Blog 28 May 2024

A day in the life of…

My day-to-day focus is on assessing the immediate needs of our clients. New casework client appointments are scheduled for me across three days each week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I conduct thorough interviews, listening to client’s challenges and concerns.

Empowerment and advocacy

This month, one of my clients is severely disabled, terminally ill, and unable to cover the cost of food and other basic essentials because his ESA payments suddenly came to an end. Another client supports a wife and two small children, and they have lost their UC award, causing them to fall into priority and non-priority debts with a looming threat of eviction because his full-time salary just isn’t enough to cover the basics.

Whether it's navigating the complexities of Universal Credit, challenging benefits decisions, housing issues, or accessing essential services, each person presents a unique set of challenges. Whether it's representing clients in tribunal hearings or writing appeal letters and gathering key evidence on their behalf, I try to empower clients to assert themselves in the face of adversity. Every success, no matter how small, fuels my motivation to effect positive change.

Collaboration

I start most days with an online briefing with my local Bromley Citizens Advice team. Earlier this month, I also chaired the monthly team meeting for South East London’s GLA project team. We were joined by representatives from our centre of excellence, non-profit advice organisations across the region, and we discussed ways that we could improve our ways of working to better support our clients. Later that week, I chaired a meeting with the other Specialist Advisers working under the GLA project across London, where we shared best practices. I also attended a GLA Fuel Poverty event at City Hall this month. I was joined by energy advisers and non-profit business leaders to hear more from the GLA about their work to address fuel poverty.

These are just some of the ways in which we work closely with advisers and experts across the Citizens Advice network and the advisory sector in order to provide holistic advice and support to our clients.

Learning and Development

As a Solicitor Apprentice, on Mondays I study law. This consists of independent study and group workshops facilitated by BPP. At the moment I’m completing a Public Law module, which gives me a broader insight and perspective on the work I do every day. I also engage with training offered by advisory networks and organisations such as CPAG and Shelter, as well as what is offered by Citizens Advice. This month, I also attended the Citizens Advice Cost of Living briefing, which provided me with a useful insight into key statistics, giving useful context to the challenges faced by my clients.

As I write this, I’m reminded of the privilege and responsibility of doing this kind of work. Despite all of the challenges, the opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of others is immensely rewarding. As we continue to advocate for social justice and economic stability, I continue to hope for a better future for our clients.