A helping hand from My Better Life

Darren Ferrey, has lived in Scarborough most of his life and has been a Beyond Housing tenant for over 12 years. In 2018, he was made unemployed and found it challenging to find another job. As time passed, Darren’s rent account plunged into arrears eventually leading to a make or break phone call with his housing officer about how not paying rent will affect his tenancy. After discovering Darren has always worked and was still actively looking for a job, he was referred to My Better Life, Beyond Housing’s Scarborough-based employment initiative.

The My Better Life team offers employment and skills advice and guidance to any Beyond Housing customer living in North Yorkshire and, with the support of advisor Natasha Williams, Darren soon got back on track with job hunting. Natasha worked one-on-one with Darren to build his CV, tailoring it for each opportunity and also taught him how to job seek effectively utilising MyWorkSearch employability software. It wasn’t long before Darren was successful and was offered a full time job at local engineering firm Schneider Electric, and has since cleared over £1,000 of his arrears.

Darren said: “The support Natasha and the My Better Life team have given me has ultimately kept a roof over my head and for that I can’t thank them enough.”

Natasha Williams, My Better Life Support Worker added: “Darren is a great example of why our in-house employment teams are so valuable. He has always worked and was just struggling to find a job on his own, but with dedicated help and support he is now back in full time employment, made a huge dent in his arrears and is successfully sustaining his tenancy.”