As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite – and, in some cases, deepens – as we head towards Christmas, HQN highlights some of the good work being done by providers across the country.
With low-income families now four times more likely to be digitally excluded due to the cost-of-living crisis, Clanmil Housing has become the first housing association in Northern Ireland to supply free mobile data for customers who need it. Using a partnership with the National Databank UK, the organisation provided SIM cards for up to 20GBs of data and unlimited calls and texts free for 12 months on either Three, 02 or Vodafone.
After the merger between Riverside and One Housing, the Riverside Foundation received £2.5m to help with residents’ needs. During the cost-of-living crisis, that money has been used in a variety of ways. Frontline staff have been empowered to use small grants to help those at crisis point, and money has also been ringfenced for community projects. On top of this, the remaining money will be used for other projects such as tackling fuel and food poverty.
Tai Tarian’s Money Mentors training programme is upskilling staff to enable them to help tenants who are struggling and have money worries. The idea is that as many members of staff undertake the training as possible so that residents can be supported at any time by any member of staff they come into contact with, and that staff can identify what support is most appropriate for the situation they’re facing.
LiveWest have put forward £850,000 to help combat the cost-of-living crisis. The money will go towards reducing the rent of tenants who are living in less energy efficient homes and adding a specialist energy officer to its team of 24 tenancy sustainment officers. The South West organisation is also providing £460,000 to help with tenancy sustainment for those struggling to pay bills, while increasing hardship funds.
Wheatley Group launched its ‘Here for You’ campaign which will support 20,000 residents through the cost-of-living crisis and beyond – building on the support offered to residents during the pandemic, including helping residents claim more in benefits, distributing fuel and food vouchers, helping tenants into jobs, and upcycling furniture to make them free for residents.
Partnerships are the name of the game for North Star Housing Group. Through a partnership with a local furniture recycling company, they’ve been able to extend their hardship fund and offer affordable white goods and furniture to residents. On top of this, they’ve also agreed a partnership with Citizens Advice to offer specialist debt advice especially for North Star residents, giving them the opportunity to access free expert guidance at any time.
Midland Heart is helping with the provision of food bank vouchers, gas/electric top up vouchers and much more during the cost-of-living crisis. After working out that 80% of referrals to its money advice team related to difficulties with the increasing prices, they’ve also created a more holistic approach by having the gas safety team assisting customers with large gas debts. This has allowed the organisation to build up a better picture of what help is needed where, and use staff from other departments to make these important calls.
Under a banner of ‘Affordable for All’, Flagship Homes has launched several initiatives to help residents. On a financial level, they’ve used the Warmer Homes Fund to provide vouchers to help residents afford heating and have created a discretionary fund for other household items or support that’s needed. Offering grants to community groups has also been key, with food banks being supported in the local area. Finally, the creation of a tenancy support and wellbeing service provides free counselling support for residents that need it.
The G15 group of housing associations in London have set out the ways they are helping residents, with a further £5.8m being committed to help. For some providers, the amount of help they’ve provided through fuel and food vouchers etc. has increased by over 1,000%. And the organisations have done this in a number of ways, from Hyde’s Universal Credit Helper tool to Peabody’s Economic Inclusion Service. Overall in 2021/22, the organisations have calculated they secured £44m of financial gains by accessing social security support and other budget boosting measures.
