Supporting The Communities We Work Within

Here at DMS we believe strongly in supporting the local community. We work closely with charitable companies such as ’The Forward trust’ . This is an organisation that empowers people to break the often interlinked cycles of addiction and move forward with their lives. Ensuring there is a safe place for people to go who want to take the first step to building a positive and productive future for themselves. Our aim is to bring together all of our clients and residents in helping each other, providing opportunities to improve people’s lives. Whether this be connecting people with charities, needle exchanges, rehabilitation, counsellors, work opportunities and much more. We have worked with Charities in Dover for over 5 years which provides affordable housing for people in need. Here we provide an excellent handy-man service on a weekly basis to ensure the elderly residents are in a safe and secure environment. We charge 15 % less to charitable organizations. We provide work opportunities within the community, all of our employees live in the local community and are paid above the minimum wage. They are provided with training opportunities such as management courses, surveying courses, apprenticeships, CSCS, PASMA, asbestos awareness and much more in order to further their careers. As well as this all of our staff are fully DBS checked for your peace of mind. Homeless: At Christmas, there is festive cheer in properties all over our communities. Sadly, not everyone will be warm and full under a secure roof. This is why we regularly donate to Crisis at Christmas and The Salvation Army. Our donations mean people can have a Christmas dinner and a bed for the night as well as giving struggling families the opportunity to share a Christmas dinner and exchange gifts in order to celebrate without concerns. Cat Protection: We also understand that it's not just people in our communities, it's animals too. For that reason, we donate monthly to the Cat Protection charity to make sure cats can be fulfilled not just at Christmas but every day of the year. Each donation ensures a cat can receive a fortnight of food and love as well as guaranteed warmth and security. Cat Protection Autumn Raffle: As Part of our continued support for Cat Protection, we have decided to take part in their Autumn Raffle. the money we have donated towards this raffle will help provide specialist milk to keep a litter of orphaned kittens alive which I`m sure you will agree is a worthy cause. Battersea: Of course, we couldn't bear to leave our best friends in the cold. This means that we also donate monthly to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to ensure both dogs and cats can be welcomed with open arms to a sanctuary of warmth, comfort and shelter. This donation means these sweet animals can be provided with warm, cosy bedding to make sure they feel safe and comfortable to allow a restful sleep in somewhere other than the dangerous alleyways and roads. Wingham Wildlife Park: Of course, we know that worthy causes do not end at the boundaries of our community. We have recently adopted a red panda with Wingham Wildlife Park. This adoption lasts for a period of 1 year and all money we pay for that year will make sure our adoptive animal will recieve all that it needs including food, comfort and stimulation in the form of toys or games. This adoption will help fund the care of an endangered animal and ensure they stick around. We also sponsor local clubs each year and every Christmas provide funding for the homeless to have a place to stay, Christmas dinner and be seen by doctors, nurses and housing officers. We understand the community’s needs and are confident we can meet them. Our ultimate aim is to sustain a strong community driven business throughout Kent and the South East. We offer gardening services for the elderly and disabled at cost price, visiting their homes 15 times a year. At DMS we are aware of the increase in mental health issues. Because of this the directors ensure all employees are counselled and or trained in mental health first aid. We are proud to say that over the years we have helped people with mental health issues by providing them with work opportunities, counselling and helped people with agoraphobia get back in to work. We will also often send our resident liaison officer to visit tenants prior to works being completed so we can explain the whole process to them and work around their needs. Example 1: We were asked to create a building extension / wet room for a resident with PTSD who reacted quite severely to loud noises. DMS worked closely with the landlord prior to the works starting and the decision was made between the landlord and our resident liaison that the tenant should be away from the property whilst the noisier parts of the work were being carried. With the help of daily updates from the site foreman and weekly visits from our resident liaison, we were able to work around the resident and complete noise works whilst the resident was out. This was managed efficiently and through to completion with no issues and no distress caused to the tenant. Example 2: A new steel bath was required at a property in the Medway area. The tenant had severe mental health issues, causing the tenant to be aggressive towards unfamiliar faces. This of course meant we had to take in to consideration the safety of our operative carrying out the works. We worked closely with the carers to ensure that the tenant and our operative were not in the same room at the same time. This meant that when the tenant needed to use the toilet, our operative would need to leave the property. This meant that the works took longer than they would normally but no harm was caused to our operative and the tenant did not feel anxious or stressed at any point. In order to reduce fly tipping and to help residents, we will often provide free labour to dispose of bulk items from the estates we look after.

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