The Resident Hot Seat: Meet Community Ambassador, Maria

The Resident Hot Seat 

As part of our strengthening trust objective, we’re introducing our Resident Hot Seat series. We'll be interviewing a number of involved residents on their experiences of getting involved. To find out how you can get involved, check out our Get Involved section.

Our second interview is with Maria Pangoli, she is a Community Ambassador making her a key contact in her community – spotting any problems and suggesting ways to improve your neighbourhood.

Meet Community Ambassador, Maria

How long have you been a resident with Network Homes? 

I have been a resident with Network Homes since 2014.

Why did you decide to get involved? 

I saw the opportunity to get involved and become a Community Ambassador when Network advertised several roles. This sounded very interesting and, in my case, I wanted to help bridge the communication gap between the residents and Network Homes. My aim is to help both sides to clarify what they expect from each other and help finding ways to achieve mutual goals.

What has been the best thing about being an involved resident?

I joined the program during the pandemic and the role of community ambassador gave me a much-needed sense of purpose although I still work full time and have several interests too, but this is different. As a result, a long-term issue affecting all the residents is now being resolved and it was just a question of communication. The first residents’ meeting will be organised this month and I am sure that soon programs and fun initiatives will be promoted to members of our community.

Do you think there have been any challenges?

Network Homes is such a big organisation taking care of a large number of developments and residents so it is understandable that they cannot have sight of everything happening, which often results in residents feeling left behind. The challenge has been to facilitate the flow of information and provide a perspective that represent everyone on both sides.

Has your perception of Network Homes changed at all since being involved?  

It definitely has, it is crucial we understand where companies and people are coming from in their perspective and having been involved for a while, I know for a fact that Network Homes is a good landlord. Not many residents know about all the initiatives that are put in place and the resources that are available to us, and very few people know that there is even a dedicated team for residents’ engagement.

Do you have more trust in Network Homes after seeing more of what happens behind the scenes? 

I always trusted Network Homes as an organisation, I chose to live here, and I feel safe in this environment. I could say that my trust has increased since my involvement because I met the people behind Network Homes and they are all people with good skills and good intentions who I am happy to have within my personal network. Believe me, I am quite picky on who I let in my inner circle!