Getting to Know… Leon Smith

We sat down with Board Member and Chair of our Marketing Subcommittee, Leon Smith, to find out more about what attracted him to join the jLiving Board, what he brings to the role and his hopes for jLiving over the next 5 years.

1.    What attracted you to become a Board Member of jLiving?

“Having recently retired, I was looking for a role in the community with some relevance to my extensive experience in adult social care. Housing is an area which I believe does not receive enough attention in the community and is related to my experience.”

2. How long have you been involved with the organisation?

“I joined the Board at the invitation of the then Chairman in early 2016.”

3. What do you feel you bring to the role of Board Member?

“My principal experience is in management of large, not for profit organisations and all that entails. I have extensive experience of the community, its structures and dynamics. I am also experienced in marketing, PR, fundraising and public affairs and I have run two small housing associations within the community.”

4. Did you always have a particular interest in social housing and if so, what is the background to that?

“My interest dates back to my experience as CEO at the care home Nightingale (now known as Nightingale Hammerson) when I was also running a small housing association (Rayne House) and following my retirement in 2015, I ran the Leo Baeck Housing Association from 2015-2020.”

5. Do you think there are issues or challenges in providing good quality social housing and what are they?

“There are many issues including identification of suitable sites and funding challenges. Further challenges include the very high level of regulation.”

6. Does the provision of social housing in the Jewish community bring any of its own challenges?

“One of the hurdles in our community is demography. The community has always experienced population drifts, from the East End to North West London to South Herts. The challenge is to foresee these population drifts at an early stage to avoid having premises in areas where the community no longer lives and to ensure that premises are present in areas where the community is now polarised.”

7. Are there any other organisations providing a similar service (social housing rather than care homes) to the Jewish community? If so, how does jLiving’s offering differ?

“Other organisations providing housing include IDS (Industrial Dwellings Society) and Jewish Care, which provides housing in several areas of high Jewish density. This is what’s known as ‘Extra Care’ housing, a somewhat different model to jLiving. There are also a number of organisations providing housing for specialist groups (learning difficulties, people with mental health issues etc). There is significant provision of housing within the Charedi community and also in the provinces.”

8. Do you think there is any stigma around social housing?

“There is a stigma which relates to traditional sheltered housing, which in itself is an old-fashioned term. The use of the word ‘warden’ is also very institutional.”

9. What are your hopes and goals for jLiving for the next 5 years?

“To upgrade our accommodation to the highest level possible. We also want to widen our remit to include younger people and families and to identify and purchase new sites for development.”

10. Tell us something about yourself that no-one would know!

“In 2015, I went to North Korea on holiday for a week on my own – see the picture below!”