Re-finding hope in the face of the Cost of Living crisis

How Age UK Islington Navigator Rob Butler was able to help Islington resident Amelia deal with severe cost of living issues and re-find hope

Amelia was referred to support from Age UK Islington via a GP network. She had no money for either food or heating and was waiting for her benefits to be paid.

It was costing Amelia £10 a day to keep her small flat warm via a pre-payment meter. She was coping with the cold by wearing literally all her clothes. When she was able to buy food she was unable to warm things up as her cooker was not working.

Amelia was also facing a number of other issues. She was not able to easily access support as she had problems with hearing and no phone. Her situation was made worse by a recent bereavement and Amelia was facing the possibility of eviction.

Over a period of weeks, Age UK Islington Navigator Rob has been able to help Amelia to significantly improve her living situation. The first priority was helping Amelia to contact her housing association. This was to let them know that with Rob’s support she was taking steps to enable a gas and electricity check. The housing association was also able to suggest a plan to manage missed rental payments. As a result, Amelia was given breathing space by her housing association and the worry of eviction was reduced - for the short-term at least.

Rob was able to help Amelia to organise a thorough clean of her flat and to replace her ancient cooker.  This meant that she could have hot meals again. He also helped her get in touch with the Islington Council sensory team to get a hearing aid and to contact her GP for support with possible falls - something that Amelia was afraid of after experiencing falls in the past.  During these weeks, Rob was also in contact with Adult Social Care who carried out an assessment of Amelia’s finances to see if she would be eligible for ongoing support. 

Whilst some months ago Amelia felt that things were beyond her control, over the past weeks she has regained some optimism.  Since a recent bereavement, she has not seen many people. Rob currently checks in with Amelia once a fortnight to oversee the support that she is connecting with, but it shouldn't be long now before she is in a better position to manage independently.

Rob Butler is one of the Age UK Islington Navigation team.  Before working at Age UK Islington, he spent many years working as a teacher and working as a social worker.