ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

A week in the life of… a helpline advice worker

Laura Bell works at homelessness charity Centrepoint. Over the past year the helpline has been inundated with calls from young people facing homelessness due to the pandemic. She talks through a busy week

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
A highlight for Laura was getting feedback from young callers who said they understood their rights more after their conversations
A highlight for Laura was getting feedback from young callers who said they understood their rights more after their conversations
Sharelines

A week in the life of… Laura Bell, a helpline advice worker at Centrepoint #UKhousing

Monday

The rest of the helpline team and I start the week by going through messages we’ve received over the weekend from people facing homelessness or looking for support regarding housing issues. We all go through these messages and mark them in priority order.

Once we looked through them all, we started replying and calling back the people who needed immediate assistance first and then worked through the rest.

After that I answered calls from the public. It’s been busy because because of the pandemic – people have been less willing to let people stay on their sofas because of the restrictions and fear of spreading coronavirus.


READ MORE

Four graphs showing the state of homelessness in EnglandFour graphs showing the state of homelessness in England
Taking steps to end homelessness among young LGBTQ+ people in WalesTaking steps to end homelessness among young LGBTQ+ people in Wales
The Naumann Initiative is my lifelineThe Naumann Initiative is my lifeline

Tuesday

One call I had today was from a man who’s self-employed and is currently earning nothing. He’s been homeless since the first lockdown and has been managing to find shelter up until now. People he knows are now less willing to let him stay over.

Another person I spoke to has been really lucky throughout the pandemic as their landlord allowed them six months’ free rent out of goodwill. This is really rare, but now this has run out and the caller has had to leave home.

Due to the pandemic, housing services are more restricted and a few services we normally signpost people to have changed – they’re not doing drop-ins or operating over the phone. This has made our job a little harder, but we’re assisting people as much as we can during this uncertain time.

Wednesday

Towards the end of the day, I spoke to a few homeless young people on the phone who needed emergency accommodation for the night, but because they came through late I had to refer them to the council’s out-of-hours number.

This is another example of provision being limited during the pandemic, as normally we can refer them to soup kitchens or late-night drop-ins, but services like this have had to shut due to COVID-19 restrictions. But we’re still doing all we can and always check to see if any other charities or organisations are offering support in relevant local areas.

Thursday

I spoke to a few young people who got in touch last week. We record all the calls on our system, including personal details and a brief explanation of each call, so then if the same person calls again we can give them support quicker.

I also spoke to young people who have had difficulty getting through to the council about housing issues, which led to me doing council referrals. This is when someone wants to request housing support from the council but is struggling to get through. I filled in a form with all their details and the council will call them back when someone is available.

Friday

Today I’ve been making sure the callers that need somewhere to stay over the weekend are able to access the right support.

A lot of the callers today were sofa-surfing and they’ve had to move on. I also had a few calls from people who were being evicted because they’ve lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are unable to pay rent.

I sent my manager my ‘highlight of the week’ because he collates these from everyone and sends out a weekly summary. This can be work-related or non work-related.

One of my highlights was getting some positive feedback from young callers, who said they understood their rights a lot more after our conversations. It’s a good end to the week and a way to fill in the gaps of workplace chats, because we’re all working from home at the moment.

A week in the life series

A week in the life series

Our ‘A week in the life’ series features housing professionals talking through what they do in their job on a day-to-day basis.

Find out about the different challenges housing workers in a variety of roles face in a given week. 

We aim to feature staff from housing associations, ALMOs, local authorities and more.

Click here to nominate yourself or a colleague for inclusion

A week in the life of… a damp, mould and condensation officer – featuring Andy Sherritt at South Yorkshire Housing Association

A week in the life of… Kensington and Chelsea’s Rough Sleeper Dual Diagnosis Service – featuring Gavin Stewart and Charlotte Northall

A week in the life of… a money guidance officer – featuring Debbie Woodcock at Clarion

A week in the life of… a part-time social prescribing link worker – featuring Dawn Perry at WHG

A week in the life of… a transitions and implementation lead – featuring James Brown at Places for People Living Plus

A week in the life of… a tenancy support manager – featuring Jackie Bird at Community Gateway Association

A week in the life of… a head of asset management – featuring Zoe Carmichael at Alpha Living

A week in the life of… an environmental sustainability manager – featuring Alice Lovatt at Sanctuary 

A week in the life of… a housing support manager – featuring Sara Dunnet at ForHousing

A week in the life of… a place-shaping manager – featuring Sarah Smith at Vivid Plus

A week in the life of… a part-time work planner – featuring Siwan Hammond at WHG

A week in the life of… a marketing communications customer lead – featuring Leah Thompson at Thrive

A week in the life of… a housing co-ordinator – featuring Sharon Chambers at Sovereign

A week in the life of… a senior community partnerships manager – featuring Brian Hamlin at The Guinness Partnership

A week in the life of… an asset compliance team leader – featuring Emily Elsworth at Longhurst Group

A week in the life of… a business continuity manager – featuring Chloe Fox at Abri

A week in the life of… an employment advisor – featuring Vanessa Loveridge at A2Dominion

A week in the life of… a housing association surveyor – featuring Andy Davies at Thrive Homes
A week in the life of… a youth support worker – featuring Treaser Jassal at Poplar Harca

A week in the life of… a head of community and housing-related support – featuring Daniel Revell-Wiseman at Longhurst

A week in the life of… a building safety manager – featuring Lisa Leather at Trafford Housing Trust

A week in the life of… a forensic mental health service manager – featuring Camille Lapaix at Look Ahead

A week in the life of… a communities apprentice – featuring Alex Perrin at Clarion Futures

A week in the life of… a supported housing officer – featuring Tamara Suppria at Housing Solutions 

A week in the life of… a senior occupational therapist – featuring Gemma Carr at Grand Union Housing Group

A week in the life of… a concierge officer – featuring Tyrone Wilson at Citizen

A week in the life of… a policy and practice officer – featuring Hannah Keilloh at the Chartered Institute of Housing

A week in the life of... a delivery manager – featuring Rebecca Bewick at Gentoo

A week in the life of… a fire safety project officer – featuring Victor Liburd at BPHA

A week in the life of… a ‘HomelessWise’ information co-ordinator – featuring Fiona McCarthy at St Mungo’s

A week in the life of… a national property development manager – featuring Heidi Fisher at Housing 21

A week in the life of… an apprentice electrician – featuring Selda Ponari at Bournville Village Trust

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for our daily newsletter
Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.