One Hastoe resident, Tom (not his real name), was a joint tenant in a property with his partner. Unfortunately, they split up and she moved out. Tom had medical and mental health issues, which left him vulnerable, and his partner had always dealt with the finances. Not knowing how to budget to cover his rent and with the addition of bedroom tax for his spare room, he quickly fell into very high arrears. Tom was notified that he would need to go to court if this continued.
Concerned by the high arrears, Tom’s Housing Officer Mark had already referred him to the Benefit and Welfare team a few times. However, whenever the team tried to reach Tom, he refused their help or was unresponsive.
Sometimes we wouldn’t know about these cases without the Housing Officer’s referral. Their visits are often crucial to help engage vulnerable residents. This can sometimes be a challenge due to the large geographical area Hastoe covers.
Not wanting to give up on Tom, Sarah and Mark tried for months to contact and engage with him. Meanwhile, things were moving forward legally and Tom faced losing his home. Luckily, Mark visited Tom at his home when two family members happened to be visiting. Mark explained Tom’s situation to the family and they agreed to help support Tom and help him engage with Mark and Sarah.
With Mark in-person and Sarah on the phone, they were able to make a realistic plan with Tom’s family of how to improve his situation. Sarah was able to apply for a discretionary housing payment for the interim payment of the bedroom tax, which was causing the rent debt to escalate. She was also able to get a one-off payment to enable Tom to reach a level of arrears which was low enough to stop the legal action against him. Helped by Tom’s family members, Sarah was also able to get a lump sum reduced from Tom’s council tax debt.
Once the immediate threat of legal action was dealt with, Sarah and Mark could turn their attention to Tom’s budgeting. Mark gave Tom advice on his energy usage to help him with energy bill problems. The family were also urged to contact StepChange, a debt advice agency, to help Tom manage all his debts.
Working with his family, Sarah and Mark are now completing a new application for a discretionary housing payment because the payments are only a short term intervention. To help with the next application, it will be important for Tom to demonstrate he is actively trying to resolve the bedroom tax issue. Mark and Sarah are therefore supporting Tom and his family to register to find a smaller property, which would remove the bedroom tax. Tom is now in a much better position than when the benefit and welfare advisors first made contact with him.
Now Tom's family are aware and involved, his support network is strong. This shows that sometimes it’s not just about building relationships with the resident. It’s also about engaging and supporting others who the resident trusts and responds to, whether this is another partner organisation or a family member."
