Awards success for Tai Tarian’s Fusion Project

Tai Tarian is celebrating after coming out on top at the Welsh Housing Awards.

The awards, which celebrate the creativity, passion and innovation of housing organisations across Wales, saw the Neath Port Talbot based social housing provider scoop the Supporting Future Generations award thanks to the ground-breaking work of its Fusion project.

The project sees the organisation using arts and culture as a means to encourage learning and create routes to employment for local people.

Amongst the work done so far is a scheme with local schools to create engagement days, where life skills such as financial literacy, numeracy and employability skills are taught on a weekly basis.  As a part of this, pupils also attended entrepreneurial workshops to produce, cost and sell various items featuring Port Talbot’s famous Banksy mural.

The Fusion team also instigated money saving classes in the community.  The workshops used dance and music to improve the participants’ well-being, whilst creating a relaxed atmosphere which gave them the confidence to be more open when discussing the thorny issues of personal finance and debt.  

To date the project has supported 45 families to improve their financial literacy whilst it has encouraged 30 individuals to pursue volunteering opportunities in a bid to improve their employability.

One year 10 pupil at Ysgol Bae Baglan who took part in the Fusion Project said:
“The project has made me feel good. I have learnt a lot about money and bills and how much we have to spend and to budget too”.

Speaking after being announced as the winner, Tai Tarian Chief Executive, Linda Whittaker said:
“As well as building new homes, working to make our communities safer and more vibrant places to live is very important to us as an organisation.

“The project has been very successful so far and has seen a real benefit to the people who live in our properties as well as the wider community.

“I’m thrilled that the people who have worked hard to make this project a success have been recognised in this way.”