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Gowrie Care News
Homelessness prevention service celebrates its first birthday ahead of the game
The Edinburgh Sustainable Tenancies Service celebrates its first year in operation this month showing impressive results. In its first year, the service has given advice and information to 207 people- raising £103,551 in unclaimed benefits, grants and goods.
The service, which is funded by the Scottish Government Wider Role Fund and Gowrie Care Limited, provides free, confidential and impartial financial guidance to a large number of people in Gowrie Care homeless projects and Hillcrest Housing Association tenancies who live in poverty and are at the risk of becoming homeless.
The service, managed by Hillcrest Housing Association’s Sustainable Tenancy Advisor Karen McLean, has delivered 31 group sessions in Gowrie Care projects across Edinburgh. These sessions range from benefit surgeries; basic budgeting; how to open bank accounts; to how to get the best out of your shopping.
Ann Dickson, Project Manager at Oxgangs Street, commented that ‘Karen has been a god send on a number of occasions, her expertise and understanding of the plight of some of our service users/tenants is extremely beneficial. She has the networking ability and ensures she uses every avenue to deliver the best service available.’
The people who are benefiting from the service are also very enthusiastic about the support it provides; with one service user stating ‘I think the Sustainable Tenancies Service is fantastic. The service has helped me out loads. This is my first time being responsible. It’s not easy especially on a low income but it is a good feeling when you take responsibility. I would definitely use the service again. Thank you for taking the time to help me.’
On future growth of the project, Karen commented that ‘the Sustainable Tenancies Service recently became a referral agent for Scottish Hydro’s white goods package and is now working alongside partnership agencies to help people out of fuel poverty. In a time where fuel costs are rising, this positions me and project to help more people by providing help with fuel discounts, energy efficiency, income maximisation and in some cases white goods.’