Sometimes life gets difficult and financial issues like growing debt become overwhelming.
At B3Living, we want to help our customers live comfortably in their homes for a long time.
We’re always here to support someone who needs it. To do this, we work with our customers to find ways to overcome the challenges they’re facing.
Chloe's journey
Last year, Chloe*, a customer with high rent arrears was referred to our Customer Coach, Amanda, to receive extra personalised support.
She was experiencing anxiety, depression and severe dyslexia which made communicating with others frustrating and difficult to manage.
She was at a stage where she didn’t know where to begin to address any issue. Her Universal Credit payments had stopped, and her rent arrears were only getting higher.
Understanding her needs
After some time getting to know Chloe and understanding her situation, Amanda was able to identify several issues that were straining on her mental health.
Some of these included a lack of funds to improve the condition of her home, household bill debt, drug and alcohol dependency, and low self-esteem and self-worth.
For Amanda, it was important to build trust and create a space where our customer felt safe to talk about her concerns and map out a path forward together.
However, to get there first, Chloe’s immediate needs had to be addressed so her living conditions could improve.
Immediate help and local services
Amanda organised food parcels from the local foodbank and fuel vouchers to pay for any overdue energy bills. Through this, she could make sure that Chloe had food to eat every day and heating and electricity at home.
Talking and listening to her needs allowed Amanda to make use of a range of referral services provided by our local partners to provide support on matters like money advice and health improvement.
Some of these services included:
Single point access, Better Housing, Better Health, Change Grow Live Alcohol and drug recovery service, Citizen’s Advice, Mind, Duty to refer (support through the financial inclusion team at the council)
From the first meeting it was clear that Amanda had my best interests at heart. She understood my mental health and never gave up on me
Support in the long run
Amanda acknowledged that many support services are often inaccessible if you have a learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
To help Chloe access them, Amanda helped with filling a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) application, organising paperwork and debt in order of priority, gathering evidence for Universal Credit Claims and other admin tasks.
Since Chloe was living in a property larger than she needed, she was unable to pay for the bedroom tax which was not covered by Universal Credit.
Amanda helped her with the housing options application to find a smaller home that fit her needs as well as with the process of applying for extra housing payments from the council to cover the extra bedroom cost.
Brighter days
Though a long journey, Chloe has come very far, and her life has significantly improved. She has now moved into a home she can afford and maintain comfortably. She is part of a community she enjoys, with better access to affordable food shopping.
These changes have allowed her to start paying off previous debt and she now finds herself in a much better position both financially and mentally.
It’s been a year now and Amanda has continued to support me and I’m very grateful for that. She is very kind and caring and has gone above and beyond to help me
If you’re struggling with paying your rent, debt, or with your mental health, you’re not alone. Just like for Chloe, there are brighter days ahead.
Amanda has supported many families; yours could be next. Please don’t be afraid to reach out, we are here to help you.
*Name has been changed to protect our customer’s identity.