You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
From the frontline - Lesley Phillips
Lesley Phillips, income officer at Alliance Homes Group, talks about the importance of increasing financial awareness among young people
Tell us about your job
I work as part of our income team collecting rents and charges owed to the business.
I work to support customers at risk of falling into debt, helping them to stay in touch with us and work through any bad times. Am I a debt collector?
No way, José! I’m passionate about doing everything I can to prevent somebody from ending up in court or losing their home.
How did you get into housing?
I started carrying out administration duties (lots of filing!) at North Somerset Council.
It didn’t take long for housing to take hold of me as I really liked working as part of a team and going that extra mile to help people.
I moved to a housing officer role and then became an estate manager, which involved helping to maintain tenancies, before starting my current role.
READ MORE
What’s the best part of your job?
Everyone’s fighting a battle that we know nothing about. Times are often hard, and even making a small difference to somebody is the best part of my job.
What’s the worst part?
It’s the worst time when somebody is on the verge of eviction and they simply haven’t engaged with the support we offer. I just want to stop that from happening.
There’s almost always something we could’ve done, but that’s only possible if our customers are willing to work with us.
Life is busy and we rarely ever stop; there’s always something to chase up or somebody to speak to. After all’s said and done, admittedly the job can be stressful, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
If you were prime minister for a day, what would you do?
I’d want legislation to better support people with mental health issues, and I’d like to see more help for people affected by drug and alcohol misuse.
These are some of the most well-known causes of homelessness, and that needs to stop. I’d also like to bring in more education around financial awareness to help younger people understand the cost of living and become savvier about bills and budgeting.
What’s the most private thing you’re willing to admit to your colleagues?
I’m very open, and what you see is what you get. But the one thing I would admit is that I faced homelessness when I was 18 years old. My mum battled mental health issues her whole life and she struggled with debt, which ended up in our home being repossessed. I believe everyone deserves a chance and everyone needs someone to believe in them, and that’s just what I do.
