For Housing Associations, providing a safe and secure home has always been at the heart of the relationship with residents. But increasingly, supporting successful and sustainable tenancies also means recognising the wider pressures that can affect the people living within those homes.
Financial worries, relationship difficulties, bereavement, loneliness, anxiety, family pressures, employment concerns and the everyday challenges of life do not necessarily begin as housing issues. Left unsupported, however, they can have a significant impact on a resident’s wellbeing and, potentially, their ability to manage other aspects of their life and tenancy.
This is where the Tenant Support & Wellbeing Service (TSWS) from Life & Progress can provide valuable additional support.
Someone to talk to when it matters
Consider a resident who has been struggling for several weeks.
Perhaps they are worried about money, have recently experienced a relationship breakdown and are beginning to feel overwhelmed. They don’t necessarily need to make a formal complaint or speak to their Housing Officer. They may not consider their situation serious enough to approach their GP, and they might not feel comfortable discussing everything with friends or family.
What they need at that moment is simply someone independent and confidential to talk to.
Through TSWS, the resident can telephone the service and speak confidentially with a trained professional for immediate, In-The-Moment emotional support.
The conversation provides an opportunity to talk through what is happening, be listened to without judgement and begin making sense of what may feel like an overwhelming situation.
For the resident, that one conversation could be the first positive step towards regaining perspective and identifying a way forward.
For the Housing Association, it means having a professional support resource available beyond the traditional boundaries of housing management.
Supporting residents without replacing existing services
TSWS is not designed to replace the important work already undertaken by Housing Officers, tenancy sustainment teams, community teams, safeguarding professionals or other specialist services.
It complements them.
Housing Association employees will inevitably encounter residents experiencing difficult personal circumstances. However supportive those employees may want to be, they cannot — and should not — be expected to provide counselling or become the answer to every personal wellbeing issue a resident may face.
TSWS provides another option.
It gives Housing Associations a dedicated wellbeing resource they can confidently promote and signpost residents towards, providing access to confidential support independently of the landlord/resident relationship.
The value isn’t measured by calls alone
When considering the longer-term value of a wellbeing service, it can be tempting to judge success simply by counting how many people have telephoned the helpline.
We believe the bigger picture matters.
The value of TSWS also lies in residents knowing that support is there should they need it.
A resident may have no reason to use the service today, next month or even this year. But circumstances change.
Bereavement happens. Relationships break down. Financial pressures increase. People lose jobs. Families experience difficulties. Loneliness can develop. Mental and emotional wellbeing can fluctuate.
Having an established support service already in place means residents don’t have to start searching for help at the very point they may be least equipped to do so.
They already have somewhere to turn.
That is why TSWS should be viewed as a long-term wellbeing provision rather than a short-term intervention.
From reactive support to proactive wellbeing
There is also an important distinction between simply having a service available and actively embedding it within resident communications.
The Housing Associations likely to gain the greatest value from TSWS will be those that promote it consistently throughout the year — not solely when a resident is already experiencing a problem.
Awareness can be maintained through resident newsletters, tenancy portals, welcome information, wellbeing campaigns, seasonal communications, social media and appropriate signposting by frontline teams.
The objective is simple: when somebody eventually needs support, they should already recognise the service and know how to access it.
That turns TSWS from something residents discover during a crisis into something they understand is part of the ongoing support available to them.
An investment in people and communities
Housing Associations play an important role within the communities they serve. Increasingly, that role extends beyond bricks, mortar and tenancy administration towards helping create resilient, sustainable communities in which people feel supported.
TSWS offers Housing Associations an opportunity to strengthen that commitment.
It provides residents with access to confidential emotional and practical support while giving housing teams an additional resource to signpost towards when circumstances extend beyond their own professional remit.
And sometimes the value can begin with something remarkably simple:
A resident is having a difficult day. They make a telephone call. Someone answers. Someone listens. And they no longer have to deal with that moment entirely on their own.
For Housing Associations with a genuine and long-term investment in the wellbeing of their residents, we believe that is a provision worth exploring.
Life & Progress – Proactive People Support
To find out more about our Tenant Support & Wellbeing Service and how it could complement your existing resident support strategy, contact Life & Progress for an informal discussion.
Sept26, E&OE
