A day in the life of...an Advice and Support Worker

Keira Lymath is part of YHN’s Advice and Support Team. The Advice and Support Team offer help and support to any prospective and current council tenant and leaseholder.  They also offer a range of services to people in the following situations:

• private sector tenants and owner occupiers needing some support
• refugees who have just been given leave to stay in the UK and have to leave their asylum accommodation
• people who are currently in hospital who need to find somewhere more suitable to live when they leave hospital
• people who have enduring mental health issues who need support to live independently
• people who are leaving drug/alcohol rehab who need support to live independently
• people who are ready to move on from supported accommodation.

She told us “The main role of Advice and Support Workers is to help keep people in their tenancies. We can offer advice on money management and benefits, domestic violence and relationship breakdowns. Our role is to offer support and advice to help keep people in their homes.

“Here’s my diary from a day in March…”

8am-8.30am

I pop in to YHN House on the way to the office to collect some charity cheques that have arrived for tenants. We regularly apply to charitable hardship funds on behalf of tenants in extreme financial difficulty for essential items such as cookers, fridges and clothing.

8.30am – 9am

Arrive at the Community Housing Office, have a cup of tea and check my emails.  I go through the appointments I have on that day and print out the tenants’ details so I know the background of each tenant and am prepared for the meetings.

9am – 10am

First appointment

I meet with a tenant I’ve been working a lot with over the last few weeks.  She’d been off sick for a long time and had just gone back to work, and was entitled to Working Tax Credit.  She’d been waiting 10 weeks for a payment and had been falling behind with her rent, council tax and other bills.  I’d been chasing this up and managed to get the payment backdated so she could clear her rent arrears and get back on track.

10am – 11am

Second appointment

A young family have lost everything in a house fire but don’t have home insurance.  They have to replace everything themselves and are really struggling financially. We fill out a charity application to hopefully get some items replaced through charity hardship funds.  The family also take out home contents insurance – it’s just over £1 per week and provides peace of mind against something like this happening again.  I also do a benefit calculation to check they’re receiving everything they’re entitled to – a lot of tenants who come to see us aren’t claiming all the benefits they should be.

11am – 1pm

Home visit

I visit a tenant at home who has mobility difficulties. We sit down and talk through what she needs and if there are any adaptations she’d benefit from.  She has a mobility scooter but the ramp outside her house isn’t big enough, so I suggest referring her to other agencies that could fund a replacement ramp the right size for the scooter.

1pm-2pm

Back in the office I have a few missed phone calls and emails to reply to, and some post to open.  I ring the tenants whose charity cheques I picked up this morning to let them know they can pop in to collect them. When I feel like I’m on top of things I’ll sit down and grab some lunch.

2pm-2:30pm

Lunch

2:30 – 3:30

I catch up with all my admin – registering all my cases, sending off housing benefit forms and filling out referrals.  I fill out a referral to Shelter for the tenant with mobility issues and arrange for a member of the Community Care Alarm Service to contact her.  They’ll be able to discuss in detail the different types of telecare available to suit her needs.

3:30 – 4.30pm

I have an emergency referral – someone that’s close to eviction stage.  The tenant is struggling with debt, so we look at payment plans and run benefit checks. I refer the tenant to Money Matters, a specialist debt unit. It’s never too late for tenants to get in touch with us, even if they’ve had an eviction date set, however the earlier someone comes in the better. This tenant came in to see us before the eviction date so we’ll try everything we can to intervene and prevent the eviction from taking place.

4.30 – 5pm

I check my diary for tomorrow and prepare for the next day’s appointments. Just as I’m leaving a tenant who I’ve been working with over the last few weeks pops in to thank me for the advice I’d given him.  It’s really rewarding to see the difference we can make to tenants – I’d encourage anyone who’s having any kind of difficulties to come in and see us.

YHN’s Advice and Support Service

The team can offer welfare and benefits advice, including calculating the level of benefits received.  The Advice and Support service also gives advice on debt issues and negotiates with creditors.  New tenants can contact the team for help and advice about setting up a new home, including things like getting the gas and electric on, obtaining essential furniture and kitchen items.  The team can also help if you are a current tenant experiencing some difficulties in paying your rent or managing your tenancy.

To find out more about the service, click here or call 0191 2771144.