Emmanuel House provides tenancy support for people struggling with the cost of living

Jennifer* had been rough sleeping in Nottingham and had stayed at our Winter Shelter during the Covid-19 pandemic. She had moved into a council flat but was struggling to manage her tenancy.

Jennifer has severe multiple disadvantages (SMD), which is a term used to describe someone experiencing two or more of the following issues: mental health issues, homelessness, offending and substance misuse. Jennifer has experienced significant trauma throughout her life and struggles with her mental health, substance misuse and is a survivor of domestic abuse. Before becoming homeless at the age of 19, she had been in the care of the local authority.

Because Jennifer is under the age of 25, she is on the lowest rate for Universal Credit, which is £265.31 a month. She was struggling to manage even before the cost-of-living crisis. She has a pre-payment electricity and gas meter, which is set at the highest rate. £15 is currently lasting only 2-3 days. Because of her financial struggles, Jennifer had started begging.

When our Support Worker first met her, she was receiving support from substance misuse services. Our Support Worker linked with additional services that would help her with her mental health and experiences of domestic abuse and she was referred to counselling.

Our Support Worker provided benefits advice and helped Jennifer appeal for her refused application for Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which are benefits for people with a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability.  

As well as offering practical solutions, our Support Worker provides a lot of emotional support. By simply asking “how do you want to be worked with?”, they have developed a relationship of trust and respect. Our Support Worker helps with Jennifer’s emotional regulation and helps her to approach situations differently, helping to break things down that often felt insurmountable.

Our Support Worker works hard to help Jennifer manage her tenancy and prevent her from becoming homeless again. They liaised with the council about her arrears and helped set up payment plans so that the tenancy wasn’t at risk.

Our Support Worker advocates for Jennifer with various different services. Jennifer often struggles to articulate her feelings, so our Support Worker often accompanies her to different appointments, including maintaining drug services.

Jennifer is really keen to start work. She has a work coach and often attends jobs fair and goes to the job centre regularly. She is really interested in working within the construction industry, with a keen interest in painting and decorating. She can’t survive on her benefits alone and needs a permanent job to manage her tenancy.

Jennifer has been working for different agencies and has been working night shifts and roles with unmanageable hours, but with important appointments during the day, it’s difficult to manage both and this is affecting her confidence.

Our Support Worker is looking into paid apprenticeships so that Jennifer can find a job that she enjoys, where she is valued for her skills.

*Names have been changed to protect identities.