Clean Slate recently hosted an online event with fellow professionals to discuss the challenges facing our sector. Here’s what we learned
The ‘perfect storm’ is here, as everyone in our sector knows all too well. While domestic policy has been slow to respond to the cost-of-living crisis, the need for local, sustainable support for people in crisis is greater than ever.
As part of Clean Slate’s ambition to bring professionals together to share experiences and expertise, we hosted an online event with practitioners from the West of England along with Clean Slate staff.
Following the Crisis, Follow the Money looked at how local responses can help people on low incomes weather the storm. After two presentations, we discussed our work, the barriers we face and ways in which we could come together to amplify the support we offer.
The barriers were pretty easy to identify. Resources are stretched while demand is increasing, meaning waiting lists are long. Where previously there were some easy wins support workers could promote – switching energy suppliers, for example – these are drying up. How can we even hope to build resilience when our focus is so often on firefighting?
Some people remain hard to reach – older people, for example, don’t always know what they’re entitled to and so don’t always come forward for help. Younger people may see debt as the norm and can be slower to recognise when it’s reached problem levels.
And maintaining good mental health is increasingly tough in the face of stigma and what feels like a barrage of bad news stories and stark warnings of worse to come. It’s not just clients; the scale of the crisis means professionals have their own worries – and their own struggles with morale.
But in true Clean Slate fashion, it can’t just be about handwringing. As expected, when professionals come together the ideas flow freely. For a start, just speaking to others in our sector provides an instant morale boost. We need, as a starting point, to have confidence in our offering – and a positive perspective on the work we do is vital for this. The good news is that this is already in our control. Discussing our wins and what we’ve learned bolsters self-belief and benefits others facing the same challenges. At the same time, we should focus on what we do best and let other experts work to their strengths. None of us can be all things to all clients.
One thing we pretty much agreed on though is that the focus must now shift from cutting costs to income maximisation and employment, where possible.
Collaboration, too, is key. Events like Following the Crisis bring organisations and their expertise together but in-house co-operation, where all departments work together, is also hugely important.
Early intervention and prevention are always high on the agenda. But the dire predictions for the autumn and winter to come are giving frontline workers an even greater impetus to catch people now – before the wheels come off. This is one area where ideas were numerous and creative; from training frontline staff to share money “must-dos” and signpost to budget and benefit calculators, to reducing barriers via hybrid models of support. Schemes like one in Cambridgeshire where workers reach out to new tenants and young people on Universal Credit to highlight things they may be entitled to but could be unaware of will also catch people before they fall. And home visits remain essential; often it’s repair teams going into homes who are first to flag a problem.
Documents shared by DWP could also prove helpful for those in our sector; a stakeholder toolkit and a cost-of-living support page for professionals to share with people who are struggling.
It should go without saying that good communication in all aspects of our work is vital. But sometimes messages from other agencies don’t get through, which is why networking events and newsletters can really help join the dots.
