The Riverside Group is one of the largest housing associations in the country, with over 75,000 homes across the UK. Riverside has partnered with Family Fund Business Services since 2022, and we currently work with Riverside’s Affordability Team to distribute support via their Helping Hand Fund.
The Helping Hand Fund assists Riverside customers in crisis with essential goods and services. The fund offers a package of support to prevent and alleviate immediate crises, such as distributing energy vouchers to customers who need help with bills, or replacing appliances or furniture when customers cannot afford to. The Affordability Team get in touch with new customers when they join as tenants, so they can proactively provide tailored support to individuals who might need it. This might be something like providing benefit advice or signposting, or in the case of Alice* delivering essential items via the fund.
Alice’s story
Alice came to Riverside after she’d received a Section 21 notice on her privately rented property. A Section 21 notice is a “no-fault” eviction notice, and in Alice’s case, left her at risk of homelessness. She’d recently experienced a relationship breakdown and needed to find somewhere for her and her 7-month-old baby girl. She was coming from a part-furnished property to an empty property, which meant there were several essential items she needed but was unable to afford. The most pressing of these were a fridge, and a new crib for her daughter who had outgrown her previous one. Alice received the keys to her new Riverside property on Monday, and the Affordability Team placed an order with FFBS for a fridge and a crib on Tuesday. The fridge was delivered on Thursday – in time for Alice and her daughter to move into the property on the Friday. The new crib was delivered shortly after, and was assembled by the delivery drivers, ready for Alice’s daughter to sleep in. The support Alice received helped her to settle into her new home, relieving a significant source of stress by giving her a helping hand at a time when she needed it most. FFBS’ online ordering portal, with thousands of items and services available in one place, plus our speedy delivery – with installation and assembly included – meant that Riverside were able to provide rapid support for Alice, providing her with new items in a matter of days.
Boosting tenancy sustainment
Alice is just one example of a customer who has benefited from Riverside’s Helping Hand Fund – in 2023/24, the fund helped over 4000 people. Providing this kind of holistic support is a vital part of Riverside’s tenancy sustainment strategy, aiming to prevent customers becoming homeless. The results speak for themselves – before the Affordability Team was formed two years ago, approximately one fifth of new tenancies failed. Now, that number is down to less than 1% – which means that 99% of tenants are still in their properties after 6 months. Customers know they can rely on Riverside for support, whether they need advice on their benefits, help with essential items, or support with living costs.
FFBS are proud to work with Riverside on their Helping Hand Fund and enable the real benefits seen by both the beneficiaries, in the practical cost-of-living support they receive, and Riverside, who have seen considerable improvements in their tenancy sustainment.
*Name changed for anonymity
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