Kalwant is a Support Worker in our Culturally Specific Support Service. She works with people from minoritised communities who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness in Nottingham.

She’s currently working with 17 different people. Some of the nationalities of the people she is currently working with are Bengali, Caribbean, Polish, Pakistani, Ghanaian and Afghan. Many of the people she supports are living in extremely bad conditions. They are also presenting with a variety of difficulties, such as having a language barrier, poor mental health or experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some are survivors of domestic or sexual abuse, and some have experienced a relationship breakdown, substance misuse, alcohol dependency, behavioral issues or they might have come into contact with the criminal justice system. Many of her clients have no idea about the many complex systems that are involved with resolving these issues, or their statutory rights.

She often works with people to maintain their tenancies to prevent them from becoming homeless, but in the past couple of years, she has been working with more and more people with young families who are being evicted from their private-rented tenancies, or can no longer afford to pay the rent.

In these instances, Kalwant encourages them and supports them to contact the city council’s housing department, who often place them in emergency accommodation such as hotels. For many of Kalwant’s clients, English isn’t their first language and they need support during the assessment meetings. Kalwant will often attend these meetings to provide emotional support, advocating for her beneficiaries by helping them to answer complicated questions.

We asked Kalwant about the work she’s currently doing

“All my clients want to work, they want to make the right steps to move on from their experiences of homelessness, but there simply isn’t anywhere affordable for them to live. Many of the people I work with have lost many basic life skills, mainly due to the stress they are experiencing as a result of their homelessness or mental illness. It’s very difficult to function ‘normally’ if you’ve experienced a trauma such as homelessness, particularly when your children are involved.

“I support people to access a range of health and wellbeing services, ensuring the root causes of problems are identified and tackled. I help my clients to regain these essential life skills. I show people how to organize their personal documents, apply for licenses, make appointments. I call agencies to get them the right support for their specific needs, I ask questions on their behalf when they don’t feel able to do it themselves, sometimes liaising with employers to ensure they know that their employees are experiencing homelessness.”

How Kalwant is supporting Chivy* and her daughter

Chivy* has a four-year-old daughter and is currently living in a hotel. One of Kalwant’s current beneficiaries referred Chivy to Kalwant, as she needed help finding somewhere else to live. She had to leave her private-rented studio flat because of severe mould and damp, which was making her and her child physically unwell. Kalwant tried to find other private-rented tenancies, but Chivy’s Universal Credit payments wouldn’t cover the rent. Kalwant referred Chivy to the city council’s housing department, who found her a room in a hotel. Kalwant helped to find storage so Chivy could store her possessions while living in hotels.

Chivy is from Cambodia and although she speaks English, she struggles to navigate the complex housing and benefits systems. She has been given a support plan, but needs help with putting it into practice. Kalwant provides Chivy with a lot of emotional support and is working hard to find her and her child suitable and safe accommodation.

How Kalwant is supporting Lucia* and her daughter

When Lucia’s* landlord wanted to sell the house, her and her three teenage children had nowhere else to live. Kalwant helped her to fill out the legal documents and move her possessions into storage. The city council supported her and her children to move into a hotel room. They were often moving between different hotels around the East Midlands and it was becoming difficult to get her children to school on time. This was incredibly stressful for Lucia – they often had to pack up their belongings and wait in reception until they were told which hotel they were going to next. When Lucia broke her foot, Kalwant also supported them with taxi services when they had to move to another town.

Kalwant supported her to apply for a bus pass to travel between the hotels, applied for free school meals and liaised with the children’s school.  Lucia’s employer didn’t understand Lucia’s situation and thought she was taking time off, so Kalwant arranged to meet with her manager to notify them of the situation. The deterioration in Lucia’s mental health meant she didn’t feel able to advocate for her and her family and wasn’t able to work. Lucia was very stressed and Kalwant provided emotional support with empathy, patience and sheer determination.

The city council found the family one bedroom in a local hostel, which Lucia shared with her three teenage children. After a few weeks, Kalwant asked if they could be moved to a lighter, larger room and as a result of Kalwant’s determination, the family are now living in a two-bedroom flat. Having somewhere safe and stable for her to live means Lucia is able to look for part-time jobs and Kalwant is helping her with the applications. Lucia is applying for a provisional driving license and is learning how to live independently.

*Names have been changed to protect identities.