New Services!

In-House Money & Home Energy Advice Service

Some of you may remember that we offered an independent Money & Home Energy Advice Service which came to an end in July last year.   We’re now pleased to announce that we have re-launched this service and our new Money & Home Energy Adviser, Andrew Collinge, joined us at the end of January 2024.  Andrew comes to us from Dalkeith Citizens Advice Bureau and has over 20 years’ experience of working in welfare benefits and energy advice.  

We know that many people need help with their finances at some time in their lives for any number of reasons, and our new service can help with budgeting, benefit applications, debt repayment, energy advice, grants and loans and so much more.

If you’d like to have a chat with Andrew, you can:

• Visit My Home, pop into your account and click the Money Advice button (My Account box) and leave a note, or for energy advice, click the Energy Advice button (My House box) and leave a note
• Visit elha.com and fill in the self-referral form - you’ll find it in the Tenancy Support section of the website
• Contact your Housing Officer at enquiries@elha.com and ask them to refer you or telephone 01620 825032

Housing & Community Outreach Service

We know that some people need help to manage their tenancy, and our Housing Officers are trained to do this. However, the recent pandemic and cost of living crisis, including huge energy costs, have brought about many new or increased challenges for some tenants.  Through our Healthy Happy Home Checks we have identified tenants facing challenges where more specialised help is needed, for example:

• social isolation
• debt
• poor internal condition of some homes
• significant mental health issues

Because of this, we launched a Housing & Community Outreach Service in July 2023 and James McCallum-Browne, a former Housing Officer, took up the role of Housing and Community Outreach Worker.  

Housing Officers can refer any tenant who needs some extra help to James's service.  James can help new vulnerable tenants to set up their home and develop the skills needed to thrive in their tenancy. He can also give support to existing tenants who are at risk of homelessness, for example: due to debt or harassment and anti-social behaviour, or to people who were managing well in their home but have experienced recent life changes that have caused difficulties.   

James can also act as an advocate for tenants and their households, going with them to appointments where required, and helping them to access any of the range of support organisations available in East Lothian.