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A week in the life of… a housing co-ordinator at a temporary accommodation scheme for single people
Sharon Chambers is housing co-ordinator at a temporary accommodation scheme for single homeless people. On World Homeless Day, she talks us through a week of scouting for homes for the people staying at Lyra House
Monday
It’s the start of a new week and I come into the office and switch my computer on. I check my phone for any text messages or voicemails and put the kettle on. Once I’ve got my caffeine fix, I watch our CCTV footage over the weekend to make sure everything is in hand – which it is.
I check my emails to see if we’ve received any communication through our out of hours service. I then check if we’ve had any more referrals come through.
Next, I log into the housing register so I know which properties are being advertised, and if any of our residents living in our temporary accommodation schemes are eligible to bid. I do this daily.
Normally, around mid-morning, our residents start to make an appearance. They come into the office for a coffee and catch-up. I record these meetings so we have a point of reference.
Tuesday
I’m in bright and early, as this is when we do our weekly fire alarm test.
I log onto our rent account portal to check our residents have paid their rent. I then do my daily check of the housing register. It’s great news today – two of our residents have been shortlisted for properties. This means it’s all system go, as we arrange and hold support sessions to discuss move-on plans. I’m then straight onto local charities to see what furniture they have available.
Once we help residents to move into their new home, we offer tenancy support to help them sustain their tenancy. So as we look at furnishings for the new home, I also start to think about what support may be needed and how we can help.
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Wednesday
I arrive, check my emails and the CCTV for the previous day. Our communications team has been in touch to advise us that Lyra House has been shortlisted for a UK Housing Award – and they’d like to do some filming.
The shortlist is in recognition of our work to support people that would otherwise have been homeless.
I’m thrilled and call one of our previous residents and explain that we’d love to document their journey as someone who has successfully rebuilt their life, following 10 years on the streets.
They agree, come down and start filling out forms. They chat to the videographer and tell the local councillor how they became homeless. They then go into detail about how, thanks to Sovereign and Dorset Council, they have their own place to call home. I listen as they talk about the support offered to them and their aspirations to find employment.
Later that afternoon, our local police community support officer calls in for a coffee. It’s imperative that we have strong links with local partners, so this is a welcome catch-up.
Thursday
Today I arrive and sit with one of our residents as they complete a telephone pre-tenancy assessment for the flat they have been offered. The assessment goes well, but now is the tricky part. We must wait patiently for a moving date. In the meantime, I make an appointment on their behalf with a national charity to see what support they can provide, in addition to that which Sovereign is already providing.
In the afternoon, I re-check the housing register to see if there is any news or updates for our remaining residents.
Friday
As the week draws to a close, I complete room checks with every resident, noting down any repairs. These are then logged on our system so our scheduling team can book these in the diary.
I am contacted by a local charity which has food donated from a supermarket. They ask if any of our residents need food parcels over the weekend. I travel up and gratefully accept these before heading home – ready to start all over again on Monday.
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
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