Tenant who turns around debt difficulties thanks her social housing landlord WDH

Published by Ross Macmillan for Wakefield & District Housing in Housing and also in Bill Payments, Education, Health, Local Government

A Wakefield woman has enjoyed a remarkable turn-around in her financial fortunes after her social housing landlord Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) helped secure a grant from the Bank Workers Charity that got her back on her feet.

Mrs Deborah Eddison, from Annie Street in Outwood, Wakefield, ran into financial difficulty in the summer and was unable to pay her monthly rent. She said her biggest concern was admitting to people that she was in trouble and not knowing which way to turn.

But her precarious financial situation hadn’t gone unnoticed and, as a responsible social landlord, WDH’s specialist Debt Team stepped in to secure funding that put Mrs Eddison back in the black.

“I had every intention to pay the rent but I couldn’t,” admits Mrs Eddison, 44. “I hid my head in the sand to a degree – I had visions of debt collectors knocking at my door demanding money, and the threat of eviction was always possible.

“You can understand why people in debt can get anxious and depressed, and why they’d go looking for quick fixes. But I was astounded by the help I got from WDH. They made me feel confident about sorting out my debt.”

Stephen Varley, WDH’s Debt Visiting Officer who helped Mrs Eddison through the process, said: “When we meet our tenants we talk about their work history because often there are charities that specialise in helping people who work or have worked in that sector.

“Only the week before I met with Mrs Eddison I was made aware of the Bank Workers Charity from a colleague and so I contacted them to see if they could help – and they could.”

Alisa Hamzic, Head of Marketing at the charity, said: “We provide information, advice, services and grants to meet the needs of people working in banking in the UK. Last year we provided nearly £1.3 million to help 375 adult, elderly and disabled people and 326 children and students through our cash grant programmes and our service delivery partnerships.

“We were pleased to award Mrs Eddison a grant of £880 towards her rent arrears to reduce the risk of homelessness. We also awarded her with a grant of £220 for maintenance of her car to aid her mobility and independence.”

Mrs Eddison said: “When I first spoke to Steve on the phone I couldn’t wait for him to visit. He made me feel really positive about dealing with the situation.

“He spoke to me on my level, he explained everything in layman’s terms and I felt at ease. I knew he wanted to help me and I’ve been taken aback by how helpful he has been.”