BEYOND BENEFITS: SUPPORTING BETTER OUTCOMES THROUGH COMMUNITY-LED INNOVATION

DISCOVERY PHASE - FINAL REPORT

• Whenthefinancialcriseshitin2008manyhouseholdshadinsufficientsavingsandwerehighlyindebted.

• Lowincomehouseholdswereparticularlyvulnerable• Andiftheirresiliencewaslowin2008,itisonlydecreasing.

(Source:SMF,SInkorSwim?TheimpactofUniversalCredit,Sept2012): -10millionofthoseinlowincomehouseholdsarein unsecureddebt -¾ofthoseinlowestincomequintilehavenocash savings

• Thesehouseholdsthereforehavelesscapacitytodealwithchangesinincomeandexpenditure.

• Aconfluenceofeventsiscreatingaperfectstorm -Thereisableakeconomicoutlook-earningsgrowth stagnating,jobinsecurityishighetc -Risinghouseholdcostsandinflation -Cutstobenefitsinrealtermandforthcomingwelfare reformchanges -Cutstopublicservices

The national context is challenging.

CONTEXT: We didn’t start in a great place

Locally, in East Sussex, welfare reform changes, coupled with a bleak economic outlook may increase the vulnerability of low income households, who until now, have been just about coping.

• Themovefrom Incapacity Benefit to Employment Support Allowanceislikelytoresultinanestimated4000peoplebeingassessedasfitforworkresultinginareductioninbenefitforhouseholdsofanestimated£5.5million.

• TheintroductionofLocal Council Tax Supportislikelytoimpacton15-20,000workingagehouseholdsdependingonschemedesignandareductioninsupportpreviouslyreceivedbyEastSussexhouseholdsofanestimated£2.5million.

• Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance changesareestimatedtohaveanimpacton15,000households,reductionsrangefromsmallamountsto£50+perweek.

• Changes to Tax Credits willimpactonanestimated1,640peopleacrossthecountyonlowincomeswithpotentialconsequencesintermsofdebtandpressingneedtoreducehouseholdexpenditure

• WhentheintroductionofPersonal Independence Paymentsiscompletetherewillbe4,100fewerpeopleacrossthecountyclaimingPIPandreceiving£13millionlessthantheywouldhavereceivedifclaimingDisabilityLivingAllowance.

• Justunder56,000householdsinEastSussexwillbeclaimingUniversal Creditbytheendofitsintroductionin2017.ThisisjustbelowaquarterofEastSussexhouseholds.Itisanticipatedthatforapproximately21,000ofthosehouseholdsthecurrentsupporttheyreceivefromthestatewillrise,forafurther15,000itwillfall.(Source:SupportingPeopleWelfareReformProject,EastSussexCountyCouncil)

CONTEXT: And there is more pain to come...

• Weknowthatsomegroupswillfaceveryspecificissuesbasedontheparticularcircumstancesoftheirlives(e.g.elderly,disability,loneparents)butinthetimeavailableforresearchtherewasnotenoughtimetoexploreeachofthesein-depth.

• Therefore,ratherthangettinginspecificissues,welookedatthebroaderquestionoffinancialstruggleandwhatchallengesmightbesimilaracrossallgroups,regardlessoftheirparticularcircumstances.

• Furthermore,wedecidedthatthefocusshouldbeonabatinggrowthofaproblem,ratherthansolvinglong-standinganddeep-rootedproblems

• Therefore,althoughweacknowledgethatthereareagroupofpeoplewithmoreentrenchedandcomplexissues,thatrequireverytargetedanddeepservice-levelintervention,weconsideredthisbeyondthescopeofthisphaseofwork.

• Soourresearchwasprimarilyinterestedinagroupofpeoplewhoare‘justcoping’andnotfirmlyentrenchedinbenefitssystemtounderstand:

-theirexperiencesofcopingwiththecurrentfinancialsqueezeandhowtheyaremanagingtheirfinances-whatcouldbedonetomitigatetheirpainandhelpthemtoachievetheirgoals

• Byfocusingonbroaderchallengeoffinancialstruggle,hopedthatwecouldidentifysomesolutionsthat:

-wouldbeapplicabletoall-couldbeprototypedquickly

Focused on areas where there is potential to have most impact.

RESEARCH: What we were trying to find out?

OUR TARGET GROUP: The Fringes

2012

2015?

2012

2015 ?

Projected Hysteresis

Projected Hysteresis

‘Desired’ Hysteresis

Projected Short-term /Transcient Claimants

Projected Short-term /Transcient Claimants

‘Desired’ Short-term /Transcient Claimants

Wethinkthisrepresentsthemostefficientwayofavertingafutureexplosionofclaimantswithlong-termandcomplexissues.

Ifwecanimplementmeasurestomakethosewhoarejustcopingbecomemoreresilientthenweavertthehugetime,effortandcostofdealingwithlonger-termcasesinthefuture.Ourproposalsthereforeaimtopreventanincreaseinchallengesratherthansolveexistingones(thoughtheymayhelpwiththattoo).

Thetopdiagramshowsapredictedshort-termincreaseinthenumbersofpeopleonthefringesofthebenefitssystem,andwithoutaction,thesubsequentbutdelayedsharpincreaseinthosewhoareinlong-termhysteresis.

Thebottomdiagramshowsthatwearefocusingonkeepingtheincreaseinpeopleonthefringestoaminimumratherthantacklingthosewithalreadycomplexandlong-standingissues.

Projected Hysteresis

Projected Hysteresis

‘Desired’ Hysteresis

Projected Short-term /Transcient Claimants

Projected Short-term /Transcient Claimants

‘Desired’ Short-term /Transcient Claimants

Who we spoke to and what we did

Spenttimeinthelocalarea-Lewes,Newhaven,Peacehaven,Seaford,BarcombeandNewick

Interviewedfront-linestaffandcommunityadvocatestogetabroadbrushunderstandingoflocalissues:• Front-linestaff:HousingBenefits,HomelessnessandHousing

Advice• Councillors:WardCouncillorsandTownClerks• Other:NewhavenCommunityDevelopmentAssociation,Credit

Union,CitizensAdviceBureau

Conductedin-depthInterviewswith5householdstogetin-depthunderstandingoftheirexperiences(seeappendixformoredetails):• ‘Gill’:24yearsold,singleandlivinginasharedhouseinLewes.

Recentlyunemployedandlookingforwork.• ‘Susie’:20yearsold,liveswithpartnerandnewbornbabyin

Seaford.Currentlyonmaternityleave.Partnerlookingforwork• ‘John’and‘Tina’:Coupleinearly20s,rentingahousein

Barcombe.Johniscurrentlyworkingpart-timeandTinaisvolunteering.

• ‘Ella’and‘Leo’:Ellais30andlivesinNewickwithher4children.Leo,herpartner,is20andleavesnearbyinChailey.

• ‘Kieran’and‘Kim’;Marriedcoupleintheir40swith4childrenlivinginLewes.Longer-termunemployedduetohealthissues.

Anoteonmethodology:• Thiswasnotintendedtobearepresentativestudyofallthose

whoarefacingfinancialstruggleinLewes.Insteadtheresearchaimedtoprovidedepthandrichness.

• Wevisitedpeopleintheirhomesandspentacoupleofhourstalkingtopeopleabouttheirlives-theirbackgrounds,financialsituation,pressures,challenges,experiencesofsupportandtheirhopesandfearsforthefuture

• Wantedtousetherichnessoftheirstoriesandobservationstounderstandexperiencesofpeopleandhowtheyseetheworld.

RESEARCH: What did we do?

Over a 4 week period, we conducted ethnographic research to understand how people are experiencing financial struggle and what can be done to support them in their aspirations.

Cost Pressures:

Asexpected,utility bills, food, transport are key pressure pointsforpeople.Andwhenyouarepooryouhavelesschoiceoversomeofthesethingse.g.difficulttoswitchelectricityproviderifyouareindebtwithcurrentprovider

“But the price of food in supermarkets... for what we spend, we budget shop every week. It’s crap food. It’s cheap.” (Kim)

“See it’s just little things. So when I moved in here and joined EDF electric they said pay £30 a week and that’ll cover you, that’ll always cover you. Well now the winter’s set in and I’ve got the heating on because I’ve got a baby, I think they just sent me a bill for £700 when they’ve been charging me £72 a week” (Ella)

‘Bumpy’ expendituremakesbudgetingmoredifficult.Thereareparticulartimesintheyearthatwherecostpressuresincreaseandmonthlybudgetingonalowincomeismoredifficulte.g.Birthdays,Christmasandwintermonths.

“Christmas is probably the worst, I would say. This year my boy begged me and begged me until I bought a laptop. He’s 10 and all his homework is set up on computer.” (Ella) “Because we’ve had this cold spell. We’re on pre-payment meters for gas and electric. One week we put £60-80 on the gas. But we had to borrow money from our family to because we didn’t have it. So it’s quite nice getting up this morning, see-ing the rain and knowing it’s going to be milder and we don’t have to put the heating on.” (Kim)

Things are getting harder:

Servicesareseeingan increase in demand-andfromanew group of people.Weheardthisfromarangeofservices-HousingBenefits,HousingAdvice,CAB,CreditUnion“Seen huge increase - especially in category of working poor” (Credit Union) “New sort of client presenting. People who are not what you thought. Crept up the class” (Coun-cillor/CAB Trustee) Servicesdescribedacategoryofpeoplewhohavestruggledalongforawhilebutarereachingatippingpoint.

Theyaregenerallyearningthesameorlessandhavebeenhitbyrisingprices.Withlittlefinancialresilience,acrisis-losingtheirjob,carbreakingdown,needinganewcooker-cantipthemovertheedge.

With a bleak economic outlook, we predict this will only increase.

WHAT WE FOUND:

money I’m just going to spend it and I know I am. But if my Dad’s got it then I can’t touch it. So I saved up a lot.” (Susie)

Althoughthereisconcern from services about Universal Creditandhowthetransitiontomonthlypaymentswillimpactonpeople’sabilitytobudgeteffectively.

“The issue we are going to hit with Universal Credit is that we are going to have a lot of peo-ple who are suddenly going to get a massive big chunk of money. We are working towards. All of a sudden going to have £2000 in bank account. They are going to buy a car. They are going to go on holiday, thinking that they can make it back next month. But it’s not that easy because they don’t realise how much it costs to live” (Credit Union)

Although people are already doing a lot, there is potentially some scope to help with reducing these costs and helping with budgeting.

Thereislittle financial resiliencetodealwithunanticipatedeventsorcrises“Literally the week before I had him (4 month old baby), my car blew up in Brighton, the turbo went on it. It exploded, that was it. So I ended up getting a £1000 Provident loan which I’m now paying back £2000.” (Ella)

“The rent’s come out and I’ve been paid and we’ve got £50 in the bank and that’s what we’ve got until the benefit comes in, in 2 weeks time. So it is a struggle.... The car blew up a month before we moved in and the dog’s not very well either. And I need the dog for work. So had loads and loads of vet bills... Sounds stupid but I’m going to have to get another dog. Because I need one for work.” (John)Money management was generally very good.Contrarytoourexpectationstherewerenotmanyareaswherewecouldseethepotentialforpeopletosavemoney.Thepeoplewemetandspoketoarelivingveryfrugalexistencesandshowingenuityindevelopingstrategiestomanagetheirmoney

“And it’s a thing, over the winter we were very reluctant to put the heating on” (Gill)

[Are you watching your money?] “Yep like a hawk really. I’m keeping all my receipts so I can add it all up at the end of the month.” (Susie)

“Because I don’t have a savings account or any-thing. I just gave my money to my Dad because he had a savings account. I thought if I have the

WHAT WE FOUND: Cost Pressures

not good enough, I’ll get fined’. My 7 year old was just like ‘pay him the money’. My older boy says to me ‘how are you going to pay for food mum’. He’s 10 and already worrying about bills. He goes out and earns pocket money at my mum’s house, he gives it to me. He shouldn’t have to do that at 10. That’s what it’s like.” (Ella)

To avoid peoples’ lives spiralling from coping to chaotic, must help people avoid crippling debt.

Debt can be crippling.Itcantippeopleoverfromcopingtochaotic.Thetwofamilieswespoketowiththemostestablisheddebtarefindingitmostdifficulttomanagetheirfinances.

Therehasbeenincrease in use of high interest loan companies -whichonlymakessituationworse:“Oh yes. We’ve actually put wonga.com on our forms. It’s come up that much.” (Housing Advice)

“Yeah we’d been through Provident. They’re easy... easy to get money from. But expensive to pay back. You always know someone whose got a Provident loan.” (Kim)

Peopletendtoaccessdebttohelpthemgetthroughacrisisortogetthroughaneventorroughpatch:“Birthdays, Christmas, School Uniform, White Goods for lower income families. White goods as in, my washing machine has broken, my cooker has gone wrong. Some holidays so that they can actually get away. But it’s the big events in the year really - birthdays, getting school uniform. And cars we see, which we are a bit careful of” (Credit Union).

Itcompoundsproblemsandcreates additional stressforpeople:“I would like to get enough to get rid of my Prov-ident loan. Because they come hammering on my door every week and my kids are here. This week my payment to him is £45 a week and I said ‘I can only pay for half of that’. and he said ‘that’s

WHAT WE FOUND: Debt exacerbates cost pressures

Itisimmediatelyapparentthattheendofthemonthisaparticularlystressfultimeformostpeople.Equallyfoodandutilitiescostsappeartobeacommoncauseofconsistentstress.

Debtisverystressfulforthosethathaveanyseriousamountstotheirname,butmostofourintervieweeswerenotindebtthemselves,oratleastnotthroughformalloans.

Thisdiagramrepresentsthestressesthatourintervieweesfeltoverthecourseofanaveragemonth.Thesizeofeachcirclerepresentsthelevelofstress.Darkercoloursrepresentareaswheremorethanonepersonhasindicatedstress(thereforethedarkerthecolourthemorepeoplehaveindicatedthatisaparticularstress-point.

Monthly Pressures:

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thought they would have to pay more council tax benefit and that was going to push them over the edge, they didn’t have a penny to spare.’” (Coun-cillor)

“That’s the thing, I think they’re meant to be doing that benefit cut thing soon for certain families but how are people going to survive. If it were me, I’d do all my food shopping and that first before I pay any bills. A lot of people are go-ing to be evicted.” (Leo)

Thereappearstobeanincrease in working poor i.e.thenumberofworkingpeoplewhoarestrugglingfinancially.

“You have sole traders who have small, lit-tle businesses e.g. gardeners, odd jobs people. Because money is tight for everyone, someone might decide that they can’t pay for gardener an-ymore. So their income is now reduced because people are less willing to take people on. Effec-tively they are seeing income reduction so they may start claiming because they can no longer afford to pay council tax. That’s increasingly hap-pened.” (Housing Benefit Technical Assessor)

AnumberofthepeoplewespoketohighlightedthattherewasaparticularprobleminLewesofahigh cost of living for low skilled, low wage workers.

Therearestillalot of eligible people not claiming benefits.HousingBenefitshighlightedthattherearelotsofolderpeopleandworkingpeople(part-time/lowwage)whocouldbeclaimingbutarenot.Thisisbecausetheyeitherdonotknowtheycanclaim(whichisthecaseforalotofworkingpeople)ortheydonotwanttoclaimbecauseofthestigmaassociatedwithbenefits.

Thoseonbenefitsareworried about reduced income as a result of changes to benefit system:

“had one evening, quite unusual, where I had three people on the phone crying because they

WHAT WE FOUND: Income Pressures

eachweekanddemonstratethattheywereapplyingforjobswashinderingthis:

“I chose not to get Job Seekers Allowance be-cause you have to go in and sign on. But I’m volunteering for a future job and so I don’t have the time to go in and sign on... and don’t have a way of getting there... Just waiting for forest to expand and then can get a job there.” (Tina)

TheJob Centre is not seen as the best place to find certain types of worke.g.casualwork,labouring,barwork.Peopletendedtousepersonalconnectionsandwordofmouthtofindthesekindsofjobs.

Furthermore,the‘system’ is not necessarily seen as supporting longer-term aspirations.Peoplehadaclearsenseofwhattheywantedtodobutfeltbutthatemploymentservicesjustwantedtogettheminto‘anyoldjob’.Ratherthanunderstandingandtreatingthemaspeople-theirambitionsandvaluesaspeople-serviceswereseenasfixingashort-termproblem:

“I think there is a lot that you need to do on your own to pursue your dream career. You have to get the relevant experience and maybe volunteer for that specific company and you have to target them directly. So if you go to the Job Centre and say I’ve got ambitions to be a writer, I want to work for a publishing company, I’ve researched these companies and sent them off information, is there any way you can give them information about a work trial. You could work it like that obviously. Would be better than saying ‘oh I like admin’.” (Gill)

Thosepeoplewhoareoutofworkarefindingitdifficult to find employment.Therearemixedviewsemergingfromtheresearch.Thoseworkinginservicesbelievedthattherearejobsavailablelocally.However,theunemployedpeople/part-timeworkerswespoketoarefindingthingschallenging.Theyfeltthatchoices are limited and the job market is competitive.

Mostpeoplewespoketohaveaclearideaofwhattheywantedtodobuttheydo not have the experience, networks or informationnecessarytohelpthemgetwork.Trainingandexperiencewasoftenseenasanimportantsteptogettingworkbutintervieweesmentionedthelack of funding to access these training opportunities.

“He wants to do a bricklaying course because apparently there is a job going with a mate, from the pub. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. He was looking for a bricklayer and he was adamant on getting a course. But without income he can’t put aside money.” (Susie)

“I’ve looked at every single college and univer-sity for training courses to further my knowledge and get new qualifications. There was one on Excel Knowledge which I thought would be really useful and I’d use in jobs. I rang up the college and said ‘this says it’s £95, I’m on JSA would there be a reduction’. And they said no, no reduc-tion. That’s ridiculous.” (Gill)

Therewasafeelingthatthereisno halfway house offered by Job Centre. Somepeoplewantedtovolunteerintheirchosencareerpath,butfeltthathavingtoattendtheJobCentre

WHAT WE FOUND: Looking for work

Transport infrastructureinLewesisachallenge.Manypeople,particularlyinruralareasarecardependent,whichpushesuptheirexpenditure.Ortheyarereliantonpublictransportwhichislimitedandcanbeexpensivee.g.trains.Thecoastalrouteisalsoverybusyatpeaktimes.

Broadband/Mobile Infrastructure: Althoughthereareplansinplacetoimproveconnectivity,thelackofhighspeedbroadbandandmobilenetworkcoveragewasmentionedasanissue.Thisneedstoconsideredwhendesigningsolutions.

Rural poverty:Livinginamoreruralareacanmeanthatpeoplearemoreisolatedandfindithardertoaccessservices.Thiscanexacerbateproblems.

Parochial:Manypeopleexpressedastrongattachmentandaffinitytothelocaltown/areatheylivedin,withnearbytownsfeelingfaraway.Thishadanimpactonhowpeopleviewedserviceprovision.Forexample,ifafront-lineservicewaslocatedinanearbytown,thiswasseenasinaccessible.

Housing stock for asset-rich, cash-poor:Thiswasmentionedasanissuebyservicesbutdidnotcomeoutasaparticularissueinourinterviews.Thisissuewouldneedfurtherresearch(scrutinyreviewlookingintothisissue)

WHAT WE FOUND: Broader ‘Lewes’ Challenges

knew my situation and managed to get a week’s worth of my normal pay packet and she managed to get another week’s work. Oh bless. She had to do it through my work and talk to my boss for me. It was her that managed to get my maternity leave for me. So she was a good help. She also booked a facial at beauty parlour for me after baby was born.” (Susie) “The car blew up and I had to get a new car... Good old Mum, yeah, I had to borrow £2000” (John)

Thesenetworksareimportantinprovidingacushionforpeopleanddivertsthemfromneedingextrastatesupport.Thusthereisaneed to avoid interventions or policies that may inadvertently harm these networks.Furthermore,mustconsiderpeoplewhodonotnecessarilyhavethesenetworksintheirlives.

We encountered a lot of hope and positive action.Mostintervieweeshadanappetitetoimprovetheirlivesandweretakinglotsofpositivestepstoimprovetheirsituatione.g.lookedintotraining,volunteering.Butthereisaneedtoact quickly to support these people beforetheybecomedemotivated.

People had very humble and realistic expectations. Mostpeoplehadaveryclearsenseofwhattheywantedfromtheirlives-andonthewholethesewereverymodestandachievableaims.Need support that is geared up to understand these aspirations.

Advice from services was appreciated. Whenpeopleaccessedservices,theyfeltliketheygotsoundadvice,whichwashelpfultothem.

There are a lot of ways that people are demonstrating their resilience. Good money management is helping people to cope. Mostofthepeoplewespoketodemonstratedthattheyhadclearstrategiesinplacetomanagetheirlimitedincomeandlivedveryfrugalexistences.

Being free of debt makes money management easier.Havingdebt,particularlyunsecureddebtwithhighinterestloancompanies,canmakemoneymanagementmorechaotic.Thepeoplethatwespoketowhoreachedadulthoodafter2008articulatedanaversiontogettingintodebt.Butevenacoupleoftheseintervieweeswerestartingtoaccumulatesmallamountsofdebte.g.usingoverdraft,borrowingofffamily.

People were drawing on their personal networks forbothemotionalandpracticalsupport.Therewasmuchevidenceofcommunitiesandnetworks-offamily,friendsorevenacquaintances-comingtogethertosupportoneanother.

“So I have good people in my life and I keep them close. If something were to happen in my life I know that I have people to rely on. That’s why I wasn’t homeless when I lost my job and why when I had no money I was offered a cup-board (to sleep in). I’m lucky that I’ve got good people who will care about me if something goes wrong” (Gill)

“There was also a woman who worked for a charity who was also another customer at the Boot. I don’t know what charity it was... she

WHAT WE FOUND: Factors that promote resilience

ACCESSING SUPPORT: Existing Services

sectorsupportonoffer.

Quite often, people access services ‘too late’.

“I had one lady who came to us on Monday and she was being evicted on Thursday. We had no contact whatsoever from her. She had rent ar-rears, she had problems with her housing ben-efit, she’d been given notice to quit, which is 2 months. If she had come to us 2 and half months ago we could have looked at her income, made sure she was getting right rate, why has hous-ing benefit got into a mess. Child credit had got into mess and we could have sorted that out for her. We don’t want people to be home-less, would rather people had a roof over their head.”(Housing Advice Officer)

“Very often with the backdated claims you have people saying ‘I didn’t know I could claim’ . Along with that you have people saying ‘I thought I’d get another job’. Perhaps a sense of false opti-mism that they think they are going to find work. Half a million don’t claim straight away. People are seeking help but they are seeking help by borrowing money, either off a relative or door-step lender or payday loan or something like that. They don’t think or know about us.” (Hous-ing Benefit Technical Assessor)

Negative experiences with services can affect people.

“I used to see it when I walked into places like Premier Lets or places like that. You do get looked down at. I’m small as well and I was 19 and I’ve got my belly. And it’s ‘oh another young mum’. But yeah we’re sorting it. We’ve got our

There is lots that is good about the services that are currently being provided and some things that need improvement.

There was lots of praise for services from the individuals we interviewed. Weheard positivestoriesofsupportthatpeoplehadreceivedfromservices-forpublicservices(Housing,JobCentre)andforvoluntaryservices(CAB,CreditUnion).There are lots of positive interventions being offered e.g.discretionaryhousingpayments,mortgagerescuescheme,voluntarysupportsuchasHomeworks,Steps,HomeStartetc.

However, the research also revealed that a lot of these services seem overstretched.IntervieweesmadefrequentreferencetothedifficultyofgettinganappointmentsatservicessuchasCAB.Insomecases,thisledtoafeelingthatthequalityofsupportwasbeingaffected:

“Whenever he’d go to the Job Centre and do the usual start signing in the booklet and they’d be absolutely useless for him really. They had to rush and hurry through because there were so many people waiting. Before, when I signed on they’d keep you there for ages and look for jobs for you. And he comes out with no pieces of paper, no jobs, just with his book signed. So sign it and get your money. You are meant to look at jobs in your area and print them off and they give you stuff to ring up.” (Susie)

People don’t always know what is on offer outside of major services.Housing,JobCentreandCABwereoftencitedbutpeopledidn’treallyknowaboutCreditUnionsorothervoluntary

ACCESSING SUPPORT: Existing Services

benefits,DLAonlypaidafter6months.That said, sometimes the ‘rules’ force people to find their own solutions which better suit them.Forexample,inacoupleofcases,thelackofcouncilhousingledtointervieweesfindingprivatelyrentedaccommodationwithinbudgetandinareasthattheywantedtolive.

heads screwed on. We’re aiming for finishing line. And we did get there.” (Susie)

“The first woman was really weird. She took a disliking to you (partner - Tina) we think. She’d just sort of stare at you and when you said you didn’t work, you volunteered she went (made a face). She said ‘can’t you just get a job, even in a shop’...We were like, we don’t want to go back ” (John)

It was unclear whether services always take advantage of opportunities for early intervention. Someservicesareinpositiontodetectissuesearlye.g.housing/counciltaxarrears.Needtotakeadvantageofthat.

Services not always providing what people need or want.Thefocusofservicesisoftenonfixingimmediate,service-specificissues.Theytreattheproblem,butnotnecessarilytheperson.Peopleschoicesareinformedbyallkindsofissues-financesbutalsomentalwell-being-andsoservicesneedtotakeaccountofpeople’smotivations.Furthermore,thereislittlefocusonpeoples’longertermaspirations.Howdoyoudealwithcomplexityofsomebody’slifeinoneplace,oneservice?Shouldthisevenbethejobofa‘service’?

Some services are difficult to access because of geography. Themerefactofhavingtotraveltoanothertowntovisitaservicewasoff-puttingtosomepeople.

There was also frustration with the ‘rules’ of the systeme.g.priorityrankingforcouncilhousing,HomelessnesssolutionsofferedinEastbourne,nosayoverhowbenefitsarepaid,agerulesfor

I’d rather speak to someone on the phone myself, than go into an office. Because an office envi-ronment is very black and white. And you worry about whether you are dressed right to go and see the people who are meant to help you. You shouldn’t have to feel like that” (Kim)

“We had it (Housing Benefit application) in drawer for month didn’t we?... It was mind set as well because I didn’t really want to claim bene-fits did I? I was quite against it. It’s the way I’ve been bought up.” (John)

Stigma of accessing services:

“The CAB premises are horrible. Although not deliberately so! You go in the front door and there is a waiting room about this size (small) and there are posters on the wall. There is a slid-ing door and it says ring the bell. Now there are 2 or 3 people in there and you’ve got to say what you’re there for. Perhaps you could get them to fill out a form rather than asking them in public. Nevertheless you have to sit there. I bet you that people worry about who may see them. It’s how you get over this. So the CAB has it’s own chal-lenges - making it OK to come and see us” (Coun-cillor/CAB Trustee)

These emotions need to be factored into how we design service responses.

It is not good enough to just design functional and rational responses. Services need to take account of and respond to how people feel about themselves.

Theresearchillustratedthatpeoplewillnotnecessarilyaccessserviceswhentheyfirstgetintotrouble.Why?False optimism:

“[So what did that feel like - the first week you couldn’t pay your bill?] Yeah it’ll be alright I can just sort it next week. And then next week comes and you don’t catch up and it goes on... I just tried not to think about it. If you don’t think about it, don’t know. It is worrying ‘cos when you come back to it and think I haven’t paid that for 6 months” (Kim)

Denial:“They bury their head in the sand. I’ve been there. They don’t realise they are in as much trouble as they are, they think they can get out of it, they hope for better times, they are in so deep when they hit a personal crisis that they can’t see a way out, they get ill, mentally ill and then they can’t deal with it because of the stress and the stigma and the pride issue” (Credit Union)Pride: “Cos you get yourself into the mess and then think I’ve got to find someone to ask for help now. And you worry that they’re going to look down their nose at you. I think that’s what it is. [Is there something about going into an office?]

ACCESSING SUPPORT: Emotions are central when designing services

Theyneedtobereachedthroughpeoplethattheytrust:

“By the time people get to me they are already desperate. It’s about prevention. It’s about get-ting that message across and how you do that. It’s also about having a point of contact. Maybe worth having a point of contact in each com-munity, like a community elder. It’s going back to how things that used to be – lost lots of that” (Councillor)

Furthermore,giventhatpeopleareoftenfeelingquitevulnerable,thissupportneedstobehandson,personal,yetinformal:

“I was mortified, couldn’t deal with it, couldn’t answer the phone, didn’t know what to do. Went to the CAB and felt like a leper. Terrible. The information was good. They couldn’t support me as much as I needed it really. I never claimed any benefit. I was mentally unable to deal with it and because I’m not silly, I’m quite an intel-ligent person, they didn’t offer me the case work where they would write letters for me. I had to do it all myself and didn’t because I wasn’t able to”

“One of the things I used to do for all families – I used to do the research, print it out and take it to them. You need someone to provide that kind of support. In some ways it would be great if people have access to internet themselves but they still won’t do it, have to spoon-feed people” (Councillor)

Support has to find people - and in a manner that doesn’t feel like ‘help’. Ifpeoplearen’tgoingtoaccesssupport,thereisaneedtogoouttopeopleandreachthemin‘softer’ways:

“The point I’m trying to make is that British men are not good at asking for help. I saw it in the Careers Service. I remember coming out of my place at old school in Portslade and saw a guy sitting with his head in his hands near one of our out houses. I said are you alright. Turned out he was clearing asbestos. We got talking and he asked ‘What do you do here?’ I explained that I gave advice to career young people and adults.. He said he was 23 and said he can’t do this for the rest of his life. He said when I was at school I never would have gone in but he said now I’ve met you I think I will. Once you start down that route it becomes easier straight away” (Council-lor/CAB Trustee)

“What we then did was go into libraries and particularly for women... had a colleague who’d tell us what would happen... the first week they’d walk past the table, the second week they’d come and pick up leaflet, the next week she’d invite them to sit down. That person would never come through the front door. So we do outreach work in places where we can find enough resource. Primarily takes the form of benefits advice. Go to places like - Hill Crest Centre, Library at Peacehaven. Hoping the library at Seaford gets rebuilt and we’ll be in there. There needs to be more soft, no doorways stuff. Even the doctor’s surgery is a doorway. Maybe, and this may be too wild, we should be in places like Tescos” (Coun-cillor/CAB Trustee)

ACCESSING SUPPORT: Need softer ways to reach people

DESIGNING SOLUTIONS

SOME IDEAS TO TEST

Principles:

• Designsoftsolutionstoincorporatehowpeoplefeel• Findwaysofreachingpeople,ratherthanexpectingthemto

comefindservices• Enablingnetworksofsupporti.e.peer-to-peer• Supporttheperson,notjusttheproblem• Supportpeoples’long-termambitions• Recognisethatdifferentthingswillworkfordifferentpeople• Buildongoodthingsthatexist• Exploreflexibilityinthewaysthattheseservicesareprovided• CommunityvsState-somesolutionsmightbemoreeffective

iftheyareseenascomingfromsomewhereotherthanstate• Mixtureofonlineandofflinesolutions

Things that didn’t really come up in sufficient detail but may warrant further attention

• Disability• Childcare• Olderpeople• Housingstock

Areas to focus on:

• Reducingcosts• Managingmoney• Avoidingcripplingdebt• Supportingpeopleoutof

unemployment• Helpingtoconnectpeopleto

support

DESIGNING SOLUTIONS: Areas & Principles

/prosecutionetc(weknowthisisinrealitynotthefirststep,butitcanperhapsfeellikeitis).Asdiscussedabove,mostpeoplehaveamyriadreasonsfornotaccessinghelpuntilit’stoolate.Equally,theydonotwanttogetintodebtanymorethanCouncilserviceswantthemto.Asofterapproachtoadministeringservicesmayhelpwithstartingonapathtoavoidanceoftheissueratherthansimplydealingwiththefallout.

OtheropportunitiesforearlyinterventionarewithHealthWorkersandanyhomeservices.Perhapstraininginbasicsignpostingandform-fillingforfrontlinestaffcouldprovideanopportunityforavoidingfurtherproblems.WeknowtheNCDAhavebeendevelopingproposalsalongtheselinesalready.

Cancreditunionsinterveneassoonassomeoneaccessesbenefitstomakesuremoneyismanagedaswellaspossiblefromdayone?

Further expansion of the CAB into communities:

WhatifaCABvolunteerspentadayaweekworkingfromthelocalBritishLegion/Cafe/schoolanywherepeoplemightbefound.Informalchatcouldhelptosignpostpeopletotheservice,withoutnecessarilyprovidingtheservicethereandthen.Thisfeedsintoawiderpointaboutservicesneedingtoaccesspeoplewhoneedhelpratherthanpeopleaccessingtheservices.Anchororganisation.

TWEAKING EXISTING SERVICES:

Tweaks and

cha

nges

to

customer

servic es

within

c a b

-

outrea

ch / planning

CAB

Flexibility in provision of benefits:

Wespoketoseveralpeoplewhosaidtheyfindithardertopaythebillsduringwintermonthsduetotheincreasedpressureonheatingandlightingtheirhomes.Equally,asmoneyisalwaystight,itisverydifficulttoputmoneyasideduringwarmermonths.Ifpeoplehadtheoptionofskewingtheirbenefitssotheyreceivedslightlymorewhentheyneeditmost,thiscouldhelpthemavoidgettingintoarrearswithenergycompanies.

Familiesnaturallyfeelmorepressurearoundkeydatesintheyear-ChristmasandBirthdays.AnoptiontoreducemonthlyChildbenefitslightlyandprovidebumperpaymentsjustbeforebirthdaysandChristmascouldhelptokeepfinancesontrack.Cancreditunionshelpwiththis?

JSA payments for volunteers:

WhenvolunteeringitcanbetrickytomakeappointmentsattheJobCentre.IfJSAcouldbeadministered(perhapsforasetperiodoftime,andwithwrittenconfirmationfromtheemployer)withouthavingtoattendeveryappointment,volunteeringopportunities,andthecareerandpersonaldevelopmenttheybring,couldbecomemoreaccessible.

More aspirational dialogue:

Whileexistingservicesreceivednearunanimouspraise,wecameacrossincidentsofquickfixesbeingprioritisedoverworkingtowardslonger-termaspirations.Perhapseveryservicecouldcommittodiscussingplansforthenextmonth,sixmonthsandtwoyears.Thiswouldhelpemotionallyandhopefullypracticallytoo.

Early interventions:

Therearevariousearlyindicatorsoftroubleonthehorizon.OnekeyoneisslippingintoarrearsonrentorCouncilTaxpayments.This(andothers)areanopportunitytoopendiscussionsabouthowtomoveforward,ratherthanissuingstatutory‘threats’ofeviction

SUPERCHARGING SERVICES: Within the system

1. Services in Sheds The Idea:

AlreadyinNewhaventheTownClerkisworkingtofreeupTownCouncil/DistrictCouncilownedlandforfoodgrowing.Themostobviousbenefitofthisisproductionoffreeornear-freefood.Addtothisthefactthatmanypeoplearenowforciblyworkingpart-time,unabletofindworkforthe1/2/3daysaweektheyarenolongeremployed,andstrugglingtopaythebills.Furthermore,thereisatherapeuticbenefittogettingoutandgardeningandthemakingsofasimpleschemetokeepunemployedpeoplebusyisthere.

Growingfoodforthose1/2/3daysaweekwouldkeeppeoplebusyandhelpreducelivingcosts-thereforebenefittingadifferentgroupofpeople.Ifthiscouldhappenincollectivisedallotments,witheachpersonabletotakeonaplotoflandtosuittheirtimecommitments,thenyouadditionallystarttobringinasocialelement.Finally,stickashedonthesite,andaskdifferentservicestodooutreachworkontheallotments-maybeevendoingsomegardeningandusingashedforone-on-onechats.Filltheshedwithinfothatmightnotfindit’swaytopeopleotherwise.Producingenoughfoodforasurplus?Openacollectivisedgreengrocers/fooddeliveryandprovidejobs!

Thisprogrammecouldbesupportedbyanappcompletewithgrowinginformation,motivationalreminders,andpotentialyieldstohelpwithplanningfoodbuying.

Thisisafourprongedidea-1)savemoneyonfood.2)reachpeoplewhowouldn’tnormallyaccessservicesinasoftway.3)Getpeopleoutandexercisingwithapurpose.4)Getpeopleout

andsocialising.

References:

MeninSheds|http://www.ageuk.org.uk/professional-resources-home/services-and-practice/health-and-wellbeing/men-in-sheds/

2. Asset Review:

Whatothercouncilownedbuildingsandspacescouldbeusedtobetterservepublicneeds?Couldservicesbecombinedbetterincertainspaces?

Reference:http://locality.org.uk/assets/

you

got a plot!

Size: 5sqmNEXT TO: Danny

YIELD: 3 MONTHS VEG FOR ONE ADULT P.A.

12thMay

3. Lewes Pound Benefits / Wages The Idea

TheCABhadaninterestingangleonthebenefitsofhelpingresidentsaccessbenefitstheyareentitledto;bringingover£2millionmoreintothelocaleconomy.Thisisallwellandgood,butifit’sallbeingspentatTescosthenaretheyreallykeepingthatmoneylocal?PerhapsanyextrabenefitsentitlementsdiscoveredasadirectresultoftheCABoraproportionthereofcouldbeofferedinLewesPoundsortheequivalent?

Failingthat,doestheLewesPoundcountasavoucher?Ifso,couldthosewhowishtowork,butfearreturningtopaidworkwillaffecttheirbenefitstosuchanextentthattheyareworseoffbepaidin‘vouchers’forasetperiodtohelpthembackintoemployment?i.e.asinglemumfearingsheloseshousingbenefitetcifshereturnstowork,andwillhavetoarrange/payforchildcare.Thisseemsdaunting,andperhaps3monthsofparttimeworkpaidforinvoucherswouldprovidethestabilityandsecuritytomaketheleap?

Additionally,thisapproachmightremovesomeofthestigmaaroundreceivingbenefits.Ifitcanbeconstruedasinvestinginthelocaleconomyandsupportingsmallshopsandbusinesses,perhapsreceivingbenefitswouldfeellesslikea‘hand-out’.

Reference:

http://www.thelewespound.org/

4. Weightwatchers for SavingThe Idea

Acommontheme,andachallengewhenaccessingservicesisthegeographicalandpsychologicalbarriersofreachingtherelevantHQ,bethatCAB,housingoranyothercentralisedsupport.Thisisparticularlyimportantinthecontextofaccessinghelpmoneymanagementbeforethingsgotoobadlywrong.Equally,itcanbeveryhardtosticktofinancialtargetsandplanswhenyou’reonlycommittingtotheminyourowncompany.Withthatinmind,apeersupportprogrammeofmoneymanagementcouldmirrortheWeightwatchersethosofpledgingtoagroupthatyouwillmeettargets,andinreturnreceivingthesupportofyourpeersinordertodoso.

ThiscouldbeaservicetargetedattheworkingpoorandframedinasimilarwayastheChristmaspresentsavingschemes(i.e.appealingtopeoplewhoknowtheyarestrugglingbutareperhapsnotyetchaotic),andbeapreventiveprogramme.Accesstosupportthroughpeersmightencouragepeopletostartearlier,andpeerpressuretomeettargetscanhelptoensuretheyaremet.

SUPERCHARGING SERVICES: Within the system

NEW SOLUTIONS: Outside the system

1. Car Sharing - ‘Slugging’The Idea

LewesDistricthasdistinctandstructuredcommuterpatterns.EffectivelytherearethreemainroadslinkingSeaford/Newhaven,BrightonandLewes.Allarebusyduringrushhour,particularlythecoastroad,andmostcarsaresingleoccupancy.ThosewhocannotaffordtoruncarscomplainaboutthelengthoftimethebustakestogetintoBrighton(themaincentreofemployment)andthosewhocandrivecomplainbothaboutthisandtherisingcostofrunningacar.Lewesisinastrongpositiontorunasuccessfulcar-poolingschemeasbetween7-9amand4-6pm,almosteveryoneisgoinginthesamedirection!Asmartphoneappthathandlesthissimply,andprovidesbasicsafeguardingaroundHitch-Hiking(aclassicexampleofcollaborativeconsumption)couldsavecosts(forboththosewhocurrentlystruggletoaffordtravel,andthosenotyetstrugglingbutmightsoon)andreducecommutetime.Reductionincommutertimecouldinturnsavefurthercosts(childcare,after-schoolclubsetc)andadditionallyopensupareasofemploymentcurrentlyoutoffinancialreach.

TheideaofbringingmorebusinesstoPeacehaven/Telscombeetchascomeupseveraltimes,butwefeeltherealityisthatitwouldbefareasierandmoredesirabletogetpeopletoBrightonmoreeasilythantobringthebusinessfromBrightontosmallertownsalongthecoast.

Reference:

http://www.slug-lines.com/Slugging/About_slug-ging.asp

2. Collective SwitchingThe Idea

Mostpeopleseemtoshoparoundfordealsalready,andthosewhoareinarrearswiththeirutilitiescompaniescannotchangeprovider,butitwouldstillbeinterestingandalow-costoptiontolookatcollectiveswitchingonaDistrictlevel.ThereissuccessfulprecedentforthisinEast-bournesowecouldperhapslooktoworkwiththisschemeanddevelopitfurther.

Reference:

http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/publications/get-it-together-the-case-for-collective-switch-ing-in-the-age-of-connected-consumers

NEW SOLUTIONS: Outside the system

3. POPCash / Wonga For GoodThe Idea

Lotsofpeopleareborrowingmoney.Paydayloansareanabsolutescourgeonthepoorandoftenpushpeoplequicklyintochaoticlives.Atthesametime,CreditUnionsarewellofftheradarformost.Makingborrowingatlowinterestrateseasier(andmoreregulated)couldsavealotofpeoplefromquicklydroppingfrom‘hanginginthere’to‘outofcontrol’.CouldthisbecoupledwithanaggressivecampaigntocompetewithWonga’sadvertising?Wronga?!

Reference:

http://www.eastsussexcu.org.uk/

4. A District of Farmers:The Idea

Anout-thereone,butworthsomethought.Cur-rentlydependingonwhoyoulistento,betweenathirdandhalfofallfoodgrownisthrownawayatsomepointinthechain.Lotsofthishappenswhenmisshapenfruit/vegdoesn’tmeetEUregulationsandcan’tbesold.Ifasharedowner-shipprogrammecouldbeintroducedsimilartoBuyingaHighlandTitlethenasanownerof1sqftoflandonthefarm(saypurchasedfor£10),youmightbeentitledtodoasyouwishwithalltheleftover,unsellablebutperfectlyediblefood,thussavinghugecosts.Thiscouldpotentiallystartwithanycouncilownedfarmsinthearea.

Reference:

http://www.highlandtitles.com/

NEW SOLUTIONS: Outside the system

5. Peer to Peer Investment:The Idea

Twoofthefivepeoplewemetwantedtostarttheirownenterprise.Bothseeminglyrealistic,andneitherhadheardofKickstarter.Canweopenthisupmoretopeople,oremulateitwithalocalisedversionwherepeoplecaninvestexpertise,timeormoneyintoanidea?

Reference:

Kickstarterhttp://www.kickstarter.com/Spacehivehttp://spacehive.com/

6. #LewesJobs on TwitterThe Idea

Jobcentresare“nottheplacetogetjobs”.ManypeoplearelookingforcasualworkorrolesthatwouldnevermakeitintotheJobCentreandequallydon’tnecessarilyneedCV’sandcoverletterswriting.Thesejobstendtobefilledthroughwordofmouth.Couldweopenuptwitterasaconduittootherpeople-anyonewithacomputerorsmartphonecouldsearch#jobslewesandfindemployerslookingforlocal#hodcarriers#labourers#shopassistantsetc.It’sfree,anditonlytakes140characterstorespond-sav-ingeveryonetime.

Reference:

twitter.com

7. Opening Wifi:The Idea

Encouragepeopletoopenuptheirwifi(takeoffpasswords)andallowthosewhomightstruggletoaffordittosharetheirs.Simple,andcouldbeagreathelptothoselookingforjobs.

Reference:http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Share_Your_WiFi_With_the_Neighborhood

APPENDIX: RESIDENT INTERVIEWS

PEOPLE WE SPOKE TO

‘Gill’

ajobthatismorefulfillingandinlinewithhermoralsandbeliefs.Sheistakingalotofpositiveactiontohelpmeethergoals.Shehaslookedintobothtrainingandvoluntarywork.

Financial pressures:Gillisverycarefulwithmoneyandislivingincrediblyfrugally.Sheusesherbiketotravelaroundandisabletogetmostofherfoodthroughskipping.Herbiggestfinancialworryisutilitybills,whichshehaslesscontrolover.Heronlydebtisherstudentoverdraft,whichshehadtousetocoverthedepositforthehouse.

Support networks:Gillhasstrongfriendshipnetworkswhichshedrawsupon,bothtoshareresources(e.g.food),andforpracticalandemotionalsupport.

Aspirations • Short-term:togetsomevoluntaryworkand

tocompleteaCELTAcourse.• Short-term:hasdegreeinEnglish&Creative

writingsowantsfinishnovelandapproachpublisherstoseeifthatisanoption.

• Longer-term:torunamajorcharity:“IwanttohaveappliedmyselfandtohavesaidI’vemadetheworldabetterplace.AllIwanttobeishappyandfeellikeI’vemadeadifference”

“At the moment I consider my mental health and my happiness more important. I’m not going to work for another company that leaves me feel-ing worthless. No-one should have to go through that”

Background:Gillis24yearsoldandcurrentlyrentsahousewithfriendsinLewes.SheisfromSussexandherfamilyarescatteredaroundtheSouthofEngland.ShewaspreviouslylivingandworkinginBrighton.

Sheworkedfor2yearsasaCivilServant,ajobwhichshesays‘crushedherspirit’.ShewasmaderedundantfromthisjobinApril2012.Withinacoupleofweeksshefoundajobinalanguageschool,whichsheleftinSummerof2012duetodisrespectfulbehaviourfromcolleagues.Thissubsequentlyledtoherbecominghomelessandshespent6monthscoach-surfing/stayingwithfriends.

AfterseekingadvicefromtheBrightonHousingTrustandYMCA,sheandherfriendseventuallyfoundahouseinLewesthroughaprivatelandlord.Sheiscurrentlyunemployed,asareherhousemates,andtherentismostlycoveredbyHousingBenefits.

Benefits:HousingBenefit;CouncilTaxBenefit;JobSeekersAllowance

Looking for employment:Gillhasgivenuponconventionalshort-termjobsandiskeentofind

‘Kieran’ and ‘Kim’

apermanentcondition.

Financial pressures: Theyhaveanumberofdebts-ProvidentLoan,catalogues,rentarrears,utilitybills-whichcauseagreatdealofanxietyforKim.Theysaidthatclearingthisdebtwouldvastlyimprovetheirlives.Thedebtexacerbatesothercostpressuressuchasutilitybillsandfood.Financial resilience:TheyhavesoughthelpfromaCreditUnionrecentlyandthiswasseenasverypositive.Ithasfosteredasavingsmentalityandpractice,whichallowsthemtoplanfor‘nextemergency’.

Stigma associated with accessing support:Theyhighlightedthereluctancetoaccesssupport:“‘CosyougetyourselfintothemessandthenthinkI’vegottofindsomeonetoaskforhelpnow.Andyouworrythatthey’regoingtolookdowntheirnoseatyou.Ithinkthat’swhatitis”

Aspirations• Short-term:Theywouldliketobedebtfree• Long-term:Theywouldliketobefree

fromdepressionbutbothfeelthatthisissomethingthattheywillsufferfrompermanently.

• Long-term:Kieranwouldliketogetjobbutdoesn’tseethatthiscanhappenwhileheisonmedication

“For me, the biggest pressure is life. Life in gen-eral. Because of my illness. Kim worries about the bills and things like that. I don’t tend to worry about them. If they get paid they get paid. If they don’t they don’t. What are they going to do. Take me to court won’t they. What are you gonna do? Kim worries about them. But my ill-ness.. sometimes I want to be here, other times I don’t. That’s the nature of my illness” [Kieran]

Background:Kieranis42yearsold.HehaslivedinLeweshiswholelifeandhisfamilyarebasedinarea.HeismarriedtoKimwhowasborninLondonandlivedinvariousplacesbeforesettlinginLewesDistrict.HermumlivesinPeacehaven.Theyhave4Children–2fromMrsK’spreviousmarriage(21yearoldand17yearold)and2together(7yearoldandtoddler).The21yearoldmovedoutinNovember.

Theyliveina3bedroomcouncilhouse,whichtheymovedtotwoyearsagoaspartofaswapwithanotherfamily.NeitherKieranorKimareinemployment.Kieranwasworkingasataxidriverbutstoppedworkingin2003asaresultofabreakdown.Hehassincebeendiagnosedwithschizo-affectivedisorderandisonmedicationwhichpreventshimfromworking.Kimlooksafterthechildrenfull-timeandalsosuffersfromdepression.

Benefits: IncomeSupport,Childtaxcredit,childbenefit,AlittlebitofDLA.HousingandCounciltaxbenefit.

Depression:TheoverwhelmingstruggleinKieran’slife,andtoalesserdegreeKim’slife,isdealingwiththeirdepression,whichtheyseeas

‘Susie’

allowancewhentheymovedintogether.Otherincome:Maternityallowancefromwork

Financial Pressures:Susiehasaprudentattitudetowardsmoney.Shesavedwhilepregnant(gavemoneytoherDadsothatshewouldn’tspendit)andnowlivingincrediblyfrugally.Shekeepsallreceiptssoshecancheckwheremoneyisgoing.Hermaincostpressuresareutilitybillsandfood.Shedoesnothaveanydebt.

Looking for employment: Susie’spartneriscurrentlylookingforwork.Hehasbeenfindingitverydifficultand,attimes,verydepressing-nothavinghisownsourceofincomeisfrustrating.Hehasinformalnetworks(e.g.familyandacquaintancesfromthepub)whohaveprovidedroutestoemploymentinthepastbuthehasnothadanyluckrecently.

Support networks:Theyhavedrawnoncommunitynetworksandfamilialsupporte.g.peoplegavethemthingswhenbabywasborn.Susie’sMumhassentdownfoodshoppingandherDadhasgivenherpartnercasualworkinthepast.Evencustomerinthepubwheresheworkshavegivenheradviceandpracticalsupport.

Aspirations:• Short-term:AtschoolSusiewantedtobe

afashionbuyer.NewYearsresolutionistogobacktocollegeandtakesomecoursesrelatedtofashion

• Short-term:Partnertofindemployment.• Longer-term:Wouldliketohaveenough

moneytobuyahouse-anice2bedroomplaceinSeaford.Tohaveahealthychildandnodebts.

“It’s just a case of keep on trying really. He’ll find something eventually... He gets quite depressed as well, gets quite upset. You know what blokes are like, he’s got a baby, you want to provide for them and it does get him down. Everyone is in same situation these days’

Background:Susieis20yearsoldandfirstmovedtoSeafordfromBirmingham3yearsago.In2011shemoveddownpermanentlytobewithherpartner-althoughwithoutanyfixedaddress.Theymovedbetweenherpartner’sMum’sandsister’shouseswhenSusiebecamepregnant.

Uponbecomingpregnant,theysoughtsupportfromtheHousingServiceandweretoldtheywouldnotbeconsideredaprioritycaseuntilafterthebabywasborn.Eventually,theyfoundaprivatelyrented1-bedroomhouse,whichtheymovedintoinOctober2012,aweekbeforethebabywasborn.

Upuntilamonthbeforegivingbirth,Susiewasworkingpart-timeinalocalpub.Sheiscurrentlyonmaternityleaveandduetoreturntoworkpart-timeinApril2013.Hepartneriscurrentlyunemployed,lookingforlabouringorconstructionwork,althoughhewouldbewillingtodoanything.Childcareisnotanissueforthemomentassheisonmaternityleave.Whenshereturnstoworkherpartnerwilllookaftertheirchild.Ifhefindsajobthenshewillorganiseherworkinghoursaroundhisjobsothatchildcareiscovered.

Benefits:HousingandCouncilTaxBenefit(yettocomethrough),ChildBenefit,ChildTaxCredit.HealthyStartvoucher.PartnerlostJSA

‘John’ & ‘Tina’

therurallocationtheylive)andtheelectricitybill.Theyliveveryfrugallye.g.onlyhaveheatingonintheroomtheyarein,usecandles,nointernet,shareamobilephone.

Financial resilience:Thedecreaseintheirincomehasleftthemvulnerablewhenitcomestoemergencies.Recentlytheirsheepdoghasbeenillandtheircarbrokedownandthishasbeenextrafinancialpressure.TheyhavehadtoborrowmoneyfromJohn’sMumtopayforanewcar.

Looking for employment:JohnandTinabothhaveaveryclearideaofwhattheywanttodoandhaveaplaninplace.ForTina,claimingJSAcouldpotentiallycompromiseherplansasshemayhavetoapplyforjobsoutsideherfieldandrisklosinghervolunteeringpost,whichisinherchosenfield.

Reluctance to claim benefits:Duetothestigmaattachedtoclaimingbenefits,theywerebothreluctanttoputinahousingbenefitsclaimuntilatriptotheCABpromptedthemto.

Aspirations:• Short-term:Bothwouldliketobeinfull-

timeemploymentattheForest.Thiswouldenablethemtocomeoffbenefits.

• Short-term:Tinawouldliketogetherdrivinglicence

• Longer term:Theywouldliketoownafarmandhavelookedintorentingonewithfriends.However,theyneedcapitalforlandandlivestock.Adviceandsupportonaccessingcapitaletcwouldbereallyhelpful.

“It’s just the case that we’ve taken this on ourselves, so we should be able to afford it. I don’t want to... because we have had to so much since we moved out, keep going back to our families saying can we have some money... but I don’t like doing it. I don’t like it.”

Background:JohnandTinaareintheirearly20sandmetinCollegeinPlumpton.InSeptember2012theymovedintoaprivatelyrentedhouseinBarcombe.PriortothistheywerelivingatJohn’sMum’shouse.Whentheyfirstmovedintorentedaccommodation,Johnhadtwojobs-one3dayaweekjobasaShepherdataForestand2daysaweekonaprivateestate.Shortlyaftermovingin,helostthe2dayaweekjobandsofoundhimselfunabletocovertherent.

Despitetheirinitialreluctance,theysoughtHousingBenefittohelpthemcovertheshortfall.Theyhaven’ttoldtheirlandlordabouttheirchangeofcircumstancebecausetheyareworriedabouthisreaction.Tinacurrentlyvolunteers,workingwithhorses,attheForestwhereJohnalsoworks.Sheishopefulthattherewillbeapayingjobavailableshortly.Johnalsothinksthathisrolewillgetexpandedto5daysaweekoncethereisfundingavailable.

Benefits:Housingandcounciltaxbenefit(proportionoftheirrentpaid).TinaisentitledtoJSAbutdoesnotclaimit.

Other income: FromJohn’s3dayaweekjob.

Financial pressures:ThemaincostpressuresforJohnandTinaarerunningthecar(anecessityin

‘Ella’ and ‘Leo’

TaxBenefits,ChildTaxCredit,ChildBenefit.PlusCSAex-partner.WillgetDLAwhenyoungesthits6months.PreviouslyaccessedSocialFund.

Financial pressures:Debtisamajorpressureonthehouseholdfinances.Itcausesalotofstressandanxiety,particularlyastheloancompaniesknockonthedoortodemandmoney.Thishasanimpactthewell-beingofthefamily.Ellawouldliketoclaiminsolvencyorbankruptcybutevenfindingmoneyforthisisdifficult.Moneymanagementisthereforechaotic.Allcostsareapressure-particularlyaroundtheeventssuchasChristmas.Abigpressurerecentlyhasbeentripstohospitalandspecialclothingforyoungest.TheyareonlyentitledtoDLAwhentheyoungestis6monthsold.

Financial Resilience:Thereisnocapacitytomanagecrisesoremergencies.Recentlywhenthecarandcookerbroke,theonlyoptionwastogetaloanfromahigh-interestlender,furtherexacerbatingfinancialpressures.

Employment:Ellabelievesthatworkingwouldnotbefinanciallybeneficialespeciallywhenweighedagainstthestressofworkingandlookingafterchildren.Leohasfoundthathisdyslexiaisanimpedimenttogettingandkeepingwork.

Aspirations• Short-term:Tolivetogether,togetoutofdebt

andbeinapositionwheretheycantreatthekidsoccasionally.

• Longer term:Leowouldliketobeinafull-timejob.HewantstogetCSCScardbutneedstobesupportedbecauseofhisdyslexia.

• Longer term:Emmawouldtotraining(FoundationLevel3)tobeabletoreturntoworkasabeautician.

“I’d like to be out of debt. And living and not surviving. I don’t want an amazing life. I don’t want to go on... well I would like to go on Caribbean holidays once a year. But I’d like to have enough money in my bank account so that if my kids need a new pair of shoes I don’t have to think, oh my god where am I going to find that money from. Or if the car broke down I would think oh that’s alright. Or once a month be able to take my kids swimming” [Ella]

Background:Ellais30yearsold,wasborninSeaford.ShemovedoutoftheareaaftershewasavictimofanattackandhadtogointoWitnessProtection.AfterayearinSpain,shemovedtoChaileyandthenintheWinterof2011wasmovedtoNewick,whereshenowlivesinacouncilhouse.Shehas4children,rangingfrom10yearsoldto4months.TheyoungesthasClubFoot.

Ella’spartner,Leo,is20yearsoldandfatheroftheyoungesttwochildren.Hedoesnotlivewiththembecausetheywouldbeworseofffinancially.HelivesinChaileywithhisMum.

Ellaisnotworking,thoughhaspreviouslyworkedasahairdresserandnowvolunteers1dayaweekatabeauticians.Leoiscurrentlystudyingandworkingpart-timeataPubasapot-wash.Hehasworkedinvariouspubsinareaandatonepointwastrainingtobeacook.Hehasfoundhisdyslexiatobeanimpedimenttogetting/keepingajobandsoatthemomentisalsostudyingatRoyalPathways.

Benefits:IncomeSupport,HousingandCouncil