It’s Race Equality Week 2025: a time to reflect on the progress we’ve made towards a more inclusive and equitable society and, crucially, to take meaningful action.
At Communities Creating Homes, we are determined that race should never be a barrier to safe, affordable, and high-quality housing.
Race Equality Week is a UK-wide movement which brings together organisations and individuals to tackle race equality.
This year’s theme is #EveryActionCounts.
It’s all about collective and individual efforts to create real change.
Words alone aren’t enough.
We need to take tangible steps to dismantle systemic racism and build a more equitable future.
In Race Equality Week, we’re asking you to think about what it means to be positively inclusive, and how community-led housing can play a vital role in making equitable change happen.
Everyone should be able to access a safe, secure, and affordable home, regardless of race or background, but Black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities in Wales are still facing systemic barriers to accessing quality housing.
Research from Tai Pawb and EYST highlights the stark realities:
- 45% of ethnic minority respondents had experienced discrimination in the housing sector
- 30% faced overcrowded living conditions
- 25% encountered issues with maintenance and disrepair
This isn’t a new issue.
In June 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, research and a report on systemic racism by Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna of Cardiff University found that housing overcrowding and insecurity was one of the factors leading to a disproportionate risk for Black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities of contracting and dying from Covid-19.
These new statistics are a sobering reminder that anti-racism work is far from over.
Community-led housing must be a key part of the solution – ensuring fair, inclusive, and accessible housing for all, and the power for communities to shape their own living environments.
Community-led housing creates solutions tailored to specific needs, reflecting the lived experiences, identities, and cultures of their communities.
Groups choose their own housing structure. They develop their own homes, whether new build or refurb. And they set up their own governance system, based on the community’s vision and collective, sustainable ownership.
This approach builds an inclusive culture, where people feel a true sense of belonging and security, and have their individual needs met.
At Communities Creating Homes, the communities we support are at the heart of what we do, and we’re here to help address the barriers they face.
Tai Pawb has been working hard to shape policy and action to create a more just housing sector. Their contributions to the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan – launched by the Welsh Government in 2022 – are helping to pave the way towards a Wales free from racial discrimination in all areas of society, including housing, by 2030.
This plan addresses the systemic disadvantages experienced by Black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities in housing, with key actions like:
- Improving the diversity of leadership teams
- Providing anti-racist training for staff
- Making sure policies reflect the needs of all communities
We will actively support this vision of an anti-racist Wales.
As we mark Race Equality Week 2025, let’s renew our commitment to building a Wales where everyone, regardless of their race or ethnicity, can thrive.
At Communities Creating Homes, we will continue to champion diverse, inclusive, and community-led housing solutions that break down barriers and empower people to create better places to live.
We stand in solidarity with Tai Pawb, EYST, and all those working towards a fairer housing sector, and a fairer Wales.
Together, we can make race equality the reality, not a dream.
P.S. Stay tuned – we’ve got some exciting updates coming from the Communities Creating Homes team soon!
In the meantime, if you have any questions for our community-led housing team, give us a call on 0300 111 5050 or email co-op.housing@cwmpas.coop.
Written by Sahar Alhakkak-Martinez, Community-led Housing Intern at Cwmpas
