Lucy Hooton, Neighbourhood Officer
Employee since: 2008
Location: Salford
8am – A brew to start the day
I’m not a fan of mornings so love being able to start my day at about 8am working from home. I feed my cat and have cereal and a cup of tea while checking emails and my workload. I make some calls to colleagues and tenants before heading out to appointments and meetings. Every day is different and that’s one of the things I love about my job.
10am – Meeting with care leavers
I don’t have a patch in my role, instead I work with care leavers, veterans and people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, for example through Housing First. I really enjoy getting out and about and meeting with colleagues and tenants – I’m definitely a people person!
My first meeting of the day is with a care leaver, Jenny* who I’m supporting. She’s just turned 18 and after viewing a flat last week, today she’s moving in. She’s feeling excited but also nervous and overwhelmed.
I help Jenny get settled into her new home by supporting her to set up utilities, benefits and direct debits for rent and bills. I also help her choose blinds, carpets and white goods for her flat. I chat to Jenny and her support worker about how best I can work with her in future and we put together an individual plan to suit her needs.
Care leavers like Jenny inspire me every day with how much they’re learning and how resilient they are, going out on their own in the world at just 18. I really care about helping to improve people’s lives. That’s what gets me out of bed every day and seeing all the care leavers coming on and growing in independence is just amazing.
2pm – Getting together with the team
Today I have my monthly rough sleeper multi-agency team meeting with Salford Council and other agencies where we discuss any challenges, homes we currently have available, and how we can best support people. It’s a really useful session.
3pm – Catching up with clients
I go to see Lara* who has recently moved into her new home thanks to the Housing First project. She previously lived in a flat, but she has complex mental health needs and was in and out of hospital and sometimes the ambulance had to be called. It was making relationships with her neighbours hard, so we helped her move to a bungalow. It suits her much better and it’s really brilliant to see her flourishing there.
4.30pm – Heading home
I head home to do some admin work. I have a Teams meeting with the other three housing officers who work on the same projects as me and our manager. It’s a really helpful chance to bounce ideas off each other, discuss any issues and just check in on how everyone is doing. It can be a tough job at times so it’s important to support everyone’s wellbeing.
*Names have been changed to protect the tenants’ identities.
