Catherine is a Tenancy Liaison Officer at Iris Care Group, the largest independent health and social care provider operating across the South West of England and South Wales. Iris Care Group provides the full pathway of services for people with learning disabilities, Autism, mental health issues and personality disorder, along with neurodegenerative conditions and Acquired Brain Injury.
Catherine – also known as Cat – has dedicated her life to supporting the people that need support the most. Starting her career as a Support Worker for adults with Autism, Cat’s commitment to making a difference led her to pursue a career in supported living, supporting vulnerable homeless young people. Cat then progressed her career into social housing before joining the family at Iris Care Group.
The experience Cat gained in supported living and social housing was invaluable as she learned about the different complexities that can affect housing and benefits. Working with people from all walks of life, Cat helped them to understand their rights, secure safe and stable accommodation, and navigate complicated legislation and housing systems.
After an extensive career in healthcare, social care and social housing, Cat turned her attention back to social care. Cat missed working in the care sector and knew that she could provide a unique type of support for people with complex needs with her transferable skillset and extensive knowledge of healthcare, housing, and benefits.
Joining Iris Care Group in 2022, Cat worked closely with the group’s Supported Living services to help people confidently manage their tenancies and make informed decisions about their housing and finances. Cat also supports people as they transition into their supported living accommodation, working closely with these individuals, their loved ones, and care teams.
Cat’s previous experience highlighted the challenges that people with complex needs face when it comes to accessing financial and housing support. She saw how inaccessible these systems could be, and how difficult they were to navigate (both with and without an advocate or specialist support). She found so many people in the services struggling with unresolved debt and underpaid benefits, and a huge part of Cat’s work has been about tackling these issues and helping people develop financial literacy.
One of Cat’s recent successes was supporting an individual to challenge their PIP payments, as she had identified that they were not receiving their full entitlement for their level of need. With Cat’s support, they received an under payment of nearly £4000, which gave them the opportunity to go on a well-deserved holiday.
Cat said: “It made me cry to see such happiness, and it makes the challenges all worth it.”
Cat’s work and impact extends far beyond the people being supported in the services and her usual job responsibilities. When a staff member from overseas suffered an unexpected stroke, they faced the incredibly daunting task of navigating a complicated and unfamiliar healthcare and housing system alone.
Cat jumped straight in as their advocate, drawing on her extensive knowledge to help them access the right medical care and housing support. Going above and beyond, Cat worked in partnership with other organisations to find alternative accommodation that was better suited to their new health needs and helped move them and was a constant supportive presence.
Cat is committed to helping the people she supports build confidence, develop their independence and life skills, and achieve their goals and ambitions, and said:
“If I can make just one positive difference for any person that we support or staff member, that gives me the energy to continue and truly makes my day, and I become even more passionate about the work that I do. I have so much more that I want to do for the people that live in our services and with the support of my fantastic manager and amazing colleagues we will continue to succeed and make a difference!”
