Meet Carolyn

Previously part of the Front of House team at The Bradbury Centre, Carolyn has recently started a new role as Reconnection and Rapid Resettlement Worker. This new role will be based at the new Nelson Street site.

“I’ve worked for HARP for three years. I started as an assessment worker at the Bradbury and then took on my new role in April this year. Prior to this I was a Practice Manager in a GP surgery and had worked in the NHS for about 20 years. I think the work HARP does is important because everyone has a past and I think that a lot of staff use their experiences and things they have learnt to help people who use our service. It helps us to be non-judgemental which I think is something that is lacking a lot in society.” Says Carolyn.

“My new job role is as a Reconnection and Rapid Resettlement Worker, basically I work with residents and service users to find options for move-on from supported housing or if someone has low support-needs and just wants to find somewhere to live as they have lost their accommodation and are either rough sleeping or sofa surfing. Also when our residents have been with us for a while and have received the support they need, they may then be ready for independent living. This then free’s up a supported room for someone else who is at the start of their journey.

Estate agents have a preconceived idea of people who use our service

I think this new role is important as not everyone needs supported housing but, they may still struggle to secure suitable accommodation and so are rough sleeping. This can lead them to a downward spiral with their mental health, it can also lead to drinking or using drugs to help them cope with their situation. The sooner we get these service users into accommodation the less chance they will get into a downward spiral which means that the sooner they will be able to get back to feeling safe. Supported accommodation is not for everyone and sometimes someone only needs a bit of help finding somewhere to live”.

Supported accommodation is not for everyone and sometimes someone only needs a bit of help

“The biggest challenges are landlords asking for guarantors or 6 months deposits. There are not many people who have someone who is either willing or eligible to stand as a guarantor for them. There is also the need to have an annual income that is higher than most benefits unless you are on higher rate PIP. It is a struggle to find accommodation for someone without a guarantor and only receiving universal credit. I also find that a lot of estate agents have a preconceived idea of people who use our service and do not understand that anyone could find themselves homeless”.

A fresh start

Carolyn has recently returned from a trip to Yorkshire where she has helped relocate a HARP service user, looking for a fresh start in a new area. He had been living in HARP accommodation for a few years after he became homeless. He had been working in a care home where his accommodation was included as part of the job. When the business unexpectedly closed, he was made homeless. “I was asked to look for something for him and when I spoke to him about properties in Yorkshire, he was very interested and said that he would like to make a fresh start.” Says Carolyn. “I then applied for properties for him and we were successful. We secured him a one bed flat, helped him complete all the paperwork, I got free furniture off of Facebook and had help to move him to his new flat. I will continue to support him by phone until December.

It feels good when we do find a home for someone. I hope that we can change the preconceived ideas and have good relationships with landlords so that we can start offering people more than HMO’s but I do understand that this will take time”.

The good news for HARP is that Carolyn hopes to continue with this amazing work until she is ready to retire and drive off into the sunset in a campervan in search of new adventures.