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A week in the life of… a debt and benefits advisor

Dave Small is a debt and benefits advisor at Greatwell Homes. He talks us through his week, and how he has managed to secure extra income for some of the association’s tenants

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Dave has had to get used to talking to his team and helping customers virtually
Dave has had to get used to talking to his team and helping customers virtually
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A week in the life of… Dave Small, a debt and benefits advisor at @greatwellhomes #UKhousing

Monday

I started by messaging “morning” in the income recovery group chat on Microsoft Teams and then checked my diary, to-do list and emails for any referrals that have been sent. It’s important I log them to ensure I don’t misplace any. A video call then came through from the team – it’s a good chance for us to touch base, talk about work and life in general.

Today I had a telephone appointment with a customer in preparation for her Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeal hearing tomorrow where I’ll be representing her. It will be by telephone conference which is different to what I’m used to.

Tuesday

Today was the hearing for the customer – she successfully appealed her PIP being declined by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). She was awarded her PIP and her claim was back-dated to January 2019, which helped her clear her rent arrears.

Since March we’ve been calling some of our most vulnerable customers to check their well-being. I followed up on a couple I have been advising following a welfare call three months ago. Today’s call was to say that his application for Attendance Allowance was successful and will provide him with an additional £126.65 per week.


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Wednesday

I started with another virtual meeting, this time with our welfare reform group, where we looked at subjects that affect the welfare of our customers and ways to improve them. At a conference two years ago, I came away with the idea to set up a food project for our customers.

The project has two components: fresh nutritional food offered at a low price and a ‘life plan’ which takes a holistic look at a customer’s life, ensuring all of our services are offered to them.

The project has been put on hold due to COVID-19, but we discussed ways that we could launch the life plan to our customers soon.

Thursday

I pulled together some financial and social value statistics for us to present to the board. This quarter, for every £1 of my income, there was a social value of £22. The financial value is much easier to identify. Last financial year I produced an average of £131.92 per week of additional income for some of our customers.

I also sent a benefit newsletter to other members of staff to provide updates on any issues relating to welfare benefits and checked the information on our website to ensure it is up to date.

Friday

It’s Friday! I sent a case study to other customer-facing staff to provide some tips for them to help the customers they work with.

The case study was about a customer I assisted in 2017. His wife, also his carer, applied for the mobility component of PIP due to his worsening condition, the claim was successful and they were awarded the standard rate, but she was not satisfied. So I assisted and appealed.

This week I received a phone call from the DWP and we managed to settle this out of court. The customer was awarded the mobility component at the enhanced rate and received an additional income of £62.25 per week, plus a back payment of £9,000. The customer is now debt free.

Do you know an outstanding professional who deserves to be featured? Email jess.mccabe@insidehousing.co.uk with your suggestions

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

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