The show must go on! FCHA's Community Involvement Grant for Hijinx

FCHA's Community Involvement Grant (CIG) is available for projects that positively impact tenants, people with a learning disability or their communities. Recently, we contributed £500 to Hijinx, an inclusive theatre company, creating performances with learning disabled and/or autistic artists on stage and on screen.

CIG Funding supported the room hire costs of Hijinx’s Cardiff-based community and outreach groups for learning disabled and/or autistic people. This included: Odyssey, the inclusive community theatre group for adults; Telemachus, the only young people’s theatre group for learning disabled and/or autistic people aged 16-24 in South Wales; the in-house inclusive band Vaguely Artistic; and 3 Cardiff-based Drama Foundations supporting life-skills development for adults with complex learning disabilities.

The people who took part included:

• 27 adults with and without learning disabilities through Odyssey

• 14 learning disabled and/or autistic young people aged 16–24 through Telemachus

• 10 adults with and without learning disabilities through our inclusive band Vaguely Artistic

• 36 adults with complex learning disabilities through three Drama Foundations groups

In addition to members, Hijinx reaches communities through performances, with over 1,000 audience members experiencing their community work. This included 658 people attending Odyssey’s 2025 Christmas production, Christmas No.1, and more, purchasing their first ever charity single: The Spirit of Christmas

All community groups and performances are open and accessible to anyone who wants to take part, regardless of skill level or experience, and are therefore available to all First Choice tenants.

Hijinx collaborate with a range of arts and disability-focused partners to support effective outreach to the learning disabled community, including Arts CARE, Vision21, Learning Disability Wales, Mencap, DAC, Gig Buddies, Unlimited, Taking Flight, Hynt, and Get the Chance, helping ensure opportunities are widely promoted and inclusive.

In 2019, a young person joined one of Hijinx’s community groups. Before joining Hijinx they were isolated and anxious. They have now progressed from Telemachus to Odyssey and are thriving. They’ve found their voice, their friends, and their place on stage.

“I love acting and performing and I can do it at Hijinx. Everyone there is also very nice and helpful. I have gained confidence in talking to people and performing in front of them. It allowed me to achieve my dream of performing on the stage.”

(Odyssey Member)

We would like to thank Hijinx for all of the information they sent over highlighting just how far contributions to their theatre company goes. It's great to see a direct benefit to people with a learning disability and/or autism across Wales and how it opens up opportunities for people in the community to watch productions that they may not have had the opportunity to see without Hijinx.

If you know of an organisation that could benefit from First Choices' Community Involvement Grant you can contact us to provide more information:

Email: customerservices@fcha.org.uk

Phone: 02920 703 758

Deeds Not Words: 5 Years on

It's been five years since the launch of Deeds Not Words Pledge. Our action alongside the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan (ARWAP) 2030 progressed the recruitment, partnerships, governance and awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at FCHA and across our partner organisations.

Despite the clear achievements, systemic racism continues to affect diverse communities across the country. Inequities in housing access, career progression, and lived experiences persist—impacting staff, tenants, and communities alike, as highlighted in Tai Pawb’s recent sector survey.

We remain committed to anti-racist action at FCHA. We, alongside many others are continuing to progress, amplify calls for justice, and ensure communities remain connected and empowered.

The pledge

1. Stand against racism and harmful narratives

We will create safe environments for staff, tenants and communities, through:

· Enforcing zero-tolerance policies and practices with trusted, safe reporting systems for racism and hate incidents.

· Preventing and challenging scapegoating of migrant communities with facts, human stories, community and staff engagement, education or other relevant approaches.

· Regularly training and educating board, colleagues and (if relevant) tenants on anti-racism, unconscious bias and any other relevant topics

2. Tackle racial disparities in housing conditions

We will work to ensure fair and equitable housing conditions for ethnic minority communities, through:

• Actively identifying and, where present, tackle racial disparities in any relevant areas, such as overcrowding, damp, mould, repairs, maintenance or homelessness ensuring prompt response to issues (stock holding organisations)

  
  

• Using our voice and influence to highlight and/or address racial disparities in any relevant areas such as overcrowding, damp, mould repairs, maintenance or homelessness (all organisations)

3. Advance fair representation and champion career progression

We will remove barriers for ethnic minority colleagues and open pathways to management and leadership, through:

• Applying inclusive and targeted approaches in recruitment to achieve change in hiring and reflect community diversity including positive action where possible

  
  

• Offering mentoring, sponsorship or other career development opportunities and pathways tailored to support progression and pipelines to management and leadership roles.

• Support and Equip HR teams with the knowledge to navigate immigration rules fairly and effectively, helping to remove barriers to employment for migrants.

4. Use data and engagement to drive racial equity and diversity

We will improve how we use data and engage with communities to inform anti-racist action, through:

• Closing data gaps and tracking ethnicity data across:

  • recruitment and all employee levels to ensure fair representation and progression (including preparing for ethnicity pay gap requirements)

  • housing conditions, repairs and maintenance (where relevant)

  • anti-racist, bias and other relevant training data

• Engaging, removing communication barriers and centering the lived experience and leadership of people affected by racism to shape service design and delivery

Our Shared Commitment

We recognise that dismantling racism requires more than strategy—it requires courage, honesty, and sustained commitment.

In the face of increasing resistance to EDI, our pledge is more than symbolic—it is a deliberate act of solidarity and accountability.

As signatories to Deeds Not Words 2.0, we commit to:

• Reporting transparently on our actions and progress each year.

• Applying top level oversight and scrutiny of our anti-racist commitments at board/committee level

• Defending and advance anti-racist work across the sector, even in a hostile climate.

• Collaborate across the housing sector to ensure every person in Wales can access a safe, decent and dignified home—free from racism.

Together, we commit to real change — not just in policy, but in people’s lived experiences.

To sign Up to this pledge: Please email me your name/organisation and signature:

E.g.

Donna Webb – Director of Corporate Services & Housing – FCHA

Our 2025 Employee Survey Results!

We are proud to share the results of our recent employee survey which demonstrates the enjoyment staff attain from working as part of the team at FCHA. This was the first time we used an external company to gain this insight from our teams . Below are just a few of the highlights from the survey.

• 92% Employees took part in the survey

  
  

• 91% were satisfied with engagement

  
  

• 94% satisfaction with company and Customers – understanding how our work fits into the bigger picture and benefits customers.

  
  

• 94% of satisfaction with personal performance being completely clear about the performance expected from us at work.

  
  

• 94% satisfaction on Attention – having positive interactions with our colleagues and manager.

  
  

• 94% satisfaction on Meaning – feeling that our work is meaningful

  
  

We are extremely proud of these results and of the amazing work our staff undertake to make FCHA such a great place to work.