit by answering
these 5 questions. You’ll find all the answers in this
magazine. There are 2 ways to enter – fill out the
form and post it back to us. Or save the cost of
a stamp by entering online at www.sentinelha.
org.uk/quiz.
Get all 5 answers right and you’ll go into a draw to
win £50 of vouchers.* The closing date, for both
postal and online entries, is Friday 28 August.
Good luck!
*There’ll be one prize of £50 of vouchers and
the overall winner will be drawn at random
from all postal and online entries received by
the closing date.
Tick the box next to the answer you think is right.
What was the name of the bus that visited
us during the Homes for Britain campaign?
Besty 
Barbie 
Belinda 
How many litres of blood have we
donated since January 2014?
57 
67 
77 
What’s our new free internet access
point called?
netpoint 
techpoint 
connectpoint 
Which of our developments didn’t the
Grand Designers of the future visit?
Sirocco Park 
New Horizons 
Picket Piece 
What does IiP stand for?
Inventors in Purple 
Investors in People 
Investigators in Pimples 
Competition
Let’s get quizzical
Enter online for free at www.sentinelha.
org.uk/quiz or send this whole page to:
Chula Bishop
Sentinel Housing Association
56 Kingsclere Road,
Basingstoke, Hants
RG21 6XG
(Employees of Sentinel and customers with rent
arrears may enter but are not eligible to win).
Name:
Address:
Daytime contact number:
Email:
Well done to everyone that entered our spring quiz. You’ll find out
what the answers were and who won the prize on the back page.
1
2
3
4
5
WIN
£50of vouchers

23. www.sentinelha.org.uk 23
Gardening competition
Everything’s coming up roses!
If you love gardening why not show off your horticultural
handy work by entering our blooming marvellous Gardening
Competition? There are 6 categories, including a special new
category for under 16s – the best mini garden.
• Best kept medium/large garden (more than 10m²)
• Best kept small garden (less than 10m²)
• Best kept planted container or window box
• Best kept communal garden
• Best kept vegetable garden or allotment
• Best mini garden (16 and under).
The competition is open to all green-fingered Sentinel
residents and the winners of each category will receive
£50 of vouchers.
To enter email or post photos of your garden to us by
Friday 31 July 2015.
Email your photos to communications@sentinelha.org.uk
or post your photos to:
Garden Competition 2015,
Communications Team,
Sentinel Housing Association,
56 Kingsclere Road,
Basingstoke,
Hampshire,
RG21 6XG
Don’t forget to tell us which category or categories you’d like
to enter, your name, address, telephone number and your
age (if you’re entering the best mini garden category).
We’ll put all the entries on our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/SentinelHA and then visitors to
our page will have the chance to vote for their favourites.
The gardens with the most votes in each category will be
the winners.
Voting will open from
Monday 10 August to
Friday 28 August. And we’ll
announce the winners on
our website and Facebook
page during w/c 31 August.

24. www.sentinelha.org.uk
Spring quiz answers
Which award didn’t we win in 2014?
Golden Globe Award
1
What system reads the text on our website
aloud to make it more accessible to people
with visual impairments?
BrowseAloud
2
What didn’t Sentinel staff wear to work to
raise money for Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Air Ambulance?
Wellies
4
Where is our new development – Pitt Manor?
Winchester
3
How many categories are there in our
Gardening Competition?
6
5
Don’t forget
you can catch up with us on social media
by liking our Facebook page and/or
following us on Twitter.
www.facebook.com/SentinelHA
www.twitter.com/SentinelHA
Congratulations to Suzanne Holland
of Mortimer West End who won £50
of vouchers for correctly answering
the five questions in our spring quiz.
Sentinel office: 56 Kingsclere Road Basingstoke Hampshire RG21 6XG
Telephone 0800 195 5515.
Produced by Sentinel Communications team. Email: communications@sentinelha.org.uk
Designed and printed by The Escape, Basingstoke. Distributed by Malvern Mailing, Basingstoke
Printed on recycled paper containing 100% post consumer waste