FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Our pioneering Furniture Recycling Scheme can be credited for helping both people and the planet.

In 2020-21 we have

customers supported with furniture packages

given out through our hardship grant

Universal Credit claimants supported

Focus on... Furniture Recycling Scheme

Our pioneering Furniture Recycling Scheme can be credited for helping both people and the planet.

We launched the scheme in bid to make better use of our customers’ unwanted furniture and household items by donating it to people in need and diverting it away from landfill sites.

This year, 154 customers have received furniture packages via the scheme, enabling those who have fallen on hard times to start to build a safe and happy home environment.

People who are struggling can come down to our warehouse and pick what they need to help make their house into a home. This includes people living in poverty, refugees and women escaping domestic violence.

But not only is it supporting our tenants directly, the eco-friendly scheme has also successfully diverted 180 tonnes of furniture away from landfill sites and saved our organisation £35,000 in the cost of disposing of the furniture.

Focus on... Income Management Team

The financial impact of the pandemic has hit many of our tenants very hard.

Our Income Management Team can provide advice and support to those who are worried about their finances and struggling to pay their rent and bills. From ensuring our tenants are claiming the benefits they’re entitled to, to assisting them to apply to the Salix Hardship Fund, our dedicated officers are on hand to support people who are experiencing financial difficulties.

During the past year alone, the team has helped secure an additional £74,000 in benefits for customers that they were entitled to.

For one particular customer, we calculated that she would be £400 better off each month if she claimed for Universal Credit instead of Tax Credits. This customer is now able to budget and manage her finances better with the extra income she is getting.

Another tenant lost her job as a result of the pandemic and was struggling to manage on her Universal Credit payments. The income management officer was able to help her to apply for a Salix Hardship Fund payment, DHP and a council tax reduction, which gave her some relief while she looked for a new job.

Environment